Hello and Welcome!
The purpose of this site is to provide access to a variety of mathematical sites, as well as inform and enlighten you on the importance of mathematical education in a pre-kindergarten classroom. We encourage teachers, as well as parents, to visit our site to further explore the possibilities children have with math in school.
From birth to five, young children develop “everyday mathematics” - informal mathematics ideas and skills about numbers, shapes, space patterns and other mathematical topics [1]. The role of an educator is to see your students not as empty vessels, but as young minds overflowing with ideas and possibility. One must not underestimate their potential for learning, and never fear challenging your students to do more then what is expected.
Why is math important in a preschool classroom? It's simple.. early mathematics preparation means later academic success. It is a well known fact that the United States math test scores are lower than desired. Much of this stems from not having our children property prepared and educated in their early years. Often teachers only touch on the very basics of early math, and do not enforce enough implication within their class environment. Children, however, are spontaneously interested in mathematical questions. They desire satisfaction for their intellectual curiosity [1]. We as teachers must get over our own presumptions of math, and instead focus on creating a curriculum that focuses on a deeper exploration for mathematical studies.
So please take the time to explore our website. What we hope to do is provide you, the educator, ideas and knowledge for better implementing math into your classroom. Our goal is to aim for classrooms that provide a systematic approach to learning as well as exploration of math that has coherent scope and sequence [2].
[1] Ginsburg, H. (2009). Early mathematics education and how to do it. In O. A. Barbarin & B. H. Wasik (Eds.), Handbook of child development and early education (pp. 403-428). New York: Guilford.
[2] Casey, B. (2009). Applying developmental approaches to learning math. In O. A. Barbarin & B. H. Wasik (Eds.), Handbook of child development and early education (pp. 478-498). New York: Guilford.