Early Math Education-Why it is Important
July 6th 2010 11:05
Early math education is often neglected. There are many, many initiatives in place to foster reading skills from preschool, starting as young as one in the case of the "teach your baby to read" program and encouragement from everyone to read to your child.
To be honest, I am firmly planted in the reading crowd. As a homeschooling mom, the sooner a child can read on their own, the better! I also think that part of the problem in the lack of early math education is that many of the people who go into the early education field are not fond of math themselves.
That being said, the benefits of early math education are far reaching and cannot be ignored.
Indicator of Future Success
In a study by the Society of Research in Child Development reports that a child’s knowledge of number concepts when they enter school is a good indicator of future success. This information should encourage all parents and educators to introduce math at early ages.
Naturally Curious[
Children are naturally curious. They are interested in just about everything, using this trait can allow for wide strides to be made in mastering number concepts at a very young age.
Build Confidence
Understanding numbers, shapes, colors, patterns and counting at a young age builds confidence. Knowing how to manage the items in their world creates a sense of ownership with their surroundings, as does learning the lingo. Being able to decipher the language of math and relate it to themselves is an important building block.
Capable
Children are capable of learning deeper math concepts than usually assumed. Given the opportunity to learn math skills at a young age builds necessary connections in their spatial awareness. Everything in math is both concrete and abstract, learning these concepts takes time to develop and mature. Early exposure allows the mind to process the skills needed to proceed.
Easily Incorporated
Luckily introducing math at a young age isn’t difficult. Chatting about putting one sock on each foot or asking them to hand each person at the table one napkin easily introduces the concept of one to one correspondence. Learning to count is one thing, learning how numbers relate to concrete items is another stage in their development.
Helps in Language Development
Activities to develop math skills, also promotes language and literacy skills. Increasing the vocabulary needed to process math helps children discuss their world. These skills are highly necessary when they start to read. Knowing numbers, shapes, “more than” and “less than” gives them a new way of telling and understanding stories.
Progressive
Math builds on a set of knowledge, each concept relating to skills the children already have. Progressively learning at an early age, can side step failures due to gaps in knowledge. Those gaps are what makes many children give up on math in later years.
To be honest, I am firmly planted in the reading crowd. As a homeschooling mom, the sooner a child can read on their own, the better! I also think that part of the problem in the lack of early math education is that many of the people who go into the early education field are not fond of math themselves.
That being said, the benefits of early math education are far reaching and cannot be ignored.
Indicator of Future Success
In a study by the Society of Research in Child Development reports that a child’s knowledge of number concepts when they enter school is a good indicator of future success. This information should encourage all parents and educators to introduce math at early ages.
Naturally Curious[
Children are naturally curious. They are interested in just about everything, using this trait can allow for wide strides to be made in mastering number concepts at a very young age.
Build Confidence
Understanding numbers, shapes, colors, patterns and counting at a young age builds confidence. Knowing how to manage the items in their world creates a sense of ownership with their surroundings, as does learning the lingo. Being able to decipher the language of math and relate it to themselves is an important building block.
Capable
Children are capable of learning deeper math concepts than usually assumed. Given the opportunity to learn math skills at a young age builds necessary connections in their spatial awareness. Everything in math is both concrete and abstract, learning these concepts takes time to develop and mature. Early exposure allows the mind to process the skills needed to proceed.
Easily Incorporated
Luckily introducing math at a young age isn’t difficult. Chatting about putting one sock on each foot or asking them to hand each person at the table one napkin easily introduces the concept of one to one correspondence. Learning to count is one thing, learning how numbers relate to concrete items is another stage in their development.
Helps in Language Development
Activities to develop math skills, also promotes language and literacy skills. Increasing the vocabulary needed to process math helps children discuss their world. These skills are highly necessary when they start to read. Knowing numbers, shapes, “more than” and “less than” gives them a new way of telling and understanding stories.
Progressive
Math builds on a set of knowledge, each concept relating to skills the children already have. Progressively learning at an early age, can side step failures due to gaps in knowledge. Those gaps are what makes many children give up on math in later years.
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