As babies start to make sense of their world, they are learning the basics of math and science…yes, right from the start!!
Examples of how your baby practices math are having and then losing a favorite toy (adding and subtracting) and choosing one food over another at dinnertime (sorting.) Math skills start when your baby starts to notice the world around her. You may notice one of the babies in your care loves a blue blanket but cries when his brothers’ doll is in the room. He’ll notice when that blanket or doll is “subtracted from” or “added to” a room.
Counting and sorting
You can start counting with a baby right from the start. Count his toes, leaves on a tree, the diapers left for tomorrow, and family members. Counting and sorting can be great topics for conversations with your baby!
Sit on the floor, set out colorful blocks, and say, “let’s put all of the red blocks over here. Where are all of the red blocks (pause)? There they are! Here’s one. Can you hold this one (pause)? Do you like that color (pause)?” Don’t have colorful blocks? What safe, colorful things do you have to use instead? Maybe socks?
Number awareness
Generally, babies are too little for us to expect them to learn to identify numbers BUT you can start pointing them out when you see them. Focus on 1-10. Over time, babes will connect our word for the picture AND what it means: the number two means there are two of something. This probably seems obvious, but it also seems like an amazing miracle to me how much we put together at such a young age.
Science explorations
Babies experiment with science in many different ways. They explore and learn about their bodies through movement and touch. They learn about “cause and effect” through daily interactions with the world. For example, if she cries, you will come. If he fills his diaper, you’ll put a new one on him J
A baby is learning basic science concepts when you’ve picked up his toy for the hundredth time after he dropped it! He also begins to learn about pushing and pulling, and how different toys “work.” Your baby learns about his world through his five senses: touching, tasting, seeing, hearing, and smelling. Fill his environment with safe objects and activities that encourage him to experiment using his senses.
And then there’s learning about nature! No matter where you are on the planet, there is nature to experience. Take the time to notice and share with your babies natural cycles, changing weather, growing plants, and the animals around you.