Reflect on Practice - Number Sense

Number sense develops gradually as children are given the opportunity to explore numbers, visualizing them in a different contexts and relating them in different ways.

As mentioned in the textbook, "children come to school with many ideas about number. These ideas should be built upon as we work with children and help them develop new relationships." (Walle, Karp & Bay-Williams, 2009, p.125). 

Teachers are encouraged to use the following recommendations to enhance children's learning in mathematics:

• Enhance children's natural interest in mathematics and their disposition to use it to make sense o their physical and social worlds
• Build on children's experience and knowledge
• Base mathematics curriculum and teaching practices on children's cognitive, linguistics, physical, and social-emotional development
• Use curriculum and practices to strengthen children's problem solving and reasoning processes as well as representing, communicating, and connecting mathematical ideas
• Ensure curriculum is coherent ans compatible with known relationships and sequences of important of mathematical ideas
• Provide for children's deep and sustained interaction with key mathematical keys
• Integrate mathematics with other activities and mathematics with activities
• Provide ample time, materials, and teacher support for children to engage in play, a context in which they explore and manipulate mathematical ideas with keen interest
• Introduce mathematical concepts, methods, and language, through a range of appropriate experiences and teaching strategies
• Support children's learning by thoughtfully and continually assessing all children's mathematical knowledge, skills, and strategies
  

However, most of the time, teachers do not provide enough opportunity, materials, time and support to children in mathematical ideas. Even though most of the curriculum claim to integrate mathematics in their subjects areas, however, most of the time it may not be true or teachers may not have the necessary knowledge and skills to support children's mathematical ideas. The curriculum may focus on language and teachers may relay on worksheets to support children's learning.
  
Common practice that are already in preschool are as follows:

• Relationships of more, less, and same
• Early counting
• Numeral writing and recognition
• Counting on and counting back
• Estimation and measurement
• Data collection and analysis

Not common practice in preschool:

• Doubles and near doubles
• Anchoring numbers to 5 and 10

Reference
   Van de Walle, J. (2009). Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching developmentally (7th ed.). New York: Longman