Day: October 1, 2021

Math Across the Curriculum

One of the recommendations from NAEYC and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics is:

• Integrate mathematics with other activities and other activities with mathematics.

There are so many opportunities to integrate math throughout the day and the learning environment.  Math is everywhere.  It should not be contained in one designated time of the day or learning center. The pre-math skills that young children explore can be incorporated into all areas and elements of the routine. Here are just a few ideas:

• Discuss the daily schedule or the steps of routines using math-related language such as first, second, third or now, next, later.
• Add a variety of measuring tools to the sensory table.
• Place rulers and measuring tapes in different areas of the learning environment.
• Create math games based on children’s favorite books or stories.
• Encourage children to notice the attributes of objects and materials, indoors and out.
• Provide loose parts or open-ended materials for children to explore.
• Cook with children using simple-to-follow recipes.
• Organize shape scavenger hunts.
• Sing, clap, and move to music.
• Add math-related materials to the dramatic play area.
• Practice deep breathing while counting to ten.
• Ask children to clean up all of the square or rectangle blocks.
• Integrate objects from nature into the math area for children to compare and contrast.
• Create simple shape puzzles using pictures of children and their families.
• Encourage children to complete class chores such as setting the table or watering plants as they count from one to five.
• Ask children to retell familiar stories using felt figures or story stones.
• Count the number of birds at the bird feeder on the playground.
• Plant a garden and collect data on its progress.
• Document attendance on a chart every day.
• Keep a weather journal, including daily temperatures, rainfall measurements, wind speeds, etc.
• Practice weaving and simple knitting.
• Decorate using patterns and talk with children about what they notice.
• Invest in or make your own light table.
• Weigh objects and estimate which items will be heavier or lighter than other objects.
• Provide materials for children to conduct sink/float experiments.
• Include dominoes, dice, and playing cards in different learning centers.
• Create simple riddles that describe shapes and other objects. For example, I am a rectangle and you look through me to see outside. What am I? (A window).
• Create variations of Memory or the magnet fishing game that includes items with different attributes.
• Use an egg timer or other tool to manage turn-taking and advanced warnings for transitions.

This list could go on and on.  There are so many math games and activities that can be introduced to children in the math center or in small group time. Be sure you are looking for opportunities beyond the math center to incorporate math exploration. Not every activity needs to be a long lesson. Sometimes a quick conversation will plant a seed that children explore later. As you can see from the list – sometimes, the teachers’ only involvement is to present materials and allow children to explore in open-ended ways.

Again, take some time to evaluate how math is extended into other areas of your learning environment.  Look for opportunities that you may be missing and work with your teaching team to capitalize on these additional learning opportunities.

For the main article Math in the Early Years, CLICK HERE

For the article NAEYC’s Recommendations for High-Quality Math Learning, CLICK HERE

For the article Pre-math Skills in Early Childhood, CLICK HERE

For the article Using the Language of Math, CLICK HERE

Using the Language of Math

One of the recommendations from NAEYC and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics is:

• Enhance children’s natural interest in mathematics and their disposition to use it to make sense of their physical and social worlds.

One way to encourage natural interest is to use mathematical talk as you engage with children. Mathematical talk is using math-related language to make observations and discuss everyday events and materials. Conversations about numbers and mathematics help to build and extend children’s mathematical learning.

ECE professionals should:

• Discuss attributes of objects regularly such as quantity, size, and shapes when interacting with children. Note: discuss means more than simply telling children to recite or label shapes; use open-ended questions to compare and contrast different shapes.
• Use math language casually throughout the day.
• Encourage children to use math language during play.
• Talk to children about their mathematical reasoning using open-ended questions.

Below are examples of mathematical talk that can be used throughout the day:

• “You have two ears just like the teddy bear. Let’s count—one, two.”
• “I have more goldfish than you do. See, I have one, two, three, and you have one, two.”
•  “How long do you want your yarn to be?”
• “Who do you think can run the fastest?”
• “Can you help me find the cup that is the same as this one?”
• “I notice that you made two different shapes with your playdough. Tell me about them.”
•  “What pattern do you see on the wall?”
• “How did you figure out that this container holds more water?”
• “How many children are in the block center? Let’s count: one, two, three.”
• “Would you like to sit at the round table or the rectangle table?”
• “Ms. Jenna is taller than me. She can reach the highest shelf in the closet.”
• “What is the first thing we do when we are finished with our snack?”
• “Tell me why you grouped these items together?”
• “Maybe Rosie can help you find the right size block. Can you describe what it looks like to her?”

For the next few days, pay attention to the conversations that you have with children.  Look for opportunities to add the language of math into those conversations.

For the main article Math in the Early Years, CLICK HERE

For the article NAEYC’s Recommendations for High-Quality Math Learning, CLICK HERE

For the article Pre-math Skills in Early Childhood, CLICK HERE

For the article Math Across the Curriculum, CLICK HERE

Pre-math Skills in Early Childhood

One of the recommendations from NAEYC and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics is:

• Ensure that the curriculum is coherent and compatible with known relationships and sequences of important mathematical ideas.

Long before children learn to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, foundational skills must be set in place. Like all other skills, children explore and learn these skills at their own pace. In many cases, skills build on previously understood concepts so teachers must work with individual children to promote play and exploration of these important skills.  It is also true that the skills themselves compound to become more complex. Teachers should be sure that the math tasks they are encouraging children to do are aligned with individual children’s abilities.

Here is a look at a few pre-math skills that are common in early learning environments:

• Matching is the ability to identify items that are the same. Children may begin by recognizing that items are the same color, then progress to matching by size, shape, quantity, and other characteristics.
• Geometry begins with recognizing the attributes of and identifying basic shapes.
• Sorting and classifying occurs when children begin to compare and contrast objects and placing them in groups based on different characteristics. Children begin by sorting objects by one characteristic and progress to sorting by multiple characteristics.
• Patterning is the way that children organize objects into designs. Children typically begin by recognizing and recreating patterns they notice around them before creating their own patterns.
• Sequencing is the skill of putting things into a particular order. The observation skills that children learn through less complex pre-math skills will help them recognize attributes of objects. Through comparing and contrasting, children can then organize materials based on size or length. Sequencing also happens during story-telling as children begin to tell stories from beginning to middle to end.
• Estimating is using observation skills to make an informed guess about an object. For example, seeing a pile of blocks, children could try to guess which bin will be big enough to hold all of the blocks. Eventually, children will be able to estimate the number of objects.
• Counting typically begins with rote memorization of the order of the words associated with quantity. You have probably met a child who could count to ten but didn’t understand what “ten” meant.
  • One-to-one correspondence is the ability to assign each object being counted with the correct number. A child may say, “I am three years old” while touching each of the five fingers on his hand. They begin to grasp the skill when they touch one finger for each number spoken, up to the number three.
• Measuring involves using traditional and non-traditional tools to determine details about objects, such as weight, size, length, and amount.

In addition to these foundational skills, children will also come to understand conservation, representation of numbers, fractions, time, and data collection and organization.

For the main article Math in the Early Years, CLICK HERE

For the article NAEYC’s Recommendations for High-Quality Math Learning, CLICK HERE

For the article Using the Language of Math, CLICK HERE

For the article Math Across the Curriculum, CLICK HERE