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Erikson Institute Early Math Collaborative

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En Español Do you remember enjoying fingerplay songs like 5 Little Monkeys or Un Elefante Se Balanceaba when you were young? You may not have realized that sharing these songs and fingerplays for preschoolers is a great way to bring math to life. When we use fingerplays, we help our children's mathematical understanding by:

Connecting a quantity to its number name. For adults it seems like second nature that the word "three" signifies the quantity of 3 objects, but this is a complex and abstract concept! By using our fingers to show a quantity (i.e. holding up three fingers when we say "three squirrels") we are helping children connect the number name to the quantity it represents.

Adding a visual for number relationships. Fingerplays for preschoolers can tell the story of squirrels coming to a branch one by one or birdies leaving a nest one by one. These bring out number relationships (i.e. 2 is one less than 3, or 2 is one more than 1), which are essential for building a strong number sense. By using our fingers, children also have a visual that is helping them see and feel the difference between 4 and 3 or 3 and 2.

Highlighting the rules of counting. Children can see important principles of counting in action, like only counting each item once.

Emphasizing small quantities. A strong foundation with small quantities is essential for young children before they move on to larger numbers.

Good Times for Finger Play Rhymes

Imagine you are sitting looking out the window with your child or taking a walk; they point out a bird or a squirrel running across a tree branch, or ducks in the pond. This is the perfect time to introduce one of many fingerplays for preschoolers in the form of a song like 5 Little Ducks or 5 Little Squirrels. If you had peas for lunch, follow up with 5 Peas in a Pod. The important thing is that you and your child are finding math in a shared interest.

But fingerplays are equally fun anytime your child is restless or needs a little purposeful movement break. It's amazing how you starting to sing one of these songs brings even toddlers over to join in the fun. Children learn naturally through imitation and you will find that as you bring joy and playfulness to these fingerplays with your own voice, children will naturally want to join in. Most importantly, you will all be having fun together and connecting through math!

Five little squirrels sat up in a tree; (Hold up five fingers)
The first squirrel said, "Well, what do I see?" (Point to thumb)
The second squirrel said, "I see a dog!"
The third squirrel said, "I see a frog!"
The fourth squirrel said, "Let's run into the shade!"
The fifth squirrel said, "I'm not afraid!"
Then RUFF went the dog, and away the squirrels ran,
One, two, three, four, five!

Tips & Tricks

In order to make the math in these rhymes meaningful for young children we need to take an extra step and connect that math language to gesture. This will engage their bodies, eyes, voices, and minds in the learning, which makes it even more powerful!

Don't worry if your child just watches and listens at first. Little by little, you will find that they will enthusiastically make the big movements such as shaking their finger to scold the monkeys for jumping on the bed in 5 Little Monkeys. It may take longer to manage folding up or down their fingers, so you need to model the change in the number of fingers you have up.

Below you will find an example of rhymes and fingerplays for preschoolers. Using rhymes from your own childhood is a wonderful way to share language and culture with your children.

Beehive

This is a beehive (hand cupped)
Where are the bees?
Hidden away where nobody sees...
Now they come creeping out of the hive
One, two, three, four, five (extend fingers one by one)
Five bees!
Bzzzzzzzzz!

Five Little Birdies

Five little birdies went out one day over the hills and far away
The mother bird called "Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet"
But only four little birdies came to see
(continue decreasing number of birdies)

Las Ardillas

Una ardilla se balanceaba sobre una rama delgadita,
Como veía que resistía, fue a llamar a otra ardilla.
Dos ardillas se balanceaban sobre una rama delgadita,
Como veían que resistía, fueron a llamar a otra ardilla ...
Dos ardillas se balanceaban sobre una rama delgadita,
Como veían que resistía, fueron a llamar a otra ardilla.
... (sigue agregando una ardilla)

Ten Little Raindrops

One little, two little, three little raindrops,
Four little, five little, six little raindrops,
Seven little, eight little, nine little raindrops,
Ten little raindrops falling down!

Falling, falling, falling raindrops,
Falling, falling, falling raindrops,
Falling, falling, falling raindrops,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, splash!

Get More Songs and Rhymes

Download a PDF version of these and more songs and fingerplays for preschoolers.

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EN ESPAÑOL? PRESIONE AQUí

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Math at Your Fingertips: Songs and Fingerplays for Preschoolers

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En Español Do you remember enjoying fingerplay songs like 5 Little Monkeys or Un Elefante Se Balanceaba when you were young? You may not have realized that sharing these songs and fingerplays for preschoolers is a great way to bring math to life.

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Planning for the seven preschool science concepts (also referred to as science process skills or science learning objectives) is part of teaching preschool science.

Let's talk about each of those seven skills!

Science helps children develop and understanding of scientific concepts and develop inquiry skills.

There are seven basic science process concepts, or process skills, that preschoolers learn during the early years. Some of these concepts are higher level concepts that they may (or may not) master before kindergarten.

Knowing which process skills each of your students understand will help you to plan activities to support their current skills as well as to challenge them to use the next skill!

The Seven Basic Preschool Science Concepts

The 7 basic preschool science concepts are:

Science and Math concepts are interrelated. In the field of Mathematics, the skills of classifying, comparing and measuring are referred to as Math Concepts. In the field of science, these skills are referred to as Process Skills. Basic preschool science concepts and skills are the foundation for the Intermediate Process Skills required in the elementary years and beyond.

Let's look more closely at the 7 preschool science concepts your preschoolers learn throughout their preschool years. Note how each skill prepares the way for the next.

Observing is the first step in gathering and organizing information. Children use their senses to observe. When given a collection of items (for example apples) children use their senses to observe attributes such as color, size, sweet/sour, texture, and soft/crunchy.
2. Comparing: Looking at similarities and differences
Once children have had time to explore items, they begin to compare. They begin to notice similarities as well as differences such as same and different colors, weights and sizes of apples.
3. Classifying: Grouping and sorting
Classifying is a higher level of comparing. After observing and comparing, the children can take the information learned and begin sorting and grouping. They begin to separate items based on observations. They may separate apples by those with and without stems, by size, by color, etc.
4. Measuring: Working with or describing quantities
The next skill is measuring. Children can measure in many ways as they spend more time with items. With our apple example, the children may determine which apple is larger or smaller by using a tape measure or ruler rather than determining this based on comparing each apple to each other. They may begin measuring weight by using a balance scale rather than estimating based on holding each apple.
5. Communicating: Describing ideas (in journals, with pictures, writing, graphs, etc.)
Communicating is a common process skill that many preschool children develop. With regard to science, this refers to the ways in which children share their observations and findings. This can be done in many ways: talking about their observations, keeping a picture journal, drawing pictures of their findings with the teacher writing down their thoughts.

These 5 skills- Observing, Comparing, Classifying, Measuring and Communicating- provide the skills needed to develop further the Intermediate - or higher level - preschool science concepts which are:

6. Inferring: Using gathered and organized information

This is where children use information they have or know from one experience and base their expected outcome of new experiences on patterns from previous experiences
7. Predicting: Making reasonable guesses or estimations based on observations and prior knowledge and experiences.
Inferring is when children make sense or meaning out of the previous process skills. For example, your students have been helping to take care of a plant by watering it every other day. Your classroom is closed for a week. When you return, the plant is wilting. Your students notice that it is dry. You ask the children why they think the plant now looks the way it does. They may recall that plants need soil, water and sun. They may suggest the plant needs water.

Predicting is when the child states what they expect will happen. For young children, this may at first be a guess based on two choices (will the apple sink or float). As children have more exposure to the previous science skills, they will develop higher level predicting skills that are based on previous experience and therefore not random guesses.

Activities that support the preschool science concepts provide opportunities for children to use "failure" to learn. Only by failing can they learn what works and what does not work to solve a problem.

You can help preschoolers develop a positive attitude toward failure by providing activities that challenge them (but not so many that they are frustrated). Get to know which science process skills your individual students understand.

For example, a child will be frustrated "predicting" what will sink and float if they have not had time or experience using different objects at the water table to observe or classify in an informal way.

Provide many activities that support their current knowledge skills and introduce higher level process skills over time.

Planning Preschool Science Activities
More Preschool Science Information

I create daily preschool science activities for Members of my Preschool Cubby membership program (you can learn more about that here).
Preschool Science Interest Center

Here are some preschool science activities you can provide your preschoolers with to get them started!

Many of your activities will be informal (meaning YOU don't need to facilitate them).

Limited Space? No Problem!
These are the types of activities you would have in your Science Interest Center.

Click here to learn how to best set this interest center up in your classroom and find what types of materials to have on hand!

If you are limited in space in your classroom, here's an article to help you provide science activities to your preschoolers each day in spite of a small classroom!

More Science Articles & Ideas to Dig Into Preschool Science Concepts

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Planning for the seven preschool science concepts (also referred to as science process skills or science learning objectives) is part of teaching preschool science . Let's talk about each of those seven skills! Science helps children develop and understanding of scientific concepts and develop inquiry skills.

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Adapting and Enhancing Curricula: Trees Are Alive!

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Ally Guarino (Kindergarten teacher) and Nancy Taylor (coach) of the Grand Valley Center for Family Learning in Parachute, Colorado, talk about the process of adapting and enhancing the EL Education curriculum module Trees Are Alive!

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Common Student Misconceptions In Science

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Common Student Misconceptions In Science