Mighty Math Skills
By Stuart J. Murphy

Comparing the sizes of different objects is just one of the many ways very young children can be encouraged to think mathematically.

I had just read aloud one of my books, Missing Mittens (HarperTrophy, 2000), to a group of children and we had reviewed the concepts of odd and even throughout the story. Now it was time to see whether the youngsters had grasped those concepts.

"Can you point to an even number of mittens?"
"Now, how about an odd number?"

One by one, the children stepped up and pointed to the correct pictures showing odd and even numbers of mittens. When I asked the children, "Why do you think that's an odd number?," they responded, "Because the mittens don't all line up in twos." When I asked, "How can you tell that's an even number?," the kids said, "The mittens are all in pairs." Clearly, these children were communicating mathematically.

Ongoing opportunities. Young children are ready and eager to learn about math. As teachers, we strive to provide opportunities for them to experience math and communicate mathematically. And, we try to demonstrate that we value their increasing math capabilities.

Even when they are very young, children love exploring mathematical ideas. Matching, sharing, counting, patterns, shapes, distance and direction are all part of a young child's experiences. I feel that connecting mathematical thinking to a child's own world is critical. Through such connections, children see how math is pertinent to their activities and experiences.

When I talk with young children about my books, I tell them that I put pictures, words and math together to tell stories. They look at pictures of objects and can determine which is bigger and which is longer. They're able to see patterns and compare the attributes of different shapes. Illustrations, diagrams and charts provide children with meaningful mathematical experiences long before they learn to read.

I tell kids math is used to communicate many things. You need math to tell what time it is, how old you are, what shape something is, how much money you have or how far it is to somewhere. Math is part of our language.

Illutrations from Stuart's book Missing Mittens (HarperTrophy, 2000) show odd and even numbers. Illlustrations by G. Brian Karas.

"Doing" math. We're in a position to help kids access their prior knowledge, increase their skills, practice frequently and actively engage in expressing mathematical ideas. We're all familiar with the theory that children who are read to become better readers. The same theory works in mathematics. Children who do math with their caregivers become better at math.

The process of "doing" math with young children can take many forms. For example, as children help fold the laundry, we can ask, "Can you find all the matching socks?" "Are both socks the same size?" "Have we folded them in half?" As a child helps set the table, we can ask, "Does each person have the same number of items?" "How many items are on the table in all?"

Children can help count the pennies in the spare change jar and make piles of five or 10 pennies. They can determine how to share cookies or other treats so that everyone has the same number. They can talk about how many days it is until their birthday or how tall they are in relation to others.

Math comfort zone. Young children need to be comfortable with math. It's crucial that we provide children with environments and situations in which they can comfortably present their mathematical thinking in their own pictures and words, without the fear of being wrong. It's also important that we work toward building a "can do" attitude in our children—a feeling that math is something they can master. Research in cognition and mathematics education has shown that young children are capable of more complex mathematical thinking than previously thought.

The cousins in One...Two...Three...Sassafras! (HarperCollins, 2002) need two tries to line up by age correctly. Illustration by John Wallace.

Math stories. Reading books that contain math ideas is a fun way to provide children with experiences that link math to life. In my book One...Two...Three...Sassafras! an uncle lines up a group of cousins by age to take a photo. A mischievous dog spoils the picture while children learn about number order. My other books, as well as many books by other authors, engage children in mathematical learning and demonstrate how math is used in real life situations.

Math activities. Children can explore and experience math ideas through activities that are designed to develop mathematical thinking. They can play with math toys, games and manipulative materials. They can make drawings using different shapes, or create patterns with blocks or beads.

At the back of all my books, I include a number of activities that extend the concepts presented in the stories. For example, after reading Seaweed Soup, a book about matching sets and one-to-one correspondence, children are encouraged to plan a pretend picnic where everyone gets the same number of items. After reading Henry the Fourth, a book about ordinals, a child can make a parade of stuffed animals and talk about which is first and which is third.

If we can help children to be comfortable with math and to explore and enjoy mathematical ideas—if we "do" math with them every chance we get—we will be assuring their ability to become fluent in the language of math. Young children and math is indeed a mighty combination.

Stuart J. Murphy is the author of the MathStart series published by HarperCollins. He has a background in visual learning and design and lives in Boston, MA.

May 2003, Vol.33, No.8