More or Less?

Your Child Will Learn

Comparing the amounts of two groups of objects

Wherever you are (home, playground, bus, store, etc.), direct your child’s attention to compare groups of objects. Try to find groups with 5 items or less.
Ask your child which group has “less” and which group has “more.” Start with groups that have a big difference between “less” and “more,” so your child will not need to count.
Once your child identifies “less” and “more” easily, increase the difficulty. Compare two groups that are closer in number, and count to check which has “more” and which has “less.”
Try the game in different locations as you move throughout your day.

PAUSE

Take a deep breath in together. Exhale slowly, counting down on your fingers from 5 to 0.

ENGAGE

“Let’s look at the fruit in our bowl. Are there more oranges or more bananas? Yes! There are 5 bananas but only 1 orange.”
“Do you think there are more grown-ups or kids on this bus? It’s hard to tell, right? Let’s count and compare.”

ENCOURAGE

When comparing amounts that are close together, have your child count one group on their hand and “borrow” your hand to count the other group. Compare fingers to help find the group with more.
“Hmmm… I’m not sure that there are more kids on the swings than there are on the soccer field. Let’s count together and see.”

REFLECT

Which was the trickiest thing to figure out “more” or “less”? Why do you think it was tricky?

Try comparing groups of 3 objects or fewer.

Compare groups with larger amounts (up to 10 objects).

They will be able to accurately determine which groups of up to 5 objects have “more” or “less.”

15 minutes

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