I don’t post very much about the work I do with Monkey. I do “teach” her, but she is three and I feel the majority of what she should be learning right now is simply imitative play. Her brain is working so hard to understand her world, I don’t need to bog her down with academics. She makes certain leaps and connections on her own, and I take her interests and expand them as far as she is comfortable with at this point.

However, she can feel left out of the “school” work, especially when we “do math.” Why is it all of a sudden you are “doing school” or “doing math” when you start to homeschool? Anyway, I digress.

There are certain math concepts that are good for a preschooler to have an understanding of. Basic counting and sorting are good places to start. I have found a nifty little resource for allowing her to work on these skills in a way she seems to enjoy – Zoo Pals Funtensils!

I picked up a box of these in the fall, and she has been using them all year long! She loves them. She started off just by counting them. But now she sorts them; by color, by use (fork, spoon, knife) and by animal. Then she counts how many are in those different groups.

Lately, she has been sorting them, and then selecting a numbered flash card to lay on top that matches the number of utensils in her group. It keeps her busy during math time, and she feels like she is an active part of our little homeschool. All for under $2. Plus, they work great for feeding various “babies” and doing double duty as part of her play kitchen. They are also dishwasher safe. What more can a busy mom ask for?