Materials:
3 paper plates, each with a hand-drawn apple tree, and small circles cut out of paper for “apples” or a marker to draw apples
Try It Out:
- Place the 3 hand-drawn apple trees in front of your child. Place or draw 1 “apple” on 1 tree, 2 apples on another tree, and 3 apples on the third tree.
- Point to the tree with 2 apples and say, “This tree has 2 apples: 1, 2. Can you point to the tree that has more apples?”
- If your child points to the correct tree, say, “That’s right. This tree has more apples. Let’s count them: 1, 2, 3.”
- If your child points to the incorrect tree, say, “Let’s try again. This tree has only 1 apple. Let’s count them: 1. Here is the tree with more apples: 1, 2, 3.”
- Pointing again to the tree with 2 apples, say, “Now, point to the tree that has fewer apples.” Respond to your child’s answer as in number 2.
Making the Most of This Activity:
- Invite your child to count the apples after he points to the tree with more or fewer apples.
- Give your child some blank trees and let him place the apples on them before asking him which tree has more and fewer apples.
Reflect:
Was your child able to point to the trees with more and fewer apples? If not, try giving your child only 2 trees at a time.
