Kindergarten Child Needs Help with Math Skills

I have a kindergartener too, so I know what you are going through. 2 things I do that have helped- when we go to the store, she gets to buy one candy or gum, she pays with a dollar, before she can get her candy or gum ,she has to count her change, the other thing I do is we have a piggy bank adn she gets to put loose change in her bank, but she has to say the coins first adn what they equal. She loves putting money in the bank, so it seems to help, if you get anymore good ideas, pass them on please!!!

As a former Early Childhood teacher, I remembered there was a song to help with this...I "googled" it and found some resources...hope it helps!

~K.

Penny, penny, easily spent,
Cooper brown and worth 1 cent!

Nickel, nickel, thick and fat,
You're worth 5 cent I know that!

Dime, Dime, little and thin,
I remember you're worth 10 cents!

Quarter, quarter big and bold
You're worth 25 cents I an told!

Penny Nickel Dime by Dr Jean (Kiss Your Brain CD)

YouTube - The Coin Song- a U.S. coins song for childrenFeb 9, 2008 ... SONG ONLY: This song introduces the names and values of the 4 most ... Coin Song-Final Fantasy VI piano collection-Nobuo Uematsu-v2 ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk_6-pFkugU - 67k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

As a former teacher and a tutor I would say just practice what you can with him at home. Does he have a piggy bank? I sit with my two todlers and sometimes empty the bottom of my purse (where I collect coins). We sort them and then I count them in each pile. Talking about how much each is worth and what each one is called. Then I talk about skip counting depending on the coin. They know the very simplest of stuff but the more I do it the more I see my sons copy me and eventually they will memorize the patterns and then as they get older gain the true understanding. Then we split the value and they get to put it in their own piggy banks in their rooms. As they do that I again have them say for example "dime, ten cents" . If you feel he is not progressing your kindergarten teacher should have resources for you or suggest a tutor to help your son keep up.

yes, get a money holder box from walmart. tape up a note with value and put the money in each corresponding box. then play store. i did this with both of my boys, then the teacher asked me to come in and play this with the other kids. worked like a charm. good luck.

Hi
My daughter is also in kindergarten. You should give your son money and take him to a store like a dollar store and let him count the money and pay for his own items. This worked great with my daughter to learn how to count with money

good luck

M.
www.143kids.com

Hi J.,

Everyone has offered great advice about how to help your son with his math skills. I read advice about using manipulatives and doing hands on activities to help him... so I won't repeat that. (Hands on activities help tremendously!)

I am not sure if I recall anyone mentioning computer games. We have a CD Rom called Jump Start... I don't know which grade level it is off hand...K,1st or 2nd... that has fun money games.

But... anyway... I really wanted to mention the idea of enrolling him in summer school if they have a math class for his grade level. The district my kids are in just sent home a letter stating the classes that will be available and the cost. (The fee for our district is SO reasonable... I think it's $125 for five days a week for 3 or 4 hours a day and it goes for 4 weeks. And on top of that... they offer free bus service.) So you might want to see what your son's school district is offering this summer. Just a thought!
J.

hooked on phonics has math too...you can find tools to help you teach your child math skills based on age and grade level. you can find these products on-line or I know they used to sell them at walmart.
Other than that you can just begin working with your child in fun and easy ways everyday. My children count and add everything in the house from toys to how many chocolate chips we put on top of each cookie. They also have to tell us what coins they are putting in their piggy banks and how much it is worth then they add the number of coins and we make a whole project out of putting a few coins in their piggy banks once a week.
I hope this helps!
J.

J.,

this was a problem with my kids for a long time.

we helped them by handing them a bunch of coins and telling them they could keep it if they could count it - i dont think in kindergarten they're quite ready for that though. might help by starting out with one of each and repeating how much each one is, by comparing it to other coins. repetition is key, using visuals is key (for us anyway).

try borders for some good age appropriate money books. Or, even better... ask his teacher for some internet resources or book resources to help enforce the teaching at home.. i know our teachers were more than happy to provide these and were just glad to see a parent getting involved.

In the end, don't push him too hard... he'll get it eventually. you dont want to push him so hard that he rejects it. keep it light, keep it fun and he may end up enjoying math.

p.s. my daughter ended up with a specific learning disability related to memory and was on an IEP for her math skills only. she is off it now, but it gave her the extra help she needed and she gets it now.

good luck

Using 'manipulatives' in math is a wonderful way to assist students in skill development. What I mean by manipulatives is that kids actually have an object that is representative of a unit of measure (number, weight, measurement, money, etc.) and they use them to learn about math. It is great because they use many intelligences (visual, kinesthetic, etc.).

For money, turn your living room into a toy store and play 'shopping' with your child's existing toys. Set prices for the various items, like a hot wheels car is $.17, a stuffed animal is $.25, etc. (I'm not saying withhold the toys - that would be mean!) Make it like a little simulation where you give him or her a bag of coins and role play 'buying' items.

You could also use it in conjunction with household chores as an incentive. (S)He makes his bed, (s)he gets to pick out $.14 (or whatever) to put into a piggy bank/savings jar. At the end of the week, (s)he can open the jar and count his/her change to figure out how much (s)he earned. Take him/her to the toy or grocery store and let him/her buy something or if you're opposed to that sort of reward, tell him/her once he has earned X amount of money, (s)he gets to pick a special dinner or do something special with mommy and daddy.

-Use real coins that (s)he can touch and see
-Create games that are fun for him/her to practice and use the skills
-Create rewards that necessitate him/her knowing about coins; (s)he may be more motivated that way

As a K-9 teacher, I can only say that this is more of a 2nd/3rd grade skill. Counting money requires so many different types of skills that many kindergartners aren't developmentally ready for.

Work with your child in all the ways suggested, but please don't get too worried if it doesn't click in right away.