Maths - Explorers -  Measuring

Communication

The communication boards below may be useful to you for these activities.

Sensory Activities

Activity 1: Relational Play

(Relational play is a developmental stage where children begin to explore the properties of objects and how they relate to one another)

Give your child a selection of different-sized containers to explore. Include some toys (e.g. plastic animals) that will fit in some containers but not in others. Support your child to explore by putting things in and taking them out, stacking the containers or seeing which items fit inside other items.

Tip: If you provide something pourable, such as rice, your child can also explore capacity.

Activity 2: Bubbles

Playing with bubbles is lots of fun and provides a way to introduce language related to measurement.

Can you blow big bubbles? Small bubbles? Can you make them float up high or pop them when they fall down to the ground?

Activity 3: Pots and Pans Drum Kit

A set of pans and a wooden spoon is a fun (and noisy!) way to explore size. Big pans will make a different noise to smaller pans and deep pans may sound different to shallow ones.

You could try creating a call-and-response with your child by copying their drumming. We'd love to see a video of your work!

Comparing Sizes

Activity 4: Car Rolling

How far does a toy car travel when you roll it down a slope? Which car goes the furthest? What happens if you change the height of the ramp?

Activity 5: Size Sorting

Use the worksheets below to sort the big and small pictures.

For an extra challenge, try the "Colour AND Size" sorting sheets.

Activity 6: Size Ordering

Can you put these pictures in order, from smallest to biggest? How about biggest to smallest? Can you do this with your toys?

Start with just three pictures (with bigger differences in size) and then add more as you build up your confidence.

Measuring with Non-Standard Units

"Non-standard units" means measuring with something that is not normally a unit of measurement. This is a key step in understanding measure as it allows children to explore the concept with tangible objects. For example, the relationship between "5 cars" and "2 cars" is more concrete than saying "5 centimetres" or "2 centimetres".

Activity 7: Measuring with Bricks

(Lego or Duplo bricks will work best for this, as you can stick them together, but any building blocks will do.)

Can you make a tower of bricks as tall as the table? Or as tall as your fridge? How many bricks tall are you? Can you measure an adult in this way? Or a pet?

If you can, send in some pictures of your towers!

Activity 8: Measuring with Steps

How many steps does it take to reach your bedroom door from your bed? How about from your bedroom to the kitchen?

You could try counting steps outside too. How far can you get with 20 steps? Or 50 steps? Or 100?

Measuring with a Ruler

Activity 9: Measuring Crayons

Can you measure these crayons to the nearest centimetre? Can you measure other objects at home? Remember to start your measurement at zero!

Activity 10: Drawing Lines

Can you use the worksheet to draw a line of a certain length? Measure it again afterwards to check your work.