Activities for developing logic and mathematics for 2-years-olds

The mathematical development of 2-year-old children means qualitative changes in their cognitive activity as a result of the formation of elementary mathematical concepts and understanding easy logical operations. Mathematical development is an important component in the formation of the «world picture» of a child.

Activities for developing logic and mathematics for 2-years old

Various didactic games and activities help develop early math skills. During games, a toddler acquires new knowledge and skills. Math activities contribute to the development of perception, attention, memory, thinking and creative abilities. They boost cognitive development in general.

In the elementary school math course is not simple. Often children experience various kinds of difficulties in mathematics, because they are not ready to perceive math as a subject.

Therefore, parents should develop a child’s interest in math from the early years. An introduction to the subject in a playful and entertaining way will help the child to faster and easier master the school curriculum in future.

What math skills should be mastered by a 2-year-old child?

  1. To know the concept of «many — few».
  2. Closer to three years — to master the concept of «more-less».
  3. Learn to distinguish the number of items: «one» and «two» at least. You can go further and teach the toddler to count objects to 5 or to 10, but not all the kids aged from 2 to 3 have interest and ability to count — this is normal. I don’t mean just saying numbers from 1 to 10, but counting real objects and understanding the meaning of numbers. Learn how to teach your baby counting.
  4. Learn to sort objects by size, by color, by type. You can sort different kinds of pasta, buttons, large and small objects, circles, squares, etc. You can try other types of sorting.
  5. Learn to navigate in space (to learn the concepts of above, below, to understand right and left — here are some activities for teaching left and right).
  6. To do simple puzzles from 2−4 parts without help. This ability develops gradually. At the beginning, you should help your child.
  7. To learn to match. Play «Who eats what?», «Whose house is this», «Whose tail is this», «Whose baby is this»? Use special sets of cards or pictures. I use puzzles like that:

cards-math-kids

I use puzzles like that:

  1. Understand the description. The mother describes in the simplest form an object or animal, and the child guesses. For example: «It is small, with long white ears, it jumps and eats carrots, who is it?» or «Who says «Moo-Moo» and gives milk? You can gradually complicate the riddles.
  2. Placing objects inside each other according to its size. You can use a set of matryoshka dolls or just different cups or food containers.
  3. Build a tower using blocks of different sizes. The biggest should be at the bottom and the smallest — at the top.
  4. Learn to match shapes and geometric solids with their projections. You can use special Denesh blocks. They come with pictures, on which you should place blocks of the right size and color to make a picture.

denesh-blocks

I hope you like these math activities for 2-year-olds, you may also like some math games.

Math games for 2-year-olds.

  • The apples are ripe.

The game helps develop counting skills and understand the meaning of counting process.

Necessary equipment: thick colored cardboard, scissors, thread, buttons.

Cut out a cardboard tree and some apples. Sew small buttons to the branches, and attach loops to your apples. Ask the kid to fasten 2 apples to the branches, then let him «harvest» the apples. Then ask the kid to fasten 3 apples, etc.

  • Grandma’s pancakes

The game promotes the ability to organize objects according to certain parameters.

Necessary equipment: 4 paper circles with the diameter of 3 cm and 4 circles with the diameter of 6 cm. A big and a small box.

Think of the plot for your game. For example, your grandma baked some pancakes — big and small. Bigger are for mom and dad and smaller — for grandchildren. But the pancakes have messed up. You need to help Granny to arrange the pancakes on the plates.

Games and activities for the development of logic at 2 -3 years.

What about logic? Is it important for a 2-year-old kid? Yes, it is! And at this age logical and mathematical activities are basically the same, as the kid just isn’t able to solve purely mathematical problems. So, here are some more activities to develop logical thinking in toddlers.

1. Closer to three years — constructing simple designs according to the drawing (like in the picture, but you better start with two parts and… mind the color!).

image2

2. Starting from 2.5 years you can play Nikitin square. At first, you’ll help your child to put the pieces of different colors into squares, but very quickly your kid will learn to do this without your assistance.

kvadrati_nikitinih

3. Teach to classify objects according to a common theme. For example: give your child cards with images of toys, food, and animals. The kid should divide them into relevant groups. Let him put the toys into the box, the food into the fridge, and the animals into their makeshift house. At first, the child learns to classify the objects with your active help. First, begin with only 2 sets of cards — toys and food, then add the third set. When your kid master these cards, it’s better not to add the 4th set, but to begin again with two new sets.

4. Playing with Denesha blocks or other suitable objects (toys, buttons, beads, etc.):

  • find items, figures of the same shape;
  • find the objects, the shapes of the same color;
  • find items of the same size;

5. Identifying objects by two attributes (find a big yellow circle, a small red square, etc.).

6. Closer to three years — to find the errors in the pictures, what is missing, what is wrong, what is the wrong color, etc.

mistakesfind-mistakes-more
find-mistakes

You can also use these pictures with mistakes for developing critical thinking.

This is a tip! If your child refuses to perform some tasks or doesn’t want to «study» long, don’t insist. Do just 1−2 of the activities. It is known that many children up to 3 years can’t focus long on something, especially if this is not interesting for them. You will have plenty of time another day. Perhaps, the next time our kid will do more.

Watch carefully so that your kid doesn’t get bored or tired. Try to do educational activities not longer, but more often. At this age, one «lesson» should last no more than 20 minutes for the most assiduous kids. If your toddler is something like restless, let it be a 10-minute-lesson. Remember, daily education should bring the child only positive emotions.

Learning math for 2-year-olds is very important! Help your kid develop early math skills!

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Patricia G. Groves
Patricia G. Groves
5 years ago

That’s are nice and easy to use techniques. Just have to wait for another year, till my son will turn 2