Learning Path Stones

Number Recognition

Number Recognition
To begin their study of math, children must distinguish numerals from letters and shapes and understand that numbers are symbols for amounts.

Early Number Sense

Early Number Sense
As early as 6 months, babies begin to understand the concept of numbers, noticing small groups of one, two or three things. As children develop number sense they learn to count by ones, skip count and count backwards, gaining the foundation for operations. Children who have good number sense find learning operations like addition and subtraction much easier.

Time Concepts

Time Concepts
Babies quickly get in to a routine of milk, play sleep before they learn that clocks measure time and that there is a pattern to the days of the week. Concepts of time (now, soon, yesterday, next week, this summer) and times of day (morning, night) allow children to describe the past, present and future.

Art and Design

Art and Design
Creating art is an exercise in learning how to see. With increased confidence in their skills, children discover that art is a vehicle for self-expression.

Earth Science

Earth Science
Earth sciences (such as geology and oceanography) deal with the origin, structure and physical phenomena of the earth and the solar system.

Shapes

Shapes
Identifying and manipulating shapes lays the groundwork for geometry by giving children concrete experience with angles, symmetry and relative sizes.

Addition

Addition
Once children know that numbers are symbols for objects (2 stands for two cars) they learn to count sets, or groups of objects, to find sums. Finally, sets of objects can be replaced by numerals and added together in equations.

Subtraction

Subtraction
The inverse of addition is subtraction - to take away objects and tell how many are left. Once children grasp subtraction, sets of objects can be replaced by numerals in equations.

Sequencing

Sequencing
Even toddlers can often recite number names in order, but the ability to compare and order numbers in sequence indicates a practical application of number concepts.

More Than, Less Than

More Than, Less Than
The concept of more than/less than deepens a child's number sense by teaching him to compare numbers. Children begin with informal and approximate comparisons using the terms "more" and "less"; then they learn the terms and symbols for greater than (>), less than (<) and equal to (=).

Sight Words and Homophones

Sight Words and Homophones
Sight words are words that can't be sounded out and so must be learned by sight (the, he, she , was, and so on). Homophones are words that sound the same but are pronounced differently, such as to, too, and two.

Vowels

Vowels
Spelling begins with regular short vowel sounds (cap) and long vowel sounds (with silent e, cap becomes cape). Finally, children learn the rules and patterns of vowel pairs (ee), digraphs (ai in train), dipthongs (oi in boil) and r-controlled vowels (farm, bird).

Consonants

Consonants
There are more consonants sounds than there are consonants in the alphabet. A consonant digraph is a pair of consonants that stand for a single sound (ch, sh, th, wh).

Telling Time

Telling Time
Children understand time concepts (morning, yesterday) before they learn that clocks measure time. By school, they understand hours and minutes and can learn to read a clock.