Math & Making Sense of the World Around Us
We know that nurturing a strong math foundation from an early age encourages academic success. So many of the future endeavours and careers that our kids will seek require critical thinking, problem solving, and analytic skills.
Our CGS Early Starts/Preschoolers are taught to draw and use touch points when learning numbers and to begin counting. Each number, one through nine, has a certain amount of corresponding points that help them count. As they learn to count the dots on each number, their brain begins to assign a value to each number, as well.
Early math is not about the rote learning of distinct facts like what does 3 + 7 equal. Rather, it’s about children actively making sense of the world around them. Unlike drills or worksheets with one correct answer, open-ended, playful exploration encourages children to solve problems in real life situations. Because the situations are meaningful, children can gain a deeper understanding of number, quantity, and patterning. For example, it is easier to understand what “six” means when applied to a real-life task such as finding six beads to place on their colourful number card.
Math is everywhere; from measuring ingredients when we bake, to counting the number of stairs to our bedroom, or calculating the speed of our swimming from last week to this week. Math is a necessary component to educational success and it’s something we can seek out daily. Where can you spot moments of math in your day today?
Mathematics may not teach us to add love or subtract hate, but it gives us hope that every problem has a solution. — Anonymous