Little Kids & Big Numbers
What’s the big deal with being able to count to 100 in preschool?
The beginning of February is when many schools celebrate their 100th Day of School. Since some of my blog subscribers have preschoolers, this blog entry is about the importance of big numbers for little kids.
I’ll say it as plainly as I can: I think big numbers are over-rated for toddlers. Unless a child has a rough concept of how many 100 is, it’s pretty useless to be able to count to 100. I consider it the equivalent of being able to recite a poem, the 1-2-3 poem. Until a child is able to grasp how much 1, or 2 or 58 is, big numbers just aren’t that big a deal. Counting to 10 or 20 is plenty.
What comes after 10?
Once a child can count to 10, the next step is to play around with the little numbers. What’s more, 1 or 2? Hmmm, if I were 2, that would be a terribly boring question!
How about: “I have 3 apple slices. You can have some, and I’ll have some. Would you like the bowl with 1 or the bowl with 2?” Of course this is not one of those math word problems to be done in their head; this is a real-life problem to be acted out at snack time.
This makes math part of a child’s daily life, and it uses the smallest of numbers. There’s really no need to jump ahead – even to 6 or 8 slices – until a child has a firm grasp of smaller numbers.
Having a solid grounding of how to manipulate small numbers will prepare a child for greater mathematical success than being able to recite to 100.
So the next time your friend boasts about how high their toddler can count, give them a smile and say “That’s nice!” but resist the pressure to compete. Big numbers are over-rated.
To your child's success,
Rita
The beginning of February is when many schools celebrate their 100th Day of School. Since some of my blog subscribers have preschoolers, this blog entry is about the importance of big numbers for little kids.
I’ll say it as plainly as I can: I think big numbers are over-rated for toddlers. Unless a child has a rough concept of how many 100 is, it’s pretty useless to be able to count to 100. I consider it the equivalent of being able to recite a poem, the 1-2-3 poem. Until a child is able to grasp how much 1, or 2 or 58 is, big numbers just aren’t that big a deal. Counting to 10 or 20 is plenty.
What comes after 10?
Once a child can count to 10, the next step is to play around with the little numbers. What’s more, 1 or 2? Hmmm, if I were 2, that would be a terribly boring question!
How about: “I have 3 apple slices. You can have some, and I’ll have some. Would you like the bowl with 1 or the bowl with 2?” Of course this is not one of those math word problems to be done in their head; this is a real-life problem to be acted out at snack time.
This makes math part of a child’s daily life, and it uses the smallest of numbers. There’s really no need to jump ahead – even to 6 or 8 slices – until a child has a firm grasp of smaller numbers.
Having a solid grounding of how to manipulate small numbers will prepare a child for greater mathematical success than being able to recite to 100.
So the next time your friend boasts about how high their toddler can count, give them a smile and say “That’s nice!” but resist the pressure to compete. Big numbers are over-rated.
To your child's success,
Rita
3 Comments:
Hi Rita,
That's great to know. My three year old can count to ten (sometimes a little creatively). I was wondering about her counting up to 20, then 100. But I just quized her a little on which hand I was holding more pens in, and she does very well. She also does well on the Salad game and the Same game on the Miffy section of noggin.com, which involves simple math.
Trisha
By Trisha Cupra, at 1:57 AM
Hi Trisha,
I like how you call your daughter's counting "creative". There's a lot more to counting than you'd think. One day soon I'll write about it. I think it's fascinating, all the developmental steps a child has to go through for such a seemingly simple task.
Thanks for introducing me to www.noggin.com.
Rita
By Rita Wespi, at 3:12 AM
Hi Rita!
Very nice Blog..
Geez, too bad you weren't around when I was a wee tike!
Flunked Grade 1 math! Sob. Sob.
By Lyle Lachmuth, at 6:47 AM
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