With each new sensory experience, we were making sense of the world and constructing our own knowledge. Day by day, we began to think more abstractly rather than just in terms of what we could see and touch. And although we didn't realize it we were also forming the beginnings of our mathematical thinking and learning. Because we know that young children have the potential for a wealth of mathematical knowledge, many in the field of early childhood education encourage parents, teachers, and caregivers to explore mathematical concepts with young learners. An environment that offers a variety of mathematical experiences builds the foundation for a lifetime of valuing and appreciating mathematics.
Technology has potential advantages, and some real disadvantages.
If we are to use technology for enriching the mathematical understanding of children under the age of five, we need to use it within the context of what we know is good teaching. In the summer of 1997, the director of American University's Child Development Center in Washington, D.C., asked if we were aware of any way to use computers to teach mathematics to the children at the center. Although we were both professors at American University, we certainly weren't experts on software. We were determined to find software that was inexpensive, interesting, and easy to use. We learned that finding developmentally appropriate software matched to educational goals that meets the needs of young learners can be an exhausting task for even the most energetic teacher or parent.