{"id":999,"date":"2009-04-07T18:45:23","date_gmt":"2009-04-08T01:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/?p=999"},"modified":"2009-11-27T19:28:51","modified_gmt":"2009-11-28T02:28:51","slug":"introduction-to-math-a-math%e2%80%94minded-tour-of-your-child%e2%80%99s-preschool-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/?p=999","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to Math: A math\u00e2\u20ac\u201dminded tour of your child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s preschool classroom."},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Children develop mathematical <\/span>skills and discover mathematical relationships as they play with many different kinds of materials and have conversations about what they are doing. At preschool, look at what is in each interest area for children to use and listen to what they talk about with one another and with teachers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Environment<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\nHere are some examples of what you might see in different interest areas:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Block area:<\/strong> Blocks organized by shape on the shelves, with labels for each shape and for props.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0House corner:<\/strong> Dress-up clothes, props, pots and pans, and cooking utensils on shelves or hung with picture labels, so children can sort and put things away systematically; sufficient forks, knives, spoons, and plates for setting the table.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Table toys:<\/strong> Games, manipulatives, puzzles, and collectibles that children can use to count, sort, build, or otherwise organize at a table or on the floor.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Cooking activities:<\/strong> Measuring spoons, cups, and bowls to use in preparing food.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Library:<\/strong> Books about numbers and shapes.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Art area:<\/strong> Materials to make designs with different shapes, colors, and objects.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Sand and water tables:<\/strong> Different-sized containers and measuring tools.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Computers:<\/strong> Software that stimulates children to explore making shapes of different sizes, create designs, and repeat designs made first with real materials (mirroring).<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to what you see in interest areas, many daily classroom activities can have a math focus. You might notice children using mathematical thinking in these ways:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Taking the attendance<\/strong> for the day.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Figuring out how many cups,<\/strong> spoons, or napkins are needed at snack time.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Matching shapes<\/strong> as they put objects away, or grouping like things together during clean-up.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Taking a survey<\/strong> of favorite lunch foods and making a graph to compare the results.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Noticing shapes and patterns<\/strong> on a walk.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>The Teachers<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\nListen for mathematical conversations in your child’s classroom. Are teachers seizing opportunities to engage preschoolers in mathematical thinking as they play? For example, do they:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Ask children to think about their constructions<\/strong>: “Which is taller, shorter, longer…? What shapes do you see? Which is first, second, third, last?”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Help children notice designs<\/strong>: “I see you’ve used red and blue cubes. How do you know which comes next?”<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Encourage logical thinking skills<\/strong>: “How did you decide to put these objects together? What are some ways they are alike? Where should this one go?”<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>What You Should Not<\/em> See<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Children working on pencil and paper activities<\/strong> such as coloring a worksheet or completing a page of math facts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0Children drilling with flash cards<\/strong> or reciting number facts.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0A lack of attention to categorizing<\/strong> supplies.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>Questions to Ask<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0What kinds of materials do children use to sort and build?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0In what ways do you help children to explore patterns?<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0How and when do children make estimates?<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0What are some favorite books that emphasize mathematical thinking?<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0How do you keep track of each child’s development of mathematical skills?<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0What do you suggest parents do at home?<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0 Children develop mathematical skills and discover mathematical relationships as they play with many different kinds of materials and have conversations about what they are doing. At preschool, look at what is in each interest area for children to use and listen to what they talk about with one another and with teachers. \u00c2\u00a0 The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,37,15,13],"tags":[398,390,389],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=999"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3089,"href":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999\/revisions\/3089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pcgirl.net\/mom\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}