Putting small rocks and little kids together can add up to big kindergarten readiness learning and fun. Learning about size can be a tricky concept for children.
Size is all about relationships, rather than the bigness or smallness of something. A child’s play table can be small, but it’s pretty big when compared with doll-house furniture. A sweater can be too big for a baby or too small for an older brother or sister but the sweater hasn’t changed it’s size at all. No wonder the brain has a challenge figuring out sizes. Young children need lots of exposure to size words and and lots of play experiences to understand how size works.
Playing with rocks can be fun for a child and help with size relationships. As your child plays, you may be able to find 2 rocks of different sizes and ask which one is big and which one is small. Use a third rock and ask now which one is big, now which one is small. Did it change? How did that happen? Did the rock grow? Try a few more and some different ones. It also seems like magic, that a rock can be the small one in a group and next time it might be the big one. Your child may want to simply play with the rocks, or may put them in order as to size. Either way, the brain is making connections, learning and having fun. Do you agree that it’s no wonder kindergarten readiness rocks when playing and learning can be so much fun?