Childhood is a stage in someone’s life where the most significant brain development takes place. By the time a child turns five, their brain will have grown to around 90% of its full adult size. As their brain develops and grows more sophisticated, they’ll start noticing finer details in their world and want to ask questions about them.
Young children will notice that some objects might be taller or wider than others. You can help them learn to quantify these differences and develop their processing and reasoning skills by teaching them the fundamentals of measurement. Here are some simple ways to guide your child through the basics:
1. Reading a Book
One of the most common ways children learn and expand their knowledge is by reading books. When you read a book to your child, or if your child can read independently, the experience will improve their comprehension skills and provide them with new information about the world around them.
Plenty of books weave information and an enthralling narrative together to teach children about measuring engagingly, so sitting down and reading one of those books to your child and answering any questions they have can help foster a knowledge of measurement.
2. Using Items as a Unit of Measurement
While children will grow up to use standard units of measurement when they gauge the size of something, you can introduce them to proper measuring techniques by teaching them to measure using units based on household objects.
Using whimsical objects like certain toys or colorful knickknacks can help make learning how to measure more fun. With this, you can help them understand the concept of a unit and how to use them effectively.
3. Let Them Measure Things Around the House
If your child is old enough to start grasping standard units like inches and feet, you can teach them how to use tools like measuring tapes and rulers to quantify the size of household objects.
An activity you can conduct to help them get used to measuring things is setting up a scavenger hunt. Write up a list of things around your house that your child can measure easily (such as books, plates, and toys) and help them write down their measurements. This activity will help them get practical experience using measuring tools while making it a fun and exciting experience.
4. Measure Their Height and Show Them
Growing up, you likely got excited whenever your parents measured your height. After all, every new mark on the wall measured how big and strong you were getting. Chances are, your child also gets excited whenever they see that they’ve gotten taller. You can take that excitement and turn it into a fun learning moment.
Have your child stand with their back against the wall as usual and make a mark with a marker or pencil. Then, show them your process for measuring, highlighting where you place the measuring tape. Children can learn a lot from observation, making this an excellent way to take advantage of this learning method.
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5. Learn to Estimate with Playdough Snakes
Lastly, while exact measurements are best, knowing how to estimate sizes is a valuable skill, and a way to help them learn to estimate and see the difference between an estimation and an exact measurement is with playdough snakes.
To do this, have them roll some wads of playdough into snake shapes of varied lengths. Then, ask them how long they think each snake is. After giving their answers, have them use a ruler to find their exact lengths. This activity can help them internalize the size of individual units and help them estimate length better when they’re older.
The key to effectively teaching children how to measure items is to make the learning process entertaining and intriguing, utilizing children’s natural curiosity and desire for fun. Use different techniques depending on their age and needs, and teaching them these concepts will be a relative breeze.
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