Hellobee Boards

not fun but we did flashcards before bed each night

DS has a baby train set made of blocks, with numbers on the blocks. I think it helped, but it took him a looong time... he wasn't ready till he was ready!

I'd start with counting books, keep it natural. LO loves 10 Trick or Treaters. We read it all year long!

The app monkey preschool lunchbox is great, it does counting, grouping, patterns, etc

Another vote for the Endless Numbers app, because what works is exposure and repetition and this is a fun way to get that.

At 3-4 years old, we also did these types of things:

1) continue to observe groups in the child's environment (e.g., "look, there are two birds in that tree," and "see the five people waiting for the bus at the bus stop") and write down the numeral to show to the child

2) read number/counting books

3) observe number notation in the environment (e.g., "see that sign, it says 2 avocados for $1, here are two avocados to put in the cart" and "that sign says 30 mph")

4) measure things with a measuring tape or ruler

5) play hopscotch

6) play with an abacus, beads on a string, little plastic soldiers/dolls/toys, etc. and make/reorganize groups while doing it

@matador84: Do you really mean that you'd teach a 3 or 4 year old playing Chutes and Ladders that "6" (as you and I refer to it, and as it appears on the spinner in the game) is actually expressed as "11"?

I suspect the research says to teach multiples of 5 before multiples of 10, not base 5 before base 10.

But if the research really says base 5 before base 10, I still would not teach base 5 (which means this, for anyone else who is reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinary ) first. It's not hard to understand base 5 (or any other system, including ones that are regularly used like base 2 and base 16) once you've learned the decimal numeral system. And since just about everyone on the planet uses base 10 on a daily basis, I think it's probably advisable to start there.

@honeybear: I don't know what you mean 6 as 11. if there are 6 dots as a standard die spatial pattern, that equates with 6.

Base 5 refers to all types of number and combinations 0-5. The system and research I am referring to is wholly numeracy based.

This book is very evidence-research based but if you are into reading a lot of numerical theory and interested in teaching early number it is a great book to start with: https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Number-Classroom-year-Recovery/dp/1412907586

This is also an excellent book for all children teaching early number and guiding principles for numeral identification/recognition. https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Number-Advancing-Childrens-Strategies/dp/1412921856/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=513-8DLydUL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR112%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=77YK0EDAMNN2MGGAJJ44

I used to be an advocate for within base 10, but as students got older we started delving into the research--why they can't quickly recall facts, understand place value, etc. and discovered it was because they were not yet facile within base of 5. I also totally agree with what you mentioned about the abacus--often a most underutilized math tool but incredibly beneficial in teaching number.

@bao: another good app is montessori numbers--uses quantity and other items to help with recognizing sets in a group as well as numeral id!

@looch: I think it's kinesthetic learning.

@matador84: What age is appropriate to start some of this stuff? I have a 2y4mo who can count, but he doesn't really understand any of the associated concepts. He can recognize one item or two items. He has just recently started counting accurately every once in awhile, but most of the time he does it incorrectly.

However, I did teach him to answer the question, "What is the derivative of x^2?" But that's because I am a math nerd

@matador84: Let me preface this by saying that I’m not trying to give you a hard time. I view this as a friendly math discussion, and I hope you do, too.

Base 5 is a numeral system where there are 5 symbols used to express all numbers, and those symbols are 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 (but actually you can pick any 5 distinct symbols you like and it’s still a base 5 system). There are five of them, which is why it’s called “base 5,” just as in our base 10 system, we have the 10 digits 0-9. The reason "6" is expressed as 11 in base 5 is that the 1 on the left of the 11 means "one five" and the 1 on the right means "one one." There is no separate digit for 6 in a base 5 system. In base 5, "5" is expressed as 10, "7" is 12, "8" is 13, "20" is 40, etc. It's fun to play around with, but I don’t see why it would be a good idea to start there when we live in a largely base-10 world.

I think based on what you wrote and the bit of the preview I read on Amazon that the authors of the books you linked use the term “base 5” to mean that, to start, you just work with natural numbers up to and including 5 to introduce concepts like groups, ordering, adding, and subtracting. But that isn’t really using base 5, that’s just limiting the universe of terms you start with. I don’t understand why a text on teaching math would purposely choose to use a well-defined mathematical term incorrectly.

I think that counting and understanding quantity and associating a number of objects with the appropriate numeral is something that all parents can and should help their children learn to do. It isn’t difficult, but it’s easy to make it look hard, and I don’t like when I see that happen because I think it scares parents off who shouldn’t be scared off. What I would point out about the books is that terms like “subitizing” and “base 5” (especially if it isn’t even being used correctly) obfuscate the fact that learning how to count and do basic math can be taught easily in many different ways with whatever resources are available to parents without any special expertise beyond knowing how to count/do basic math and thinking carefully about how to present it to the child, just as your reply to Elbiekay indicates. (And I think those are all good suggestions!)

@matador84: Thanks, I definitely look for opportunities to count, but I don't think it has clicked yet. I will try to incorporate counting backwards. We live on the fifth floor and take the elevator all the time. I used to always count but have gotten lazy about it so maybe I will resume. We can count backwards on the way down!

The comment about seeing sets of things is a very good point too. Maybe I will look into buying some dominos.

I know a lot about math -- I have a masters degree in applied math -- but I don't know much about early education and need to think more about how to break down concepts for a toddler!

Thanks for taking the time to share all of those ideas

@ElbieKay: "The Elements" guy!

@honeybear: not a hard time! I enjoy a good discussion--on my phone now (vacation!) when I get back I hope I remember to type my longer response!

@ElbieKay: yes, opportunities like you mentioned are perfect daily math "instruction!"

@matador84: I look forward to it! Have a good vacation!

@ElbieKay: Well, I just fell down the rabbit hole of Lehrer's other works on YouTube. And then of course I had to listen to the Major-General's song, too!