Your kindergartner and math
In your child's classroom
What math concepts will my kindergartner learn?
Your kindergartner begins to learn mathematical concepts by working with blocks, tiles, or other objects that can be counted, classified, and sorted. By using these objects, your child learns that adding means counting forward and subtracting means counting backward.
Kindergartners also learn how to group objects in a variety of ways such as by color, shape, and size. These tasks help your child begin to understand multiplication and fractions.
Your child practices counting numbers from one to 10. By the end of the year, she will be able to count to numbers greater than 10 and count by fives (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.) and 10s (10, 20, 30, etc.).
Many kindergarten teachers start the day with calendar time, in which your child learns math skills such as counting forward and backward and the concepts of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
From fractions to geometry
Your kindergartner is introduced to fractions (perhaps by counting the number of slices that make up a pizza) and geometry (by learning to identify geometric shapes).
"Math at this time in a child's life is full of explorations both in and outside the classroom," explains Nicola Salvatico, our consulting teacher and the 2005 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. "Taking advantage of real-life connections helps a child move from the concrete to the abstract facets of learning math."
Getting acquainted with money, time, and measurement
Your child's teacher is likely to introduce the class to thinking about money, time, and measurement. Don't expect a kindergartner to use tools like rulers to measure. Your child will likely learn about distance with nonstandard forms of measurement such as using her hands or her steps. She might be asked to compare the number of steps it takes to walk to the reading corner with the number required to walk to the drinking fountain.
Kindergartners learn money skills such as identifying and counting coins. Your child will learn about pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. He will also count pennies by ones and nickels by fives. There may be a store set up with a play cash register and coins so that your child can explore counting and exchanging money.
Your child will begin to learn about time. He is introduced to analog and digital clocks and should be able to identify the big hand and little hand on an analog clock. Telling time to the hour is introduced, and he learns that when the big hand is on the 12 it means "o'clock."
What types of math instruction will my kindergartner get?
Kindergarten teachers typically engage students in lessons with both objects and paper-and-pencil work. Your child is introduced to concepts by watching the teacher, then following up with hands-on activities and games that allow her to work individually and cooperatively in a group. Introduction and repetition of concepts helps a child master the math tasks that are required of them throughout the year.
Concepts are more important than math facts at this stage
While some kindergartners can memorize specific addition and subtraction facts, such as 2 + 2 = 4, it's important for them to grasp the concepts first.
"Children definitely must grasp the concepts," Salvatico says. "It's like walking — they need to develop the skills of walking first before they can actually do it, and it's different for each child."
What to look for when you visit
- Blocks, bottle caps, dice, and other objects of different shapes and sizes for sorting and counting
- Students, alone or in small groups, working with these objects
- Graphs depicting the students' birthdays or their favorite foods
- Pictures of geometric shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles
