SMILING DOG® Math

Happy Back to School 2025!

• I've added several more dates 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)

 

 

SECRETS of EARLY MATH SUCCESS! | Video 1 | Don't Start With Simple Counting!

 

Early Math Success Secret – Counting to 5 or 10 isn't the best place to start a child learning math. VIDEO 1 explains why, where to start instead, and why it matters a lot!

 

Early Math Success Secret – Spending too much time on simple counting (rote counting) can actually CAUSE  PROBLEMS WITH MATH. It can result in a child thinking numbers simply give a name (e.g., "one," "two," "three," etc.) to an item based on the order in which the item was counted. If this is a child's exclusive view of numbers, they will not be able to understand mathematics. (See VIDEO 1!)

 

Early Math Success Secret – Instead of starting with simple counting, START WITH SOMETHING CALLED "SUBITIZING." What's subitizing? When we subitize, we recognize the size of small groups without counting. VIDEO 1 – Explains why starting a child learning math with subitizing matters a lot!

 

Early Math Success Secret – Inherent in being able to subitize is understanding the idea of a GROUP and that numbers tell us "how many of something are in a GROUP." This is the view of numbers needed to understand mathematics (i.e., addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc.) (See VIDEO 1!)

 

Early Math Success Secret – Many Counting Books & Videos can reinforce problems with mathematics if we don't establish the math foundation needed first. So, before you read your child another counting book or have your child watch another "Learn to Count," "Count to 10," or "I Can Count" video, please watch 10 SECRETS of EARLY MATH SUCCESS Video 1 (and Video 2, 3 & 4) to build the needed foundation. You'll never look at a counting book the same again! Links to the first three videos are on the Home Page (Video 4 is under development), and below.

Video 1 - Don't Start MATH With Simple Counting. Please Don't!

Video 2 - At First Don't Count, Subitize! Here's How

Video 3 - Subitize to 4 Before Learning To Count!

 

More will follow...

 

Please share any questions, comments, ideas below or email me via the "Contact" page.

 

Enjoy!

 

Dr. Marty Epstein (PhD Math Ed)

Question: Does it matter how a child starts learning math?

 

Answer: Yes! It matters a lot!

 

Problem: Most of us don't know how little kids first learn math and what can go wrong. And, unfortunately, a lot of early math materials and books have important blind spots and aren't informed by research about "how children really learn math."

 

Solution: Through these 10 Secrets of Early Math Success YouTube videos, you'll learn how little children first learn math and what can go wrong. Maybe your child can already count to 10 or 20, but when you ask them "How many are there?" they don't give you a number as an answer, but instead just count the group of objects again. Hmmm...what's going on? Or maybe you have a toddler, a preschooler, a PreKindergarten child, or even a child in Kindergarten who needs to start learning math, and you want to get them off to a strong start. These 10 Secrets of Early Math Success YouTube videos can make a big difference!

 

Links to the first three videos are on the Home Page, and here's a link to the first one. Video 1 - Don't Start MATH With Simple Counting. Please Don't! This first video explains why starting math with simple counting can be problematic and where to start instead. These videos are a perfect complement to my Very Early MATH: Set 1 & 2 books (Available via Amazon and through the links on this website).

 

More will follow...

 

Please share any questions, comments, ideas below or email me via the "Contact" page.

 

Enjoy!

 

Dr. Marty Epstein (PhD Math Ed)