SMILING DOG® Math

One Early Math Concept Changes Everything!

What pivotal Pre-K math concept acts as the "gatekeeper" to understanding arithmetic and higher-level math?

 

I recently explored this with a top public school district in eastern Massachusetts during a 2+ hour interactive workshop. The energy was palpable—the feedback was so positive that the teachers immediately requested a follow-up session to dive even deeper.

 

Why Work With Me?
With a PhD in Math Education and an MS in Psychology, I focus on how the brain learns, specifically how little children learn math and what can go wrong. I know the research, and as a former calculus award winner, and the mother of two sons who went on to major in math and physics, I've also "experienced" which early skills are non-negotiable for long-term success.

 

My Workshop, "Early Math's Gatekeeper," moves beyond seeing early math as a checklist of skills to be acquired and instead focuses on:

• What Math Concept Matters Most: How this single Pre-K foundation uniquely positions a child for understanding arithmetic and beyond.
• Why It's This Concept That Matters Most: How understanding this idea "glues" other early math concepts and skills together.
• The Science of Learning: Why traditional methods of teaching early math often miss the mark and what the latest research actually says.
• Immediate Application: How to make immediate tweaks in circle time and math activities to build children's understanding of pivotal math concepts.

 

Let's Bring This to Your Team!

From a 45-minute overview of these ideas to a half-day intensive, I tailor every session to the specific goals of your school, library, or organization.

 

Ready to Transform How Your Team Approaches Early Math?
Click here to contact me and let's discuss how we can help children build a strong math foundation.

 

Meet Dr. Marty Epstein
From earning an award in calculus and competing as an All-American athlete to earning her MBA at Harvard, Dr. Marty Epstein has always been fascinated by excellence and how it is achieved. Now, with a PhD in Math Education and an MS in Psychology, she applies that same passion to understanding how children first learn math and what can go wrong. Marty helps educators and parents move beyond "checklists" and "look how high I can count!" to understanding what pivotal Pre-K math concepts set the stage for a lifetime of achievement and how those pivotal concepts are learned.

 

 

Get Ready For February 2026 Vacation!

• I've added several dates in February and March 2026 when the e-books below will be free on Amazon. Click the "FREE EBOOK DATES" tab to find specifics.
•  Enjoy!

         

 

 

Link to video: TEACHING COUNTING—What Grownups Need to Know!

 

I'm just going to come right out and say this...When grownups teach children to count, they often forget, overlook, or simply don't know about several very important skills and steps.

 

And this matters... a lot!

 

Because this can be the difference between a child simply being able to count 1 – 2 – 3 and that child understanding counting in a way that provides the foundation for understanding math!

  

And if a child doesn't understand math, the only way to "do" math, including something as basic as 2 + 1 = 3, is endless, meaningless, tedious, memorization.

 

And if that's all math is to a child, it's likely that math anxiety is just around the corner, since that child won't be able to "do" any math they haven't already memorized.

 

Let's Not Do That!

 

Let's make sure the way a child is taught to count sets them up to learn, love, and understand math, and doesn't set them up for a lifetime of difficulty with math and math anxiety.

 

In this video you'll learn how to help a child understand counting in the way they'll need to understand math. Specifically, you'll learn: 

1. The key counting skills and understandings many grownups don't know about or often overlook. This includes subitizing— knowing a group's size without counting—and the Cardinal Principle—that the last number in a count tells us the group's size.
2. Why these are needed for a child to build a strong math foundation. 
3. A research-based approach for helping a child develop these critical skills and understandings.

 

If you are a parent, grandparent, caregiver, preschool teacher or kindergarten teacher who is teaching a child to count, this video is for you!

 

And if you are inspired by what you learn in this video, check out my Very Early MATH books. They are designed for you to use with your child to learn these critical math ideas:

• Very Early MATH: SET 1 (Subitizing)
• Very Early MATH: SET 2 (Learning How To Count/The Cardinal Principle)

 

Wishing you lots of fun helping children learn and love math!

 

 

Dr. Marty Epstein, PhD

 

Teach COUNTING "Right!"

Are you a preschool teacher, kindergarten teacher, parent, or caregiver who is teaching a child, or lots of children, to count? This video is for you! (Just click on the title above ... or right here!) 

 

It turns out that many children are taught to count in a way that they have no idea why they are counting. This is a problem, because a child won't be able to understand math if they don't also understand:

• WHY we count (Psst… to find the NUMBER that tells us the size of a GROUP)
• HOW counting tells us this information. (Psst…this process has a name—the Cardinal Principle. If you're not sure what this is or if you've never heard of it before … this video is perfect for you!)

Most grownups assume a child automatically learns these ideas when they learn to count 1-2-3-4-5 ... but they don't!

 

If a child doesn't understand these ideas by a certain early point, it makes understanding the math that follows close to impossible.

 

So, let's help children count in a way that lays the foundation needed to understand math! To accomplish that, in this video you'll learn:

• The 4 key math ideas a child needs to have already before they can learn and understand counting
• A research-based approach for linking these math ideas together into the understanding of counting a child needs to understand math.

 

Wishing you lots of fun helping little children learn and love math!

 

Marty Epstein (PhD Math Education)