On Monday, I wrote about the Chinese puzzle “Tangrams.” This website allows children to complete puzzles with the Tangram shapes on the screen. There are easy puzzles and harder puzzles. I am spatially-challenged so even the easiest puzzles are too hard for me. However, there are some children who have really strong spatial skills who […]
During the month of January, we will be looking at the Business of Child Care. I can’t tell you how frequently I have young people come to my office telling me that they want to open their own child care center. Many want to open home-based centers, while others are intent on establishing a bigger […]
A Tangram is a Chinese puzzle that has 7 shapes. They are always the same, in every set. There are: • Two large right triangles • One medium-sized right triangle • Two small right triangles • One small square • One parallelogram According to Gwen Dewar, PhD. in Parenting Science (2009) Arranged correctly, the shapes […]
No, this is not about food (well it might be, sometimes). It is just a little tidbit of information to keep you thinking about math all day long. These will appear from time to time….just to keep everyone excited about math.
Tuesdays will be dedicated to investigating teaching, how we do what we do with young children. Hopefully, this will be a forum for home-based teachers to talk to other teachers in the field in order to get feedback and support about how they approach teaching mathematical concepts to the children they serve. In addition, I […]
Math manipulatives can be ANYTHING that children move, or manipulate, when solving math-related problems. They are most often hand-held items, small enough to be configured into visual representations of math concepts. They can be store bought, teacher-made or found. As children physically move math manipulatives, it broadens their learning from watching and listening to solving […]
Did you know that on the Early Math Counts website, we have developed dozens of lesson plans about math? Each of the lesson plans has an accompanying Parent Letter that describes the lesson and provides examples of how parents can support the math concepts at home. The letters are in an easy-to-use format so that each […]
So what do you do if you are trying really hard to support the Non-Holiday Approach to the holidays and the children in your care want to talk about the holidays? We do what we always do when the children bring their ideas into the room; we honor them and we support them. If, during […]
I’ve thought a lot over the weekend about the events that transpired in Connecticut this past Friday, as I am sure you all have as well. I considered writing something about protecting children from the media, but that seemed too obvious. Professionals who work with young children and parents who live with young children must […]
The non-holiday approach to December is really easy- Just KEEP IT SIMPLE! As children are bombarded from every direction with special days, special treats, special shopping trips, special visits, and special everything, child care can be an oasis of calm in an otherwise really hectic season. Think of one child you know who really struggles […]