Some parents or teachers of very young children may be interested in trying these games. These tips will keep the experience positive.
Let very young children set their own pace
A young child may decide that she loves a particular game and wants to play it over and over, even if it doesn’t seem to be teaching her much new. This is perfectly all right. The repeated play is helping her reinforce a belief that mathematics can be enjoyable. This is a key part of early mathematics education.
From time to time, you can suggest trying something new. There is no rush. Young children sometimes learn on unpredictable schedules, so trust them about what they want to try.
Don’t worry if a very young child isn’t yet grasping certain ideas
When a child is young, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t seem to grasp concepts in topics such as addition, multiplication, or place value. Young children — even very bright young children — may not be ready for these concepts yet. It is tempting to push a bright young child to learn new material, but this may not help him. The more advanced concepts will come to him when he is ready. In the mean time, the earlier games are helping him have fun thinking about numbers and amounts.
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August 18, 2020