Einstein Never Used Flashcards...Chapter 3. Playing with numbers, How children learn about Quantity

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Permalink Reply by Janine Ragan on January 26, 2010 at 7:57pm

I agree with Jane and also find it fascinating to watch children make discoveries and think mathematically. In the book it states that children learn math principles by working on their own unsupervised with whatever objects they like to use. I have always felt that a hands on approach to Math really seems to promote discovery and exploration of Math concepts. I feel it is very important to let the children just play with the Math manipulatives before using them to teach a lesson. Children often make their own mathematical discoveries through play just as the book states. I would LOVE to check out the Math Program Big Math for Little People!! I love the idea of the Planning a Picnic Activity on pg. 56.

Permalink Reply by ALYSON CARROLL on January 26, 2010 at 9:15pm

I agree with this chapter's idea that for young children play activities involving manipulatives are the best way to facilitate the development of quantity and number concepts. When we have "dinner" in the kitchen area in my pre-k classroom, I can watch the kids learn from each other as they help each other set the table for the number of people sitting there and decide what and how many items to put on each plate. These types of activities are great for building vocabulary concepts related to quantity, such as: more, less, some, all, etc. I like the tip at the end of the chapter "If you just do what comes naturally in your day, you will build number skills." This reminds us of the value of the learning that occurrs during the play experiences of young children and thier natural discovery when they engage in their world.

Permalink Reply by Nicole Stanewich on January 27, 2010 at 11:59am

The hands on approach is definately the way to go with math at this age. It's so funny that when students are working in math centers (graphing, measuring, counting, sorting) they do not even realize they are doing work. They think it is so much fun! Jane- The Math Their Way program you always speak about sounds great. Maybe there is a way in which we could incorporate it with Everyday Math (which is lacking in Kindergarten).

Permalink Reply by Nicole Medvedik on January 27, 2010 at 12:01pm

I agree with this chpater that play and exploration is important in understanding basic math concepts. It amazes me when I watch my four year old nephew. He will line up all of his cars and count them in a row. Then he will put them into groups based on thier color or size and then count how many groups he has. The greatest thing is, he is doing this independently without any guidance from an adult. The same idea applies in my classroom as well. As I mentiontioned before, part of our Everyday Math curriculum calls for exploration with many math manipulatives. When using the Geo-Boards, students are learning different shapes, when using unifex cubes they are grouping and counting, when using flats, longs, and cubes, they are making the connections to start with counting by 10's and then changing to counting by 1's. This is a great foundation for them to have, especially when it comes to counting money. Even just doing our calendar activities gives children exposure to numbers and different math skills. They learn that each day we count up one, we count the number of days we have been in school and then use that amount in a money trade. The book is right when it states that numbers are all around us!

Permalink Reply by Julie on January 27, 2010 at 1:20pm

I agree that learning math through manipulatives and play is an excellent way to introduce various math concepts to students. I have a discovery center in my room where I place 6 different math manipulatives at a time. The manipulatives that I rotate include: different colored insects, counting bears, lacing beads, unifix cubes, links, pegs, geo shapes, and even small counting people. I find the students constantly sorting, counting, comparing, measuring, and other essential math concepts all on their own. Through their interest in the manipulatives and their natural tendency to explore the students are gaining valuable math based information that is also being reinforced through teacher based lessons at circle time. I also think it is crucial that these manipulatives be introduced at the pre-k level and even at home with the parents because students who are familiar with the manipulatives and have explored their possibilities through play will ultimately have a better understanding of using the manipulatives during different math operations. Exposure is definitely the best way to provide our students with the background knowledge they will need to succeed.

Permalink Reply by Lindsay Francese on January 27, 2010 at 4:20pm

After reading chapter three I found myself repeating, “Our children are doing mathematics all the time!” I thought about the things my students do on a daily basis. Math is everywhere and in everything we do; from the start of our day until the students walk out the door to go home. They use math manipulatives in the discovery center, make tickets for a puppet show (one-to-one correspondence), divide money from the cash register, and use number magnets in the library area. Calendar and passing out afternoon snacks are other ways my students are involved in math related activities. This chapter really confirms the importance of “play” in early learning.

In the preschool we do not have a math curriculum, and I would be interested in learning more about Big Math for Little People. It seems like there were interesting hands on activities that would be great to implement in our discovery centers. I tried to research this program and Herbert Ginsberg, but found little information. If anyone was able to locate more information please let me know.

Permalink Reply by Janet Steever on January 27, 2010 at 4:49pm

I love math and I really enjoyed this chapter. Like Jane, I taught Math Their Way in 1st grade and continue to use many practices from the program for the pre-k. I also would love to check out Big Math for Little People. I felt this chapter was right on target with developmental objectives for the 2-6 year old. I was doing math assessing for our progress report at the time of reading and it was and always has been so interesting to watch the thought processes occurring when a child is counting, sorting, patterning, etc. I also tried a few things while playing with my 2 year old granddaughter just to see where she is in the developmental process. I love that term DEVELOPMENTAL. We as teachers need to continue guiding, directing, and enhancing their learning through play. It is so interesting to sit back and allow a child to lead. Don't you just love teaching!

Permalink Reply by Susan Dugan on January 27, 2010 at 7:23pm

Not having taught in the primary grades, I thought the chapter was very enlightening and really enjoyed the Discovering the Hidden Skills sections. I found myself going into classrooms and experimenting with the Counting Principles with different children to see if what the authors said held true. It did! This chapter has helped me understand that math is all around us and, reinforced the knowledge that through parent, and adult interaction childrn's independent performance improved.

I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this book and are able to apply and understand what the authors discovered through rersearch. Sometimes when reading professional books I can get lost in the jargon and come away feeling inadequate. That is definitely not the case with this book. Each one of you are relating in a positivie way with the author's message, and I think that is very empowering. You are the experts in early childhood education. Teaching young children is your life work. These authors aren't telling you anything you haven't experienced on a daily basis with either your own children or your students. What I think they ared. oing is articulating your beliefs and eperiences and, in turn, you are sharing and supporting each other's work.

Permalink Reply by Sue Castellano on February 1, 2010 at 7:05pm

I found this chapter extremely interesting. I too am a huge fan of Math Their Way, having used it for several years when I taught first grade. I always felt that my first graders truly understood the math concepts we were teaching when we used that program - particularly place value. It truly met the children where they were and allowed them to move ahead when they were ready. And play - or "free exploration" - was a big part of it. I especially liked th Discovering Hidden Skills and Teachable Moments sections of this chapter. As Janet said, it is fascinating to watch the preschoolers' thought process when patterning, sorting, counting, etc.!