Frugal Friday: Early Math Learning Without Expensive Curricula

Here's a great resource I discovered this week for folks wondering how to teach their wee ones early math skills without spending hundreds of dollars on curricula over the first few years.  Although we've heard it a million times before, "You don't need to spend that kinda dough for them to really know," it's sometimes easier, especially for visual folks like me, to see some tangible objectives smack dab in front of our respective faces, especially if we're wondering, "What do they really need to know?"

Although it would not be entirely fair to lovely Dr. Ruth Beechick to give away her fabulous 2-buck secrets, here's a basic list for preschool through grade three:

1. Counts to 10, 100, 1000

2. Uses & Understands Ordinal Numbers

3. Recognizes Groups on Dominoes & Dice

4. Can Add (2) Groups to a Sum

5. Can Remove from a Group and Tell What's Left

6. Can Count by 2's, 5's, and 10's

7. Experience with Time, Measurement & Money

8. Understands Fractions

9. Uses Words of Quantity, Shape & Size

10. May Have Experience with Advanced Concepts, such as "Plus, Minus, Equals"

So, save yourself the time, energy, and headache of researching the very best mathematics curriculum for your wee ones, and put those hard-earned pennies to a higher, more profitable use: Dinner for two by candlelight.

Do you think it's nut-so to teach math skills without curricula?  What resources have you found that rock your socks?  If you were challenged to give your husband ten kisses anywhere, would it change his day...year...life?

Careful: I'm linked to Life as Mom for Frugal Friday.  

Click at your own spendthrift peril!