Estimation is an important skill. It's a good idea to teach your kids estimation from an early age, so they'll get the hang of it as soon as possible and start perfecting the skill. However, young children may have difficulty understanding this concept. Fortunately, there are several ways to teach children estimation, such as explaining the concept of estimation, and using fun activities to cultivate the skill.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Explaining the Estimation Concept
Step 1. Explain that estimation is similar to guessing
Your child may already be familiar with the concept of guesswork. Explain that estimates are similar, but the goal is to make the guess as accurate as possible. Learning how to make estimates effectively saves time and energy in situations where exact numbers are not required.
Step 2. Give an example
If you pay attention, you will often see examples of estimation in everyday life. For example, you might estimate how much your total grocery bill will be, how long it will take to drive somewhere, or how many glasses of milk are left in a milk carton. Explain this example to your child at an appropriate developmental stage.
When giving these examples, it's a good idea to explain why estimation, not computation, is appropriate in a given context. For example, tell your child that if you need to know exactly what the total grocery bill is, you can add up all the prices of the items and get the exact number, but in this case, you're just trying to get an estimate so you don't overspend
Step 3. Use study cards
To reinforce this concept, show the child study cards or pictures with various objects in them: animals, toys, whatever the child likes. Show the card to the child, but not long enough for him to count the number of objects, then ask the child to estimate the number. Give high scores for approximate estimates. Repeat this game until your child seems to understand the concept of estimation.
Method 2 of 2: Teaching Estimation Strategies with Fun Activities
Step 1. Focus on activities that interest your child
All children are different, so tailor activities to suit your child's particular interests. Make this activity fun! Children tend to have a lot of energy but their attention span is minimal, so the activities you choose should entertain them.
Step 2. Teach visual isolation
Your child may find it difficult to filter out unnecessary information and focus only on the estimated subject. You can teach this skill with a simple game. For example, you could place the red and blue balls on the floor, then ask the child to guess how many red balls there are (ignoring the blue balls).
Step 3. Play the guessing game
You can ask your child to guess how many candy nuts are in the bowl, how many coins are in the jar, or how many marbles are in the box. Emphasize the need for estimation, not counting or calculations.
On the internet there are online games that also help teach estimation. For example, your child can play “Guess It!” at https://www.theproblemsite.com/junior/estimation.asp, there Professor Puzzler will show several groups of colored dots, then pick them up again and ask what the estimate is. This site allows you to increase or decrease how long the dots will appear on the screen, so you can customize the game for your child
Step 4. Emphasize estimation vocabulary
Explain to your child that when people make estimates, they use words like “approximately”, “approximately”, or “more or less”. When you play the guessing game, encourage the child to use these words and to construct sentences that reflect estimates.
Step 5. Teach children to develop strategies
Remind children that estimation is not about guessing at random; but make measurable predictions. Instead of throwing random numbers, children should use visual cues to make estimates that are as close as possible.
Step 6. Don't give up
Repetition is the key. Children must practice this skill over and over again in an attempt to master it. Vary the activities so your child doesn't get bored, but don't give up when teaching estimation.
Step 7. Appreciate your child's progress
Children will be more interested and motivated if you reward them. For example, if you are playing a guessing game with peanuts, you can give some of the candy nuts to your child to eat when he makes a good estimate. If you use a coin, let the child keep it if the estimate is good.
Tips
- Make it a goal to teach your child that estimation is fun and workable. Play games to help your child develop skills, but make sure you link those skills to education and everyday life.
- Challenge your child, but don't make the activity too difficult at first. Children tend to become frustrated when they are asked to do something that is above their level of ability.
