The teacher displayed counting cards that included both dots and numerals in order from one to five, as she counted them with her students. She then turned the cards facedown, keeping them in order, and began an identify-a-hidden-card activity with the class. This class was engaged in the third of three card activities that develop number sense…

Preparing children to be successful in mathematics begins with what they learn before they reach 1st grade. Math knowledge in prekindergarten and kindergarten predicts school achievement in math and in other topics, such as reading. Indeed, early math knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of math grades in high school, high school…

Discusses the basic features of the Building Blocks preschool mathematics curriculum including the research on which it was based, activities, and field-test results. (Author/NB)

Describes the design principles behind a set of research-based software microworlds included in the "Building Blocks" program, a pre-kindergarten to grade 2 software-based mathematics curriculum. Discusses how to help children extend and mathematize their everyday activities and presents the nine-step design process model used.…

Math can help children understand and think about the many aspects of their world through its connections to them. Teachers who see, and help children see, those connections enrich children's learning and development. Teachers know that building children's vocabularies helps them understand stories they hear and later will read. But by taking a…