Early Exploration of Attributes with an Avocado (Early Math Collaborative)

This spontaneous interaction between caregiver and a toddler reveals a number of very early or "precursor" concepts of math. The caregiver uses intonation and stress to emphasize comparison: "we CUT the banana but we will PEEL the avocado." As things begin to get messy, the caregiver continues to provide attribute words: "it puts you in mind of lotion... smooth, spreads easily". Note how the caregiver uses a mixture of questions and comments that assume intentionality & understanding on the child’s part.

Just as the foundation of a building anchors it in the earth and provides essential support for the growing structure, in the first three years of life children engage in a very fundamental way with concepts that anchor a child’s mathematical thinking and are essential for the growth of further mathematics.

ATTRIBUTES
Attributes are properties or qualities that allow us to describe and classify the world around us. This is the most basic of mathematical thinking.
- We perceive attributes of the world around us through our senses.
- Attributes can be used to group.
- Language allows us to describe attributes with increasing precision.