Young Preschool
November 2017
Are preschool children really ready for mathematics?
If there is any question about whether preschoolers are ready to learn mathematics, observing their play shows how interested they are in this subject. Here are some comments made by young mathematicians: Six children and six napkins. And a mud-soup spoon on top of each one. I won’t be five until after José. But then it will be my turn to be the oldest. My new shoes cost my mom eleventyeight-one dollars. When the big hand points down at the six, I’m going to clap my hands for cleanup. You be the daddy kitty because you’re the tallest. She’s the baby because she’s the littlest. And I’ll be the mommy so I can sit in the middle. During the past 25 years, researchers have come to appreciate how much young children enjoy and are capable of mathematical investigation and reasoning. In observations of children’s free play, experts have been amazed not only by how much the children use mathematical ideas but also by the advanced level of their thinking. Other researchers say preschoolers actively construct basic mathematical concepts and use them to solve problems. The field has further discovered that early mathematics is more than just numeracy, or reciting numerals or rote counting. It also includes investigations into patterns, size and quantity, and spatial relations (the position and movement of people and objects in space relative to one another). Many people in the field therefore prefer to talk about mathematical literacy rather than numeracy. In fact, observations of preschoolers’ spontaneous activities show that number exploration accounts for the lowest percentage of mathematical investigation. Young children are much more interested in patterns and shapes and the transformations brought about by processes like adding and subtracting.
Reference: www.highscope.org
Creative Curriculum
Mathematics
20. Uses number concepts and operations
a. Counts
b. Quantifies
c. Connects numerals with their quantities
21. Explores and describes spatial relationships
a. Understands spatial relationships
b. Understands shapes
22. Compares and measures
23. Demonstrates knowledge of patterns