Exploring measuring tools in preschool

We have been exploring the use of measuring and cooking tools in our prek class. The children loved using the measuring tools to scoop up dried beans…

Beans have a wonderful quality to them. They feel smooth to the touch which invites hands on exploration…

As the children explored the beans, we were able to talk more about our measuring tools which included measuring cups, measuring spoons, and measuring scales…

Later in the day, we played a short measuring tool sorting game. We sorted our measuring tools by size and used terms like 1/2 cup and 1/3 cup and 1/4 cup…

Then we dumped them all into the water table for a little more measuring cup play…

It was quite the day for exploring our measuring tools!

By Deborah Stewart|2011-09-17T06:00:34-04:00September 17th, 2011|

About the Author: Deborah Stewart

Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed. has been working and teaching in the field of early childhood education for over 30 years. Deborah currently owns and teaches in her own part-time, private preschool called The Children’s Studio. Deborah’s deep passion for teaching and working with young children is documented and then graciously shared with millions of readers around the world through her blog and other social networking communities. Deborah believes that young children learn best through play and exploration and embraces this belief in all that she does in her own classroom so that she can effectively and passionately share rewarding, real- life, tried-and-true practices with other teachers, parents, and leaders across the field of early childhood education.

8 Comments

Rashmie @MommyLabs September 17, 2011 at 3:23 pm - Reply

Loved these hands-on activities to introduce this aspect of math. I use these with my daughter often in the kitchen. And on our math desk – we use weighing scale, measuring tape and such.
Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed. September 17, 2011 at 9:24 pm - Reply

We also love using these types of activities to introduce a little math:)
andiejaye September 17, 2011 at 11:46 pm - Reply

i love it! is that colored water in the last picture? i would’ve never thought of that! those clear measuring cups are neat also… that way you can see how full they are….scooping and dumping. i could watch kiddos do it all day… you can just see those gears turning in their eyes!

ps…voted for you at parents mag yesterday!! go teach preschool!!!
- Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed. September 17, 2011 at 11:48 pm - Reply
  
  Thank you for the vote AndieJaye:) And yes, that is colored water. We add color all the time!
Bethany September 18, 2011 at 5:11 pm - Reply

Beans and scoops are a staple of my son’s playtime! I think I might even give these as 2nd birthday presents from now on!
- Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed. September 19, 2011 at 12:13 pm - Reply
  
  Haha – well that would make a simple gift that leads to lots of fun!
Terri September 20, 2011 at 11:16 pm - Reply

I love this idea! I’m definitely going to try it with my girls. I know they’ll have fun with it… and maybe learn a bit too!
- Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed. September 21, 2011 at 7:18 pm - Reply
  
  They are always learning:)