Home » ExchangeEveryDay » Math in the Preschool



ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues


<< Previous Issue | View Past Issues | | Next Issue >> ExchangeEveryDay
Math in the Preschool
May 1, 2006
Regardless of the changes in technology, the market for well-crafted messages will always have an audience.
-Steve Burnett

In the new Exchange book, Curriculum: Brain Research, Math, Science, Ann Epstein observes...

"Children want to count everything. To support children's natural love of counting:

  • Encourage children to gather and distribute materials at snack, clean-up, and small-group time.
  • Plan group activities that involve multiple numbers of the same items such as small toys and blocks, or materials collected by children on a nature walk such as pebbles or shells.
  • Make sign-up sheets that involve numbers. For example, on a sheet to take turns with a new camera, children made hatch marks after their names to indicate how many turns they wanted.

Adult-child interaction: We learn more from the questions children ask us than from the ones we ask them. Instead of drilling children, try the following:

  • Listen to the kinds of things children commonly compare, such as materials ("My tower has more blocks than yours."), things in representations ("I drew more teeth in my brother's mouth because he talks louder."), and ages ("My cousin is older than us. She's seven.").
  • Comment on the sets of corresponding materials that children generate. ("Jason, I see you put one bear on each block. You have five bears on five blocks.")
  • Use written numbers and support children who are interested in writing numbers themselves."

Contributed by Exchange, The Early Childhood Leaders' Magazine Since 1978

ExchangeEveryDay

Delivered five days a week containing news, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.

What is ExchangeEveryDay?

ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.

This book is on sale this week for 20% off on the Exchange web site at
http://mail.ccie.com/go/eed/1064





Post a Comment

Have an account? to submit your comment.


required

Your e-mail address will not be visible to other website visitors.
required
required
required

Check the box below, to help verify that you are not a bot. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this form.



Disclaimer: Exchange reserves the right to remove any comments at its discretion or reprint posted comments in other Exchange materials.