Take a moment to watch the three videos below. All three experiences have similar math goals in mind: patterns, recognizing attributes and characteristics, and sorting. In each experience, a different type of material was provided that are commonly found in early childhood classrooms: self-correcting matching puzzles, counting bears, and natural materials--in this case, 3-dimensional, artificial fruit and small woven and plastic baskets. As you watch each brief video, write down the pros and cons for each material, what the children might be learning, and other lessons you could plan with those materials.
Listen as our pedagogical expert Amy Kronberg describes the benefits and disadvantages of each material in the “voices from the field” video commentary below.
VOICES FROM THE FIELD COMMENTARY: