Importance of Math in Early Childhood | A Guide for Parents
Early math skills and the importance of math in early childhood are typically overlooked. Normally, the kindergarten readiness, preschool, and early learning curricula place a heavy emphasis on writing, learning letters, and word recognition while ignoring basic math concepts, which are also critical abilities for children to learn as they reach elementary school.
A typical preschool timetable often excludes arithmetic from the curriculum. Based on a research done at the University of Denver while preschoolers spend six hours a day, only 58 seconds of math instruction are given each day. Here’s why math matters for kids.
Why is math so important in early childhood education?
Why is mathematics important in early childhood? Preparing children for academic achievement in elementary school and beyond by engaging them in math-related activities before entering kindergarten is a smart move.
A 2007 study titled School Readiness and Later Achievement indicated that early math skills are one of the best indicators of later success.
Moreover, high school math students are more likely to get better job placements later in life. In addition, the ability to think critically and logically built on a foundation of solid math abilities contributes to individuals’ well-grounded academic performance. According to the Erikson Institute, math is a logical language that helps children establish thinking skills which enables kids for better understand their surrounding world.
Having a systematic approach to thinking and reinforcing ‘Math for kids in Dubai’ appears to be essential.
Further, we discuss why is it important for children to develop a positive disposition in learning mathematics.
Math basics that kids should know |importance of math in early childhood
Now that we know the importance of math in early childhood, preschoolers should acquire these three essential math abilities to create a solid foundation of knowledge. In primary school, teachers need to focus on applying such principles.
As such, children would become better equipped for more complex skills when they comprehended these concepts early on.
- Figure sense: Math awareness begins with developing one’s grasp of basic number concepts. Counting forward and backward to learn about the relationship between numbers is covered in this section.
- Representation or visualization of numbers: Children can establish connections between numbers and things. For young students, making numbers more concrete and less abstract can be accomplished by using items, photographs, or even members of one’s own family.
- Adding and subtracting: Basic number sense and representation should be introduced before teaching students how to add and subtract. It is possible to teach youngsters the fundamentals of addition and subtraction through everyday activities, such as counting and sharing snacks, blocks, or crayons.
Circle Time of Math
According to researchers at Stanford University, Circle Time is an excellent way to introduce and reinforce math concepts. Concepts and Circle Time activities are recommended as follow:
- Operations and Numbers: Circle time allows children to practice counting, adding, and subtracting. The Figure sense improves when children count by category. How many boys or girls are in the classroom? How many students are there in total?
- Patterns: Math concepts can be introduced to preschoolers through rhythmic and visual patterns, which they like working with. After leading the youngsters in clapping out various rhythmic patterns, we shall explain to them what you’re doing and why you’re doing that. Look for striped, checkered, and polka-dot patterns on children’s clothing and in the environment.
- Measuring: Children can learn about measurement by comparing various sizes, such as the height or length of arms and legs.
- Shape and Space: When looking for items with triangles, squares, or circles, let’s ask our children to compare the shapes to see if there are any differences. During the circle time, shape and space math principles can be learned from various resources.
Play some math games with your kids | The importance of math in early childhood
Using math as a fun game approach to solve issues is the best way for parents to “mathematize” their children and show them the importance of math. Kids can put in a lot of effort while having fun. It perhaps always true that the best way to learn is through play.
It’s been shown that all such activities, from puzzles and building blocks to board- and card-games, can help students develop their arithmetic skills. Games like Chutes and Ladders and playing with dice are excellent in teaching numbers and adding. Through such a fun game approach, we potentially can better teach our kids what is mathematics in simple words.
Highlighting the importance of math through fun for preschoolers can pave their path for academic success
Early childhood education through highlighting the importance of math can potentially set the foundation for a lifetime of academic success. Children are not ready for primary school if they lack basic skills like figure sense, math concepts, and simple application of principles like addition and subtraction.
Since young children are often typical fast learners, teachers can extrapolate what they’ve learned in the classroom to their real-world contexts. As expert educators, we teach math to kids in Dubai through the most engaging and fun educational toolkits. To learn more about ‘the eiMaths in Dubai’ programs, contact us.
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