Reflection on practice – Number Sense

I would say that number sense is for children to understand the relationship between numbers symbols and quantities. When I was young, I remember my mother teaching me numbers by asking me to count my fingers. This helps me in building up the basic foundation of numbers. Soon, I was able to count, recognize numbers write numbers and so on. I believe that it is essential for teachers to design high-quality number activities for children, so as to help sharpen their number sense.
 

Some common practice our pre-school setting:

• The relationship of more, less, and same Van de Walle (2009) mentioned that "Children begin to develop relational ideas before they begin school. This activity will help children to build up a basic knowledge of more, less, and same. When given two sets, most children will know which set has more and which set has less. This will usually be the case of the quantity is obvious. On the other hand if the quantity in the sets is too big, children can be asked to count in order to determine the quantity.
  

• Early counting Children can begin counting from the preschool level. In order for children to fully understand the concept of counting, they have to be able to count in sequence and perform one-to-one correspondence.
  

• Numeral writing and recognition Once the child achieves the skill of counting, he/she can be taught how to write numerals. Interesting activities such as tracing in sand, using body movements to form numerals, finger painting and so on can be implemented in the classroom. This can help to enhance children's interest in learning math.
  

• Estimation and measurement According to Van de Walle (2009), "One of the best ways for children to think of real quantities is to associate numbers with measures of things." I agree with this statement as this is a common instruction used by teachers. For instance, preschoolers can estimate the height of their friend using pencils. Children have to understand the concept of "about" in estimation. They would say that their friend is "about" 12 pencils tall.
  

• Data collection and analysis I often use graphing activities in my nursery two classroom. Graphs make it easier for children to connect numbers to real quantities and to make comparisons between the numbers. A pictorial graph shows pictures of realistic things. It helps to attract children's attention.