Learning Math During Mealtime

This video is in Spanish with English captions.


Finding and talking about math throughout the day can go a long way in supporting the early math and language development of young children. These short, animated videos are designed specifically for Spanish-speaking and Spanish/English bilingual home-based child care providers. Each video highlights ways in which in-home child care providers can promote their children’s math skills during routine activities, such as cleanup, playtime, mealtime, and story time.

This video shares the importance of number and quantities, one to one correspondence, and spatial awareness when setting the table and sharing food. It’s important for child care providers to know that:

  • Math learning starts at birth.
  • Caregivers help grow children’s math skills.
  • Noticing and talking about the math in our surroundings supports math learning. 
  • Math is numbers and so much more.

Using This Video

Watch and discuss this video as part of workshops or one-on-one meetings with home-based child care providers. Then, use these suggested questions to have a conversation about other ways providers can blend math learning into their routines:

  1. This video is an example of the sort of math exploration that home-based child care providers can do with their children while cleaning up. Can you think of other activities throughout the day that offer the opportunity to explore math with children?
  2. DREME Math Snacks are reminders that math is all around you. Use this Math Snack for measuring while cooking as a starting point for creating your own Math Snack. What did you think of?

Activity Author

New York University DREME Team