From story to couting to eating!

Children do not need any formal activity - making them sit, asking them to arrange, asking them to count.

When they see that people around them use numbers to count objects or make some calculations (say, while paying bill), they somehow get the same in mind even while playing. I can't say more!!

DD1 started with asking me to read out this story where a girls was carrying millet.

DD1: What does a millet mean?
I gave her some examples that led me talking about types of dal.
She immediately recalled the putnala pappu (roasted yellow channa dal) that she used for playing and eating too the other day. Went running downstairs to the kitchen, got them up.

DD1: I will make some groups with these
She started making groups starting from 1 to 7

Asked me to count them all. I counted doing both - by pointing at the dal and writing the numbers on paper

Next, she made groups of the dal starting from 7 to 1 (backwards)

Again, asked me to count them.

 

She noticed that adding 1 to 7 forwards and backwards give the same result. 

Then, she asked me to count the total dal. I did it both ways - by pointing physically and adding on paper.

After all this, she happily ate away the dal, not just blindly, but mathematically, haha !!
She spent close to 15 mins by slowly counting again, making groups, eating 2 at a time, eating 3 next time or 6 the other time and so!!

Joy of open learning!!