It All Adds Up: Math Ideas Start Early.
A year ago, President Bush created a National Mathematics Advisory panel, and earlier this year, they released a preliminary report that was quickly criticized for being a summary of the Panel's mission and process, and devoid of recommendations for improving math skills. Do you need to wait for the government to tell you how to help your child with math? Every small child has a grasp of basic math, for instance: "More!" Give one child two cookies when his sister gets three, and instantly the inequality is noted. You don't have to wait to help your child build on these natural observations.
The Blue Lake take on it:
Math for preschoolers happens naturally in your everyday life. We stumbled upon Meddybemps, a terrific ad-free website created by a Grandma/Grandpa team (Susan Jindrich, teacher and former HeadStart Director; Jerry Jindrich, retired Internet Design executive). Check out their Understand Math section with great tips for young families. We also enjoyed the Kitchen Math ideas we found online.
First off, it's fun. That's the most important thing. If it's not fun, the rest doesn't matter. I am quoting Wayne Gould, the one-man team at sudoku.com. If it has not already caught on at your house, check out Sudoku. It's a very simple concept. Fill a 9 by 9 grid with numbers 1 through 9. No number can be used twice in any row, column, or 3 by 3 square. It's easy for kids to get addicted to Sudoku, and that's a good thing. As Gould points out, Sudoku is one of the few puzzles and games that reward children for using applied logic. Sudoku encourages children to apply principles of deduction and induction – skills they don't often get to exercise. It sharpens their powers of concentration and reasoning.
