free printable kindergarten new years traditions math activities

Our goal is to support them to develop perseverance, confidence, and critical thinking skills when solving math problems.

Young children have fascinating strategies for how to solve mathematical problems. What can we do as educational practitioners and leaders? Unlike traditional math worksheet problems that can only be solved one way, children should engage in problems that have many possible solution strategies and are ripe for discussion and debate. Instead of doing math worksheets, young children need intentionally designed activities that allow them to think and engage like mathematicians by testing out different ideas, experimenting with strategies, and explaining their thinking. We need to create more opportunities for young children to explore mathematical ideas in interactive and playful ways. It is important to attend to mathematical learning goals while fostering creativity early in a child’s education. In fact, a 2016 study published in Scientific American found that students who rely on memorization are half a year behind their peers who approach math by relating concepts to existing knowledge and monitoring their own understanding. At both the high school and elementary levels, procedurally focused learning is not conducive to supporting students’ understanding of important mathematical concepts. Many think that math is all about learning procedures and memorizing rules.

What I am witnessing is not surprising given our misconceptions of what it means to learn math in school.

These worksheets often consist of the same type of problem just with different numbers (e.g., 1+2 = _ 1+3 = _ 1+4 = _) and noninteractive images for young children to count or compare. I have seen kindergarten and 1st grade teachers giving short lectures followed by having children complete worksheets filled with math problems. Math instruction in the early grades is too often becoming more like traditional high school math classes. I am finding that teachers are increasingly feeling the pressure to address learning standards in ways that do not build upon young children’s inherent curiosity and inclination to experiment.

Free printable kindergarten new years traditions math activities