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Post by healthy11 on Oct 20, 2014 8:58:06 GMT -5
www.westwood-backup.com/pg/jsp/osgood/transcript.jsp?pid=37891Dr. Kelly Mix, Cognitive Development Lab Director at Michigan State University, has been involved with studies of preschoolers and number sense. Her results show that children of preschool age are more ready to tackle such math than we've previously thought - and she says teachers should make room for it in the early grades. It makes me wonder if it would also be possible to identify preschoolers who are "at risk" for later math learning disabilities, because the earlier intervention is begun, the better the outcomes are likely to be?
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Post by empeg1 on Oct 20, 2014 23:22:28 GMT -5
Healthy,
I am a strong believer in the importance of play for preschool children. Whether or not preschool kids are capable of handling more math or not misses the point for me. Young children learn through exploration and play, conceptually, socially and emotionally. One only needs to know Piaget to understand that sitting little one's down to academics takes away from what a well known researcher called, the Magic Years. As for early intervention, it would help a whole lot if learning specialists were trained in math disabilities and not just language based LD, so that work in math is not done over and over, the same way, as if doing the above will change the outcome. As for young children, I feel it is best to work with ideas of number sense though play and activities like cooking, NOT worksheets.
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Post by healthy11 on Oct 21, 2014 15:47:29 GMT -5
The article isn't recommending worksheets for preschoolers, it's saying that young children are more capable of processing large numbers (not just 1-10) than most people realize. "Dr. Mix says children are processing all the numbers they see out there in the world... going down the highway, the miles are marked in multi-digit numbers; rooms are marked in multi-digit numbers; addresses..."
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Post by eoffg on Oct 23, 2014 4:48:43 GMT -5
Being able to name the symbols used for numbers, is very different from number sense and processing numbers.
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Post by SharonF on Oct 23, 2014 8:46:09 GMT -5
empeg--
I agree 100%. We are forcing young children to "study" and abandon "play time" far too early.
Wouldn't it be better if children were allowed to learn math and other subjects through play? Through exploration?
Whether it's cooking, measuring in a "woodworking shop" or so many other activities, kids can learn a lot about numbers, amounts, size and ratios--without math books, worksheets or structured lessons.
The example of "how many miles have we driven?" and watching road signs for mile markers is great! And maybe comparing what they see along the road to what the child can see on a GPS or an old-fashioned paper map. But it's not being called "math." It's focused on having fun...and maybe learning in the process. Not focused on learning...and maybe having fun in the process.
Same with science. Kids can learn so much by exploring in the real world. When it is time for more formalized instruction, the kids who have explored and experienced the world around them and how nature works---will likely "learn" better."
I think Montessori emphasizes experiential and interactive learning. Even Sesame Street does. But so much of our formal educational curriculum today seems to focus on just the opposite. And that is sad!
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