Kindergarten Activity No. 64: How Many?

An Estimation Challenge Game for Kids

Estimating means finding a value which is close enough to the answer. We use estimation in everyday life, when shopping, when cooking or when trying to estimate time or distance. Estimation involves thinking, which means that when we are estimating, we are making a ‘thoughtful guess’. Children love guessing games. Through guessing games, we can help them learn how to make an estimation. Estimation enhances children’s problem solving and critical thinking skills.

IMPORTANT

Children are not born knowing how to estimate and may confuse quantity with size. Some jars might seem fuller because objects are bigger. Before starting the activity make sure they understand that they have to find out the quantity.
While doing the activity I encourage you to use Mathematics keywords such as: about, close to, almost and approximately.
Mathematics is used in every area of our lives, all the time! Estimating is a math skill we use in everyday life. It has to be taught by practising and reasoning.

Estimation activity

For this activity you need:

Transparent glass jars or any other transparent containers.
Up to 20 (depending on your child’s ability) small objects you can find from around the house. These might include rocks, bottle caps, pompoms, Lego blocks, paperclips, dried pasta, cotton balls, balloons, corks, magnetic letters, crayons, and small toys.
‘How Many’ record sheet. (You can do one yourself as shown in the picture).

Start by filling the jars with the small objects you found. Make sure there are enough objects in the jar to make the activity challenging. Children shouldn’t be able to easily count the objects in the jar.
Encourage your child to look carefully at the jar and examine it. Then ask him/her to try to make a guess. You can ask him/her: “How many objects do you think there are in the jar?”
Once your child makes a guess, encourage him/her to write down the scores him/herself on the ‘How Many?’ record sheet you have prepared. (As indicated in the picture.
Finally ask your child to count the items in the jar and check their guesses. Record the actual amount on ‘How Many?’ record sheet and together with your child check how accurate s/he was in his/her estimate.