Math Moments in Early Childhood

by Elisabeth Carlson, Teacher Incentive Grant Recipient

We know a child’s math identity is so important for the child to fully engage with mathematical experiences. We know that caregivers’ attitudes about math have a strong influence on how their children view math. We also know that positive early math experiences are a strong predictor for children’s later success in both reading and math, and can predict high school graduation and even future income.

In fall of 2024, I applied for the MCTM Teacher Incentive Grant (TIG). The purpose of the grant was to give me an opportunity to go into daycare environments to set up math explorations around spatial reasoning. I needed a lot of materials if this was going to work. The TIG made this possible.

In the winter of 2025, I took a leave of absence from my school district. During this time, I had the opportunity to visit some local daycares. In my “case study”, four different daycare facilities were involved. Two were in-home, and two were daycare centers. Both in-home daycares had an average of 10 children attending. One of the daycare centers had an average of 10 children in the classroom that was visited and the other center had about 20 children in the classroom that was visited. The two in-home daycares had children ranging in age from 2 to 4 years old. The centers’ preschool rooms had children aged four and five. All of the settings were located in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities. 

The daycare visits were focused on geometry-spatial sense. I wanted to make sure I had materials at each of the locations that would be appropriate and engaging for a wide variety of young learners. The materials purchased for this work were: magnetic tiles, pattern blocks (21 Century, Upscale), 3D shapes, various consumables, Christopher Danielson’s hexagon puzzles and, of course, organizing bins.

Through my work as a classroom teacher and trained Math Recovery teacher, I have learned the importance of differentiation and manipulatives as well as the importance of math exposure in the early years, too. What I did not anticipate during my initial planning, is the different daycare settings would also require me to differentiate from place to place because the experiences offered within the daycare environments varied considerably. Some had experiences with pattern blocks and some had very little. Some used magnetic tiles on a regular basis and some did not. It was crucial to bring simple wooden puzzles to the daycares that had younger children (aged 2 and 3).They were perfect for when the younger children finished tasks since the puzzles kept them engaged in math learning and exploring.

The experiences offered were progressive in nature. The children began by exploring traditional pattern blocks. The lessons shifted to comparing blocks and shapes they would see in daily life, comparing two dimensional and three-dimensional shapes and focusing on playing with 3D shapes. Finally, the children worked on creating new three-dimensional shapes. 

Because the children were encouraged to interact with the materials through creative play and respond to open-ended questions, their interests were held for the entire 40-60 minute sessions. Notes were sent home with the children after each visit, explaining the big mathematical ideas from the day and providing suggestions for continuing the thinking at home.

Each of the four setting providers reported that they are interested in having the program continue at their daycare. They thought it was very engaging and reported they were surprised and impressed how the experiences progressed from the first session to the last. Each of the providers shared they had never heard about anything done like this in the area of math before and how valuable it is for the children. They also reported that parents were pleased with the conversations their children were bringing home. 

After all of the unit sessions in each of the four locations were completed, I had the opportunity to bring the materials that were purchased to a small town library, south of the Twin Cities, to engage families and children in math play. The community we were in has a population of about 1800 people. At least 55 people and a reporter of the local newspaper showed up to the event. 

I come from a family of teachers. Back in 2022, my mom (Margaret Williams), sister (Emily Payán) and I had an idea to begin a nonprofit to promote a positive math identity. Our dream was to give math experiences to families who may not enjoy mathematics. Our goal was to show people that math can be fun! On Pi Day 2023, we filed our organization with the Secretary of State in St. Paul and our journey began.

If you are interested in learning more, you can contact me at: Elisabeth@mathyme.org  If you want to learn more about Mathy Me’s upcoming events or what Mathy Moments is up to, like and follow us on Facebook or visit our website.