Where language and math meet in Pre-K/K

There is a gray area, especially in early language development, where language, math concepts, and cognition meet - and we formally call this area "quantitative language."

Basically, when looking at preschoolers and kindergartners, it is important to teach them basic quantitative concepts, such as "more / less" or "big medium and small" or "most / least" or "bigger/ smaller" or "biggest / smallest."

Why is this so important? Well, one, it increases the number of describing words / adjectives your child knows. Two, it helps your child sort and categorize - something which is awesome for development of cognition. And three, these terms are very useful in more advanced play. And more advanced play = more advanced language, and cognition, overall.

So what are some ways to sneak quantitative concepts into daily routines?

1. Playing Blocks - Ask your child who has more blocks, you or her. Or, who has the most blocks? You, her, or dad?

2. Drawing and coloring - see if your child can make the picture even bigger / smaller. Or, ask your child what is the biggest/ smallest thing on the paper.

3. Meal time - does your child want more beans, or less beans? Who has the least rice, and why?

4. Stuffed Animals - try ordering animals from tallest to shortest, or biggest to smallest. Make a point of teaching "medium" when lining them up, too. "Let's order... let's see... big, medium, and small!"

5. Worksheets - when it comes to really visualizing big / medium / small and more / less, worksheets are great help! Keep a look out for K-1 worksheets which work on circling / coloring based on these concepts. For example, check out Smarter Speech SLP's worksheets on quantitative concepts - 1 (free) and 2 - to practice these concepts in a story / game format.

Happy Talking - and happy counting too!

Disclaimer : Smarter Speech is a pediatric speech therapy / speech-language pathology practice for toddlers and children providing in-home and teletherapy services in and around Mountain View, CA and Los Gatos, CA. Smarter Speech Blog aims to provide free speech and language tips for parents educators and therapists. However, this post is not providing speech-language pathology services. This is general information, not speech -language pathology or speech therapy. This article does not assume or create a client – SLP relationship. The author is not liable for any losses or damages due to actions or failure to act based on the content in this article. If you need assistance with a child’s speech or language needs, please contact a speech-language pathologist in your area.