Our favorite rhythmic book, when the boys were little, was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  I read that book so many times that I know every word by heart.  We purchased several copies over those early years, since they did get a little worn out from overuse.  We had the large version, the hardback version, the small board book version, the paperback version, and we even had a copy of Bill Cosby reading it on cassette tape (remember cassette tapes?).

Predictability and sequencing are early math skills.  As children begin to familiarize themselves with a book, they begin to expect the sequence of words in a set order.  This is one important reason that we should never skip pages, as they will be let down that the book does not follow the pattern that they have come to expect.

In Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, there are several sets of predictable events.  The first is that the letters appear in alphabetical order.  Many young children are beginning to learn their ABCs in the order of the alphabet.  This is a much more specific skill than learning the ABC song.  (Knowing this song is often confused as knowing the alphabet).  Therefore, the fact that “A told B and B told C” makes logical sense to children.  This relationship of the letters to one another is fundamentally mathematical.

Next, there is a logical rhyming sequence to the words.  The rhymes are sing-song and make sense when read aloud.  In addition, completing the rhymes with a repetitive sentence, reinforces the predictability, the rhyming pattern and the sense of story.  “I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree” repeats throughout the book so that children come to expect it.  What can I say.  The whole thing works.

This crossover between literacy and math is central to the idea of an integrated curriculum.  Yes, reading books is a language-based activity focused on language learning, reading and writing. But recognizing that books can support other cognitive areas of development makes reading them a whole lot more interesting.

The boys attended a preschool that provided enormous opportunities for play and exploration with caring adults who supported their interests, whether long-term or whimsical. Bookmaking was an ongoing and ever-present part of each classroom that they were in.  The teachers provided materials for children to use to make simple books and they made sure that there was always ample supplies of those things in the literacy area.

This first example was not unusual for Noah.  He liked Post-It Notes because he could add pages as needed, and the edges stuck together like a book.

I pulled this book apart so you could see how he focused on number and number representation.  The book started at 1 and went through 8.  His books were often like this.

I know that Post-It Notes can get expensive, but there is something alluring about their small size, colorful options and their flexibility of use.  Try to periodically offer new and exciting book making materials.  You never know when something will strike their fancy and children who may never have explored this activity before may be drawn to it.

Take note of the backwards numbers and letters.  Again, this is fairly typical for the young children.  Reversals continue throughout the early childhood years and are nothing to be concerned about.

What encourages families to choose your program over another program?  For many families it is simply logistics.  The hours, location, cost and flexibility are pretty high on most families’ list of needs.  However, I think – all of those things being equal – families choose programs that are safe, organized, well-run, clean, happy, and educational.

You might have noticed that I put “educational” at the end of the list.  This is because I believe that all of those other things need to be in place before children can learn.  Let’s now assume that all of those things are in order.  Parents want to feel welcome and included.  That means that you must have an open-door policy that welcomes parents whenever they can come by.  Now, I have heard teachers say things like, “But I find that really disruptive” or “The parents will be hanging around all of the time”.  In 20 years in the field, I only ever knew 1 mom who wouldn’t leave, and she was not altogether there (if you know what I mean).  Most parents want to know that they can come by, but most won’t or can’t.  They just was to know that it is an option.

I also believe that the the director should be able to articulate the philosophy of the program in a way that makes sense to families.  Then the teachers need to show that philosophy in action.  If your philosophy includes a carefully planned out daily schedule that includes outdoor time from 10-11, you should expect that parents will expect to see the children outdoors during that time.  In addition, if you believe that children learn through play, the the schedule should include large chunks of time devoted to free play.

It is also incredibly important that you can articulate what you believe about how young children can and should be exposed to early literacy and numeracy.  It is as important to be able to describe how you plan to approach early learning in math as it is in all other academic areas.

In one or two sentences, can you tell us what you say to parents about your approach to math?