• About
  • Projects
  • Contact
  • Join
  • Login
Erikson Institute Early Math Collaborative
Early Math Collaborative
  • Why Early Math?
    Our Mission Big Ideas of Early Math Precursor Concepts
  • Professional Development
    Whole Teacher Approach Learning Labs Instructional Coaching Leadership Academies Our Books
  • Online Learning
    Our Resources Professional Learning Modules Series Bulletin Board Online Degrees
  • Research
    Teacher Development Publications Presentations Measuring Math
  • Events
    Events Calendar Summer Institutes Promising Math
  • Idea Library
  • Why Early Math?
    • Our Mission
    • Big Ideas of Early Math
    • Precursor Concepts
  • Professional Development
    • Learning Labs
    • Instructional Coaching
    • Leadership Academies
    • Our Books
  • Online Learning
    • Online Learning
    • Professional Learning Modules
    • Series
    • Bulletin Board
    • Online Degrees
  • Research
    • Teacher Change
    • Publications
    • Presentations
    • Measuring Math
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Summer Institutes
    • Promising Math
  • About
    • About
    • Projects
    • Staff
    • Contact
  • Search
  • Idea Library
  • MyDashboard
  • Login or Join Today
learning-early-mathematics-kids-math_1200x800_darkened

Big Ideas of Early Math

Big Ideas of Early Math

Our set of Big Ideas map the key math concepts young children need to explore between the ages of 3 and 6. Big Ideas are foundational to lifelong mathematical thinking and can guide teaching and learning in the early childhood years. They are organized by topic here and in our book, Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know. Learning early mathematics means opportunities to play around with and talk about the Big Ideas.

Join thecollaborative

Get more when you join. More resources and more ways to connect. Save your favorites so that more is at your fingertips.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

learning early mathematics sets

Sets

Sets are basic to children’s thinking and learning. They are also basic to our number system. We often fail to appreciate how much of young children’s lives—and above all their play—involves thinking about and working with sets of things.

EXPLORE SETS

learning early mathematics number sense

Number sense

Number sense is the ability to understand the quantity of a set and the name associated with that quantity. The transition from an innate, informal number knowledge to a conventional understanding of number sense is a major cognitive development.

EXPLORE NUMBER SENSE

learning early mathematics counting

Counting

Counting is a part of young children’s daily life. They love to count everything from the stairs they climb to the crackers they eat. But what is counting? Counting seems very simple, but it is really quite complex.

EXPLORE COUNTING

Operations

When children focus on what happens when we join two sets together or separate a set into parts, they learn about how quantities change. When they have lots of experience comparing amounts, they become familiar with thinking about differences between sets.

EXPLORE OPERATIONS

Pattern

Pattern is less a topic of mathematics than a defining quality of mathematics itself. Mathematics “makes sense” because its patterns allow us to generalize our understanding from one situation to another.

EXPLORE PATTERN

Measurement

Measurement is any process that produces a quantitative description of an attribute, such as length, circumference, weight, temperature, volume, or number. Measurement is an essentially mathematical procedure that we apply in many different contexts.

EXPLORE MEASUREMENT

Data Analysis

Data analysis can be very simple, like making a list of items and writing how many you have of each in parentheses, or creating and talking about a bar graph whose bars are higher for snowy than rainy days in the month of January.

EXPLORE DATA ANALYSIS

Spatial Relationships

Children between the ages of 3 and 6 are more than ready to develop their skills at expressing directions from different locations and understanding relative positions. Learning early mathematics includes learning about spatial relationships.

EXPLORE SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS

learning early mathematics shape

Shape

Everything in the material world has shape. In mathematics, the focus is very much on regular shapes, such as the two-dimensional circle, triangle, and rectangle and the three-dimensional solids known as spheres and polyhedrons.

EXPLORE SHAPES

Big Ideas of Early Mathematics:

What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know

The Big Ideas that convey the core concepts of mathematics are at the heart of this book that gives early childhood educators the skills they need to organize for mathematics teaching and learning during the early years.
Order a copy

Online MS in Early Childhood Ed – STEM Focus

Get your degree online!

Elevate your practice and strengthen your knowledge of teaching and learning in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with an emphasis on children in preschool through third grade.
Find out more

Do the math.

 

Free videos.

Free newsletter packed with ideas.

Free professional learning modules.

 

Join the collaborative

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Funders
  • Legal Policies

Early Math Collaborative 451 N LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL 60654 Call (312) 893-7163

© Erikson Institute, All Rights Reserved.

  • Erikson Institute

  • The Early Math Collaborative is part of Erikson Institute, the nation’s premier graduate school in child development.

  • Visit Erikson.edu