It is never too early for students to be introduced to the tool that most of the adults around them will use whenever they deal with mathematics. The use of calculators at this level does not imply that students don't need to develop arithmetic skills traditionally introduced at the primary level. They certainly do need to develop these skills. One of the most effective uses of the calculator with young children which can be continued in grade three is the use of the constant feature of most calculators to count, forward or backward, or to skip count. This process allows children to anticipate what number will come next and then get confirmation of their guess when they see it come up in the display.
Students can greatly enhance their estimation ability through calculator use.
Range-finding games ask students, for instance, to add a number to 342 that will give them an answer between 800 and 830. After the estimate is made, it is punched into the calculator to see whether or not it did the job. Calculators will also prompt students to be curious about mathematical topics to which they are about to be introduced. For example, while routinely using calculators in problem solving activities, some students may notice that whenever they add, subtract, or multiply two whole numbers, they get a whole number for an answer. Sometimes that happens for division, too, but sometimes when they divide they get an answer like 3.5.