Abraham was 100 years old when Issac was born. And, when an adult thinks about this, eyebrows go up and pity starts to flow. But for a child, 100 years may as well be 1000 because time is abstract.
The 4 Year Curriculum uses the story of Abraham and Sarah to teach patience. To help the child understand how old 100 years is a counting activity is combined with the Fine Motor Skill Activity.
Supplies:
100 beans, coins, or chocolate chips
2 pieces of paper
writing utensil
Activity:
To demonstrate the number 100 – pour out a pile of beans, coins, or chocolate chips. Count out ten groups of ten. When all of the groups are created, count each group by tens to 100.
To make the activity more personal, have the child count out an additional four beans (or the amount of beans for the child’s age). On a piece of paper, have the child write his name and the number of beans to represent his age. Then write “Abraham 100” to represent the 100 beans.
Bonnie shared on our ABC Jesus Loves Me Facebook Group page that she took this activity further by collecting beans for “mommy and daddy’s ages,
grandparents, and great grandma. My son couldn’t believe Abraham and
Sarah could have had a baby when they were OLDER than great grandma! It
worked perfectly!”
How do you explain large numbers to your child?
