A child’s very early math experience is made up in large part of learning how to quantify, or to use numbers to describe characteristics of their world. Usually we think of this skill in terms of counting. But another form of quantifying is measurement. Whereas counting answers the question “How many?”, measuring assigns a number to attributes such as height, weight, length, and temperature.

Measurement allows kids access to all sorts of interesting questions about their environment. It’s also useful—we use measurement in chores, cooking, art, sports, sewing, building, etc. And measurement provides fertile ground for starting to think about fractions: what, for instance, do we call a measurement that’s somewhere between 4 inches and 5 inches?

Formal measurement skills (such as using a ruler) develop out of informal measurement experiences. Here ere are some easy, natural ways to introduce early measurement ideas in conversations and play with your toddler or preschooler.

Comparison Questions

Ask your child, “Which is bigger, ___ or ___?” This is a simple question with infinite variations, and easily tailored to your child’s ability and interests.

• Use different measurement words for different attributes. “Which is bigger?” is appropriate for some comparisons, but you might also use, “Which is taller?” or “Which is longer?” or “Which is more full?” Use comparisons questions to compare length, height, weight, volume, width, area, or even coldness or loudness.
• Don’t shy away from silly questions! “Which is bigger, the real car or the toy car?” “Which is heavier, the piano or the pencil?” These silly questions can be very fun for a young child, and still get them to think about, notice, and talk about measurable attributes.
• When your child is ready, make comparisons of objects that have very similar measurements. Your child might just guess, and that’s okay. When they begin to show interest in actually knowing, you have a great gateway to introducing formal measurement. If it’s not clear whether the pink cup or the glass tumbler has more water in it, pull out the measuring cups and find out!

Find Something Bigger/Smaller

This is a game that can be played in the home, outdoors, at the grocery store, in the car. It is better for preschoolers than toddlers, but older children can join in. Start with an object, and then ask your child to find something bigger. Proceed from there, taking turns finding bigger and bigger objects.

• You can also, of course, find smaller and smaller objects – just be sure to start with something very big.
• You can also use different measurable attributes – find something longer, or heavier. The term “bigger” is actually vague, because big could mean lots of things. Is a bookshelf bigger than a couch or smaller? It depends on what you’re measuring! But don’t avoid the term “bigger” – using the word can give you insight into how your child is thinking about “big”, and can open up conversations that lead to noticing other size attributes.

Fill It Up

We usually measure things with tools, like rulers, measuring cups, or scales. But informal measuring techniques can help children understand what formal tools are actually doing. Most informal techniques involve “filling up”:

• Fill different-size containers (cups, bowls, tupperware, etc.) with “scoops” of water or Cheerios or flour (whatever you’re willing to clean up!). Use a single measuring cup (it doesn’t matter what size) to scoop with. Notice that some containers take lots of scoops and some take very few.
• Draw outlines of shapes on paper and fill up the outline with objects of the same size, like small blocks, cotton balls, dry pasta. Again, notice that some shapes take more and some take fewer. Or you can fill the same shape with different-sized objects – goldfish crackers first, and then wheat squares. Notice that the size of the objects relates to how many fit.
• Line silverware up end-to-end and see how many pieces of silverware it takes to go from one end to the other, or all the way around. Then use silverware to measure other lengths as well. You can also use pens, crayons, pretzel sticks – anything long and thin and approximately the same length.

As with all activities on this blog, the most important thing is to follow your child’s interest, and to have fun! Your child naturally wants to learn about his/her world, and you as a parent are there to give them more tools to do so.