Abstract
Many children in the USA and Canada have access to a wide range of experiences that can support their early numeracy development. Nevertheless, children’s early numeracy knowledge varies considerably in these countries as a function of parents’ education, socioeconomic conditions, parents’ attitudes, beliefs, knowledge about mathematics, and preschool and school educators’ knowledge and experience. In this chapter we provide a selective overview of some of the factors that are related to children’s early numeracy experiences and suggest contexts and circumstances that may facilitate or hinder children’s learning. Parents’ provision of formal and informal opportunities that allow their children to experience number, space, and related concepts and their willingness to engage in meaningful activities may all influence the quality of children’s early experiences. We conclude with suggestions for further research to explore ways in which adults can enhance the home numeracy environments of preschool children.
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Skwarchuk, SL., Vandermaas-Peeler, M., LeFevre, JA. (2016). Optimizing the Home Numeracy Environments of 3- to 6-Year-Old Children in the USA and Canada. In: Blevins-Knabe, B., Austin, A. (eds) Early Childhood Mathematics Skill Development in the Home Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43974-7_8
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