Early Exploration of Attributes with an Avocado

This spontaneous interaction between caregiver and a toddler reveals a number of very early or “precursor” concepts of math. The caregiver uses intonation and stress to emphasize comparison: “we cut the banana but we will peel the avocado.”

As things begin to get messy, the caregiver continues to provide attribute words: “it puts you in mind of lotion… smooth, spreads easily”. Note how the caregiver uses a mixture of questions and comments that assume intentionality & understanding on the child’s part.

Read more about precursor topics and their related concepts: Precursor Concepts.