Creative Investigations in Early Math

Math crops up in everyday activities in so many ways. You can help preschoolers see math in the petals of a flower, the shape of a window, the bounce of a ball, the growth of a plant, and the repetition of a song. Instead of teaching math to preschoolers, you can be their guide as they experiment, think about problems, try solutions, gain understanding, and discuss their findings. Creative Investigations in Early Math gives teachers practical ideas for intentionally fostering young children's hands-on explorations in the following areas:

• Number and number sense
• Computation
• Geometry and spatial sense
• Measurement
• Data collection and statistics
• Patterns and relationships

With your guidance, preschoolers can figure out how the world of mathematics works and how math works in their world.

Angela Eckhoff is an associate professor of teaching and learning in the Early Childhood Education program and codirector of the Virginia Early Childhood Policy Center at Old Dominion University. She holds a dual PhD from the University of Colorado-Boulder in educational psychology and cognitive science. She is a coeditor of the Growing in STEM column for Young Children, published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.