Tinkering is a bold and exciting approach to curriculum that assumes several basic truths about children. 1. Children are smarter than you think they are. 2. Children are born problem-solvers. 3. Children are capable. 4. Children have great ideas. 5. Children learn from failure. 6. Children are competent. It also assumes several basic truths about […]
The Early Math in Illinois:Recognizing and Raising the Profile report also describes the recommendations for delivering professional development in early math to ECE practitioners. The Illinois Early Math Advisory Committee came together and began their work by addressing these 9 Key Questions: 1. What does research say about the correlation between early math competency and […]
Hello Math at Home Friends, We at Math at Home are looking for some feedback about our site. If you have a moment could you click on the link below and answer a few short questions? We really appreciate your thoughts and opinions. Thank you. Math at Home Survey
Is it enough to have wonderful math manipulatives, organized and available for children to play with, or do we need to be more systematic and intentional with the materials we present as well as in the way we present them? I’ve been writing about math manipulatives on Mondays for 2 years, but I thought it […]
If you were to try and explain to parents why you think early math education is as important as early literacy, what would you say? Would you explain to parents that children begin to make sense of the world by observing all of its dimensions, shapes, characteristics, and relationships? This happens before the acquisition of […]
I know I have been pretty specific about what makes a “good” graphing experience for young children and what falls short. I tend to get pretty hard-headed about these things, really believing that there are “rules” that when followed, will produce a pretty good experience. The graphing mat pictured above breaks many of my “rules.” […]
Invariably, yes. Highly qualified teachers – defined as those with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher and paid public school salaries- do produce consistently higher gains for children in the area of math. This comes from the Early Math in Illinois: Recognizing and Raising the Profile report, researched and written by Dr. Sallee Beneke. Well-prepared teachers […]
This may not come as a surprise to those of you who currently have very young children or who currently work with very young children, but last night, while out with my family at a local restaurant, a young mom was holding her baby and her smart phone, and, if I didn’t know better, I […]
Last week, I was fortunate to speak at an Opening Minds event for Infant and Toddler providers. It took place at University Center downtown on State Street. When I arrived, I was so pleased to see a few familiar faces and many, many new ones. The goal of my presentation was to introduce more people […]
I had an opportunity to observe a wonderful teacher use the children’s classic Caps For Sale as the foundation for a graphing activity. She first read the story with the large group. The children knew the book well and read along with her. They acted out the monkey parts and tried on all sorts of […]