One of the prioritized objectives of early childhood education is to ensure that all children progress through the kindergarten program and meet the overall expectations. Expectation 15 directly concerns the children’s ability to understand numbers through real-life objects and materials (ONGov, 2016). It ensures that the child develops the cognitive ability to connect abstract concepts, such as numbers, to visual representations. Furthermore, it guarantees visible learning, which is particularly significant since children learn from experience and should be exposed to real-life situations (ONGov, 2016). Therefore, connecting experiences to materials would help the child better understand both numbers and their visual representations.
In the documentation example, the child draws five lines as the preparation to stack five cups and keep count. In the current case, lines represent a more abstract concept since it is a two-dimensional object that the child cannot interact with. In other words, if the child feels more comfortable counting the number of cups using the lines, it potentially implies the child’s more profound understanding of numbers as abstract entities. Therefore, this exercise is particularly important to help the child grasp the connection between experiences and materials, as stated in the overall Expectation 15. In the documentation, the child states, “it is like magic because cups can roll and mine didn’t.” Subjectively, it further implies that the child begins to differentiate between numbers (or more abstract entities, such as lines) and materials. “Mine didn’t” concerns lines and numbers, while “cups can roll” shows the child’s understanding of materials. This method makes learning visible and teaches the child the basics of counting. Ultimately, the documentation example transparently demonstrates the child’s increased understanding of the connection between numbers and visual representations as per the objective of Expectation 15.
Reference
ONGov. (2016). The kindergarten program. Web.