The first time I read anything by Marian Wright Edelman, I was a student at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and I remember feeling so moved by her words. Our professor had assigned “The Measure of Our Success” and I felt that every page was inspirational, truthful, enlightening and thought-provoking. Yesterday, the Children’s Defense Fund publicized […]
I started doing some research on developing a budget for a home-based or center-based child care center. I found dozens and dozens of resources available online, but when I went to actually complete a budget myself, I found that many of the terms/line items were unfamiliar to me. So, before we look at creating a […]
When my oldest son was in 4th grade, we started a mom and child book group with a great group of kids who all went to different schools. This was a great way for us to get together on a regular basis so we could talk about books and reconnect with one another. One of […]
I’ll never forget the first moment when I actually witnessed, first hand, a child constructing knowledge right in front of me. This was long before I had children of my own and had the privilege of watching the construction of knowledge unfold before my very eyes every single day. I was an assistant kindergarten teacher […]
Happy New Year to All of My Early Math Counts friends. Have you been discussing the concept of the “new year” with your kids? I hope so. I actually remember when a teacher said to me when I was really young, “I’ll see you next year.” This was at the end of December and I […]
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 […]