Abstract:
Making Things Count (Ministry of Education, 1999) is a teaching resource for early
childhood educators. This paper expands on the ideas in Making Things Count and is
intended as a resource for teachers, parents and caregivers who want to understand
and enhance young children's mathematical thinking It provides a framework for
looking at children's mathematical thinking and explores why the development of a
'number sense' is so important. Annotated lists of books for children and further
reading for adults are included, along with master copies of some games for young
children. This is followed by a profile of a fictional early childhood centre where
mathematical experiences occur as an integral and natural part of the daily
programme. A summary of the early childhood teacher's role in providing
mathematical experiences for children, and practical suggestions for mathematics in
centres are presented at the end.
