Early Math with the Wooden Fellows: The Complete Series

Early mathematics provides numerous opportunities to witness the full potential of young children. From counting songs to sorting buttons, from measuring a piece of wood to spotting shapes while waiting at a restaurant, early math is about noticing and making sense of the world around us.

The wooden Fellows and I wrote a series on early mathematics, with each post focusing on a key area. This post brings them all together in one place.

With numerous free, research-based resources available online, our goal was simply to raise awareness about early mathematics and share ideas with anyone curious about helping young children develop these crucial skills.

Numbers and Operations

Young children are often quite curious about numbers — especially big ones. But counting is more than saying the numbers in order. In this post, we looked at how rote counting develops (and why eleven, twelve, and thirteen are so tricky!), how to track what is counted (one-to-one correspondence), and how to understand that the last number said is the total (cardinality).

We also talked about writing numbers, shared the story of LMNOPete, the importance of zero, and the fun discussions that can emerge from noticing “unusual” numbers.

→ Read the post: Young Children’s Journey Towards Counting — A Review from Mme Rigolotte

We also wrote a post on how stories can be used to embrace early mathematics beyond counting. As you know, Mme Rigolotte LOVES picturebooks!

→ Read the post: Going Beyond Counting — Exploring Early Math Through Stories

Measurement

Children’s understanding of measurement develops through playful exploration of concepts such as size, length, weight, volume, time, and more.

In our post about measurement, we shared how to explore measurement attributes with children, how to compare and order by size or capacity, and how to introduce the idea of assigning numbers to these attributes.

We highlighted how to engage with measurement in authentic ways through everyday activities, picturebooks, and unexpected moments (including a story about Rosie’s tent!)

→ Read the post: Measuring with Young Children — A Reflection from Mme Rigolotte

Geometry and Spatial Sense

Geometry for young children is not just about naming shapes — it’s also about describing what we see and thinking deeply.

It involves identifying and describing attributes of shapes, composing and decomposing them in playful ways, and building spatial vocabulary (in, under, next to…) through books and pretend play.

In our post, we suggested the benefits of solo exploration through picturebooks, blocks, puzzles, and shape hunts, and the power of sharing ideas with others — allowing young children to build precision in their language and understanding of shapes.

→ Read the post: Geometry and Spatial Sense with Young Children — Few tips from Mme Rigolotte

Early Algebra

Nope, this is not about equations — it’s about noticing patterns and making predictions.

This post outlined four steps: noticing recurring patterns, describing them, predicting what comes next, and creating new patterns.

It also suggested ways to strengthen young children’s algebraic thinking while reading picturebooks, walking outside, shopping (with Petite Clothilde noticing rows of seeds!), choosing clothes, or moving through routines.

→ Read the post: Early Algebra — Noticing Predictability with the Wooden Fellows

Data Representation

Opportunities to notice similarities and differences, collect information, and ask meaningful questions are cornerstones of data analysis. As young children make sense of the world they live in, they can develop their data-sense skills.

In our post, we highlighted how to embrace their natural curiosity, notice their noticing (with Mme Rigolotte using buttons with Petite Clothilde!), and gently introduce the next step: representing what we see.

→ Read the post: Data Representation in Early Childhood — How to Raise Future Data Analysts!

That’s a wrap!

We hope this series highlights the meaningful ways early math appears in everyday life.

Thanks for reading along with us.