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Hey! What’s up? 🙂
Today I’d like you to imagine a house bursting with laughter and buzzing with questions. An enthusiastic child explains their ideas while the whole family listens, engaged. At the kitchen table, an activity takes the spotlight and together everyone explores concepts, tackles challenges, and shares moments of discovery.
Several studies and authors—such as Lehrl et al. (2020) and Voorhis et al. (2013)—have shown that family involvement in students’ educational journey boosts not only their academic achievement but also their overall and creative development.
Preschool activities for families to enjoy together
This is why I encourage you to share the following challenges with your students’ families. Specifically, the challenges are designed for the last grade of Early Childhood Education.
Just imagine the sense of connection that can come from tackling challenges like these together—fun is guaranteed! And the cherry on top? Students get to develop their mathematical skills while having a blast.
Download this activity to share it with your students’ families:
In the first challenge, the one with the backpacks, participants must identify and compare attributes to justify the correct answer.
In the second one, they solve Takuzu puzzles. Since the challenges increase in complexity and some may be difficult for students at this age, encourage families to work through them together with the help of questions and clues. For example:
- Do you see a row or column with two circles of the same color? What does this tell us? What is missing? What color should the two missing circles be?
- If there are three circles in this row (or column), can the missing one be figured out? How do you know?
I love thinking about how activities like this one can transform family time into a unique learning experience filled with fun and laughter. Family involvement not only improves children’s academic performance, but it also fosters their overall growth and creativity.
Designed for the last grade of Early Childhood Education, this resource invites families to I hope you enjoy sharing challenges like these with families as much as I do. Let’s continue making math a magical and accessible experience for everyone.
Big hug,
Judith, from Innovamat
Van Voorhis, F. L., Maier, M. F., Epstein, J. L., & Lloyd, C. M. (2013). The impact of family involvement on the education of children ages 3 to 8: A focus on literacy and math achievement outcomes and social-emotional skills (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2013–002). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=354
Lehrl, S., Ebert, S., Blaurock, S., Rossbach, H.-G., & Weinert, S. (2020). Long-term and domain-specific relations between the early years home learning environment and students’ academic outcomes in secondary school. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 31(1), 102–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2019.1618346
Judith’s Letters
Are you passionate about early childhood education and eager to support little ones in their journey through the world of mathematics?
Each month, I write a letter specially crafted for teachers like you—who embrace the classroom with both excitement and challenges ✨.
I send it personally by email, filled with ideas, resources, and reflections to support you in teaching math in early childhood with meaning and warmth.
Many teachers are already receiving them—and in fact, they inspire me with everything they share. It’s a living exchange, where we all keep learning 💜.
If you’d like to receive these letters, just click here and they’ll arrive in your inbox each month.
