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Why is Math Important for Preschoolers?
In this article, we explore the significance of introducing math to preschoolers and the enduring benefits it offers them in their educational journey
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Learning math during early years provides preschoolers with skills they will use throughout their lives for getting or consolidating an education. In this article, we tell you why it is important to teach math to preschoolers, what math skills are important for preschoolers, and how you can facilitate this process.
Why is Math Important for Preschoolers?
The first months of a children’s life mark the beginning of building mathematical concepts-babies can distinguish between “less” and “more”. Research suggests that acquiring math skills in early childhood has many positive outcomes during school years and later on. Counting, recognising numbers, or sorting objects lay the foundation for more complex math concepts like addition and subtraction.
Math is Important Because:
It helps acquire problem-solving abilities
Math skills acquired during early childhood help children understand patterns and relationships between objects. Sorting objects by colour allows preschoolers to identify patterns while counting to a certain number enables them to recognise and understand the relationship between numbers and quantities.
These math skills are essential in acquiring problem-solving abilities, useful during school years and beyond.
It contributes to developing critical thinking
Mathematics means more than memorising rules, operations, formulas, or procedures. When preschoolers understand and use simple concepts like addition, they learn to break down complex problems into simple elements. This contributes to developing critical thinking, “a mentally organised way of thinking,” very valuable throughout life.
According to Dr Jie-Qi Chen, professor of Child Development at the Erikson Institute and co-author of Big Ideas of early mathematics: What Teachers of young children need to Know, “math is the language of logic…math builds reasoning, which leads to comprehension.”
It helps improve memory and concentration
Math exercises during early childhood enable preschoolers to retain information, rules, and facts. Counting involves memorising the order of numbers. Sorting by colour or shape is another type of exercise that trains memorising ability, enabling children to improve their memory and concentration, attributes they will need in school and their workplace.
It can nurture a passion for learning
Math can be intimidating for some children, but when learned in a fun and engaging way, preschoolers become interested in its concepts and do their best to understand them to a higher degree. Teaching math through games and play is an excellent way to nurture a passion for learning that can extend to other subjects like science, reading, and writing.
It helps children excel in school
According to School Readiness and Later Achievement, a study released in 2007, children that acquire math skills during early childhood are more likely to have academic success in school than children who do not develop these skills. Math concepts and elements help preschoolers understand math concepts taught during school years, leading to academic success.
Counting and sorting are activities that early learning teachers can use to get preschoolers familiarised with math concepts from an early age, helping them excel at math in school.
What math skills are important for preschoolers?
Small children can be engaged in many activities to spark their interest and passion for math. These activities help children acquire several valuable math skills:
- Numeracy
Counting forward and backward colourful and fun objects, separating children into groups, and asking the little ones to count the groups and the number of children in each group help preschoolers acquire a number sense and acknowledge the relationship between numbers. During the morning routine, teachers can ask children to count out loud together how many girls and how many boys are present. This activity enables children to memorise the order of numbers and the relationship between them.
- Representation
Visual aids like pictures of favourite foods or family members keep preschoolers engaged in math activities, making it easier to transpose abstract concepts into familiar notions and memorise numbers. Representation is one of the most effective methods to help children create a mental connection between math concepts and objects or persons from real life.
- Patterns
Evidence indicates that children’s ability to see patterns lay the foundation of early mathematical thinking. Teaching children about patterns enables them to develop the skill of identifying them for themselves and observing the changes and irregularities of patterns.
Matching one-to-one with objects, pictures, or numbers is an efficient method to introduce preschoolers to pattern recognition by indicating what they are and asking children to recognise patterns around them. This enables them to identify the mathematical relationships between patterns, prompting the recall of counting sequences and understanding number operations.
- Shape and Space
In a preschool environment, many opportunities exist to teach children about shape and space. Playing with building blocks, boxes, shape sorters, or puzzles enables children to learn about shapes. Sorting objects by form helps them learn about forms and differentiate between triangles, squares, and circles.
Acquiring the sense of space gives preschoolers an awareness of themselves in relation to objects and persons around them. It allows them to move and navigate into different-shaped spaces.
Spatial awareness is a process originating in the children’s brains, and kids need to have a sound sense of space to perform basic activities like walking the stairs, going around the furniture in the house, or jumping over obstacles as well as in other activities like handwriting or drawing.
- Adding and subtracting
Concepts like adding and subtracting are the next steps in teaching math to preschoolers, and these concepts are introduced to children after they master number sense and representation. To help understand adding and subtracting, teachers can use familiar objects like snacks, building blocks, or crayons and ask children to count and share them with others.
Math is a key element of early learning. Problem-solving, critical thinking, understanding the world around us, and improving memory and concentration are long-life assets that help preschoolers excel in school and beyond and enables them to make sense of their role and mission, supporting their path to achieving their goals and dreams and being happy.
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Our Early Learning Centres
Our early childhood centre environments strongly reflects our inspiration – The Reggio Emilia philosophy, from Reggio Emilia, Italy.
We provide a creative and open ended environment that encourages infinite learning for the children and strong relationships between teachers, children and families.
The day’s routines are flexible. At the same time, care is taken to recognise and respect each child’s needs.
Why Choose a Bright Beginnings Early Learning Centre?
- Encouraging the use of natural materials
- A strong transition into school
- Teaching team inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach supports your child’s creative potential.
- Healthy, tasty hot meals cooked fresh on site
- 20 ECE hours available/free sessions for 3 year olds
- A boutique, homely feel to our centres
- Strong connections between teachers and whanau.
Here's what our parents say about our childcare centres
We are so happy that our son is a part of the Bright Beginnings family. The staff have been so welcoming and caring since the day he joined here. He has the freedom to explore and experiment as he learns about the world around him. With each passing day, he is growing into a confident and independent young boy, while building friendships and learning important life skills. We are also especially happy that he gets nutritious meals everyday, an important concern for us as parents. Most importantly, he loves it so much here that he can't wait to be back at the Centre every morning! As parents, we can go about our day with the assurance that our son is in good hands within a safe environment. Thank you to the entire BBELC team for that, Devika.
Bright Beginnings has and is a second home to both my son and now my daughter. Amber loves coming to the centre everyday and to see the relationship she has with the teachers is very special. We love everything Bright Beginnings embodies and are thankful to have found this centre.
- Best price
- Best service. From Jade Tavita
I was absolutely blown away by the presentation and the effort that went into the parent teacher interviews. I have not seen anything like it before and it made me feel very comfortable and welcome as a parent. From Darren Masters
Super duper loving, caring teachers. Awesome environment where our boy can flourish everyday. Thank you, Brad and Joanna.
Dillon absolutely loves his new big boy class. He even asks us if he can go on a Saturday and Sunday. Thanks all for making going to school so easy for us. Thanks, Anika.
I love and enjoy watching April develop and grow, I am so happy and grateful that she is in an amazing environment filled with people who care and look out for each other.
Beautiful Daycare. Thank you all.- Best price from Zara.
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Cherry: Our family is very grateful that we found BBELC. So far it is the best daycare we have seen. We are glad to enrol our kids here. Having peace of mind that our kids are safe, well fed, looked after and enjoy activities with the teachers and other kids is PRICELESS!!!
THANK YOU for helping my kids explore new things. You are all amazing. Like what I always say to the teacher, I don't know how you all do it but the teachers here at BBELC are SUPERHEROES! As parents we feel your passion, dedication and love.
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