Give your child loads of opportunities to estimate space. This can be a family game if the conditions for involving other children are satisfactory. "How long do you suppose that table is?" Then it can be measured with a ruler or yardstick. The exact number of inches or feet is not critical. The question can be phrased so that the number of lengths is the critical factor. For example, "How many times would this ruler go across that table? You guess and I'll guess. Then we'll measure it. " You can practice estimating the distance across a room or up a wall, for example, in handprints, footsteps, paces, etc.

Measuring wall. Every home should have one wall that is used for keeping track of growth. Measure your child frequently and date each entry directly on the wall. Let him see how much he has grown as you measure him every month or every three months.

The same thing can be done with plants. There are many bulb plants that grow quickly in a pot or jar. Put a ruler beside the container and let your child record the amount of growth each day. He can, keep a chart, with your help, to determine the daily growth.

Counting and clustering real objects. Use beads or paper clips or buttons or poker chips-anything your child can grasp and that is not too law or too tiny. Let him arrange them into patterns or designs. Try clustering them into groups of two or three. Ask him for a specific number or trade items with turn.

Concentration. This game can be played in a number of ways. Generally, a specific number of playing cards are placed, face down, on the table. Your child turns a card over, one at a time, attempting to match two cards. The game calls for remembering where specific cards are placed, as he systematically searches for pairs. If he does not match a pair, cards are kept face down. Pairs are removed from the table. The game can be played with two people-or more.

"Fish" can also be played with playing cards. The object is to ask your opponent if he has a card you need to make a pair. Each player starts with four cards. Players take turns asking their opponent for a matching card. If the opponent does not have the "match," the asking player draws from the card stack. The game however, can be played as a multiplication game. Whatever pair is gotten, the child doubles or triples the face value of the cards.

Maintaining a daily calendar teaches, in an almost incidental way, adding by seven and multiplying by seven. Children can make their own calendars, with assistance, and then keep track of the passage of tune by crossing out each day after it has passed.

There are many ways of using division around the house if opportunities are used when they are available. In fact, creating them helps even more. Let your child assist you in separating things into even clusters. For example, after baking cookies, let your child assist you in solving the problem of how many should go into each place. As an incidental factor, mention, "That's right, twenty-one cookies and seven plates means each person gets three cookies-because 7 times 3 is 2 1. "

Mathematical, sequential reasoning enters into all kinds of daily uses. Determining halves, quarters, thirds, et cetera, when separating things is done daily in many households; for example, "Let's split this apple. You take half and I'll take the other half." Asking children to follow the directions involved in simple cooking activities gives them the opportunity to measure, mix, and follow a sequence to a natural conclusion.

Here's a game that is fun and can be regularly played. Write a number over each letter of the alphabet. Let your child use a "master card" so that he can refer to it. That is, A has a 1 over it, B has 2, C has 3, etc. Then write a message like "Dad + Jimmy = _________." The problem is solved by changing each letter to a number, adding them, and then getting the total. You can also use division by writing "Dad divided by C = - ." (Likewise, you can use subtraction and multiplication as well.)