Introducing new skills is always a little nerve wracking around here. At least it is with Brixton (4). He doesn’t like to “not know” something, and is easily frustrated when he can’t figure something out. He’ll shut down, walk away, and needs a lot of time to decompress and reset to try it again. Sometimes we’re talking weeks before he’ll try again. The struggle is real some days.

So when our jelly bean counting activity naturally turned into an addition game, I was so nervous for how we’d handle the change. I cut up some index cards and wrote numbers 1-5 a few times along with a few “+” and “=” signs. We already had out muffin tins, which are perfect for learning equations. We started small: 1+2= ?, 2+2=?, etc… and repeated the equation form each time we read it. “Two plus two equals….” so that Brixton could really get the hang of how to read the equation properly.

Then, the real fun started! Adding the jelly beans to each compartment for the visual representation of each number.
Identify the number. Count out the jelly beans. Identify. Count. Find the total. “One plus two equals….?” THREE!! Once he figured out the answer, he placed that number in a silicone cupcake liner.

I really only planned on doing small numbers, maybe up to 6. But he was really enjoying himself, and asked for “12” over and over, so I figured why not? He did great with that too and we kept going.

My lesson in all this was simple. Don’t let my own fears of “what if” get in the way of following my kids’ lead on learning. There was a solid chance that Brixton would have taken one look at the set up and balked. Instead, he blew me away with his eagerness to figure it out. I just had to show him what to do, and then get out of his way!

How do you introduce new concepts to your kids? We’d love to see your new ideas or if you try out jelly bean math! Tag us on Instagram @thebplusmama and give us a follow to see what we’re up to on a day-to-day basis!