Learning Story from School - 2

Learning to use numbers and make connections - week of 28th November

What I observed:

Aiden is fascinated by numbers and sees them everywhere. Whenever he notices a number he points it out. When we line up he always chooses to stand on number 13. He chooses it because it is yellow but he also knows and often states that it is number 13. Aiden has also been interested to try and write numbers on the writing table (see photo 1). On Monday 28th November when we went on the home visit to Isabella’s house he was looking out of her bedroom window (see photo 2). He immediately said to me, “Look! I see 21 and 37, 21 and 38 and 21 and 39” - these were the very small house numbers opposite (2137, 2138 and 2139). During this trip he also pointed to each of numbers on a wall clock in turn and told me which number it was (see insert photo). In Piazza Play on Wednesday 30th November Aiden was playing with the wooden trains. He had moved away from the train track and collected as many trains and carriages as he could find and joined them together (see photo 2). When I asked him how many there were he immediately said, “15”, without appearing to count them. When I asked him how he knew he could not tell me so I said (not knowing if he was right because I can’t count that quickly!), “Let’s count them together” there were indeed 15. He counted them pointing at each one in turn as he said the number. Today, Thursday 1st December, the bell went while we were eating snack. This happens on a daily basis and previously on several occasions I have answered Aiden’s questions as to why there is a bell, “It is to tell us that it is 11 o’clock and time for the PreK children to come in from the playground and us to go outside”. Today Aiden told me, “It’s 11 o’clock now and the PreK children are coming inside”. Also at snack time today I showed the children some coloured ice Sebastiaan had made earlier in the day. The ice had not fully frozen and so I held it with the design (numbers) side down. Aiden said, “It’s numbers. Show me!” then pointed to each number in turn and said it’s name (see photo 4).

What it means:

The above stories show me Aiden has 1:1 correspondence when counting, he can count beyond 30 and recognise numbers in the 20’s and 30’s, he can break a 4 digit number down into 2 x 2 digit numbers, he can relate numbers to real life e.g. telling the time and he recognises all the numerals in English. The fact he knew there were 15 trains joined together either shows he can guess well, visualise a number as high as 15 or most likely he had already counted them himself as he was playing. Aiden’s recognition of the bell at 11 o’clock shows he has remembered the answer to his previous question and now accepts that as fact. This is an example of him making connections.

Opportunities and possibilities:

I would like to find an opportunity, without quizzing him, to see just how high Aiden can count and whether his well advanced numeric abilities are matched in Chinese. I would like to find ways of applying his knowledge of numbers and number relationships to real life situations, perhaps looking at temperatures or pollution levels each morning as an example. When we cook I often use digital scales. What I have learned about Aiden and numbers this week shows me he might be able to read numbers up to a hundred and therefore I would like to give him the chance to be in charge of measuring when we next cook and need to weigh ingredients. I would also like to investigate Aiden’s understanding of quantity as a concept beyond number.

爸爸的总结——“数字狂人”。妈妈没有刻意培养engineer，甚至都没有怎么教过数数。不过耳濡目染，生在这样engineering的家庭，估计当民工是不可阻挡的了。