Just led a wonderful workshop at the California Association for the Education of Young Children's 2015 Annual Conference in Sacramento.  When early childhood teachers can see themselves as problem solvers and mathematicians, they are able to help their students see themselves as problem solvers and mathematicians.

Here are the handouts as well as some photos of the exercises we did...

I gave another workshop today for the Region IX Head Start on Creating Early Math Games that Work!  Was so much fun to play games with all of the teachers, go over the research, and then have everyone create their own games!  :-)

Here are the slides, as promised...

I presented today to 100+ preschool teachers at the Region IX Head Start Early Childhood STEM Institute.  Thanks to everyone who came to the workshop!  Hope you learned lots, and had some fun with math along the way!

Here are the slides, as promised.... 

And here's the Tiny Candy Store problem, as well as some of the other problem solving exercises that we did, and some that we didn't get a chance to explore...

And last, but not least, some of the work that all of you participants did as part of the workshop...

A friend asked for some recommendations for good math & science games and toys for a two and a four year old... Here's the short list I typed up - would love any other suggestions of what's worked well with your little ones!  :-)

.....

The best math & science toy especially for that young age is probably an interactive adult and going out into nature!  :-)  But I'm assuming you were thinking something more along the lines of things you can buy for said two and four year old....  (one note, a lot of these things might say for older children, but that's often because of small pieces - if they're going to be used with supervision and with interaction, then they're good for younger!)

On the math side...
* Tangrams are fun for building spatial sense - http://www.learningresources.com/product/139345.do
* Building patterns is a good skill, can certainly do this with household objects as well - http://www.learningresources.com/product/beads+and+pattern+card+set.do
* Basic 'move your piece along the number line' games are really good.  Chutes and Ladders works, although for younger kids, you often have to create your own game on paper with fewer numbers.  http://www.parentingscience.com/preschool-math-games.html  Somewhat surprisingly, I don't know of any commercial versions, despite strong research backing... http://www.psy.cmu.edu/~siegler/sieg-ram09.pdf 
* Puzzles are great for building spatial skills, and if the little girls happen to want pink, princess stuff, you can still sneak in puzzles!  http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2012/02/15/puzzle-play-helps-boost-learning-important-math-related-skills
* Legos or other building blocks also build spatial skills - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roberta-michnick-golinkoff/a-chip-off-the-old-block-_b_4640310.html

On the science side...
* Different kits to experiment with what happens in different situations are good.  http://www.timberdoodle.com/Primary_Science_Set_by_Learning_Resources_p/047-215.htm
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VE6U0O?ie=UTF8&tag=thearealist-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000VE6U0O
http://www.amazon.com/POOF-Slinky-Scientific-Explorer-Blowing-11-Activities/dp/B000BURAP2/ref=cm_cr_dp_asin_lnk
* Bubbles are always fun!
* Lots of experiments can be done with household items - http://www.parentingscience.com/preschool-science-activities.html
* Tickets/passes to local science museums or zoos - I'd love to go to this Little Makers program!  http://nysci.org/little-makers/

On the tech side...
* I'm still enamored with Robot Turtles - http://www.thinkfun.com/robotturtles/
* LittleBits are cool - would definitely need supervision and support though for youngun's - http://littlebits.cc/kits/base-kit
* ScratchJr is now available - http://www.scratchjr.org/

My final project for the Harvard Educational Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship course - a non-profit business plan for the Early Math Initiative, 

"The mission of the Early Math Initiative is to promote mathematical understanding and problem solving among young children with a special emphasis on low-income children ages 2-5 in the United States. The Early Math Initiative provides high-quality, one-on-one interactions with trained volunteer 'buddies' in early ed settings such as preschools or daycares, plus family support and in-home materials, to develop the critical early math skills, confidence, and joy, which young children need to be successful in school and in life."

Short Prezi I made for my Harvard Social Entrepreneurship in Education course, describing more about the Early Math Initiative, a non-profit effort to promote mathematical problem solving and confidence in young children.

My first paper for EDUC E150, Educational Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship In Comparative Perspective, 
Spring 2014 - Harvard Extension School - a brief problem statement on School Readiness: Early Math Learning.

My Final Policy Analysis Research Paper for SSCI E101, Education Policy Analysis and Research Utilization In Comparative Perspective, Fall 2013 - Harvard Extension School on the importance of numeracy in UK early learning policy.

My Quora response to "What are the best ways to foster math skills in very early childhood?"  http://www.quora.com/Education/What-are-the-best-ways-to-foster-math-skills-in-very-early-childhood

There are definitely a lot more resources for early literacy than early math (about three times as many hits on Amazon), but early math is as important, if not more important.  Research has found that early math skills are of course predictive of later math achievement, but are also more predictive of later reading achievement than early reading skills are. (Page on Ncpat)

Early math is so much more than just counting, but we can start there.  Just as early language strategies tell you to "read, read, and then read some more", you should "count, count, and then count some more!"  :-)  Don't just recite the numbers, but count actual objects.  Count your baby's toes, count the steps as you go up stairs, count out crackers as you're eating.  "One wheel, two wheels, three wheels, four wheels, the car has four wheels!"

Besides counting, early math involves measuring.  First measuring just means labeling with words, such as "bigger", "smaller", "longer", "shorter".  And later, measuring involves using measuring tools like rulers and measuring cups.  Just as with trying to use counting in everyday language, try to use measurement words when talking with your little ones.

Early math is also about recognizing patterns.  Patterns are all over - there are patterns in time (our bedtime routine is snack, bath, song, and then lights out) and patterns in space (making a line of two short blocks, one long block, two short blocks, one long block).  Ask your child, "What do you will come next?" or "What's missing?"  You can use music and movement to create patterns, such as jump, clap, tap your head.

Early math involves sorting and organizing data.  At the beginning, that just means matching socks by color or sorting food by whether it goes in the fridge, freezer, or cupboard.  Later, analyzing data means making simple charts or graphs of the weather, or what color cars passed by the house that morning.

Interaction is the key - talking with your child about mathematical concepts, which doesn't mean explaining calculus to them - it just means saying "over" and "under". 

The NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) has some good resources... Math Talk with Infants and Toddlers

The Twitter feed @EarlyMath also posts lots of interesting research and ways to develop early math skills. Early Math (earlymath) on Twitter