my 3 year old has stunned me this morning- how did he know this?

[ChazDingle]

I don't mean this as a boast (well i suppose it is really) but i can't tell anyone in RL.

DS 3.6 has always been good with numbers since before he could talk. This morning we were round my mums and she had bought him a set of posters off the book people. Theres various designs but one is just the numbers 1 to 100, first row is 1 to 10, 2nd row 11-20 etc.

Anyway DS goes though and names them all which i knew he could do, then he does pointing to 10, 20, 30 etc saying he is counting in 10s, i've heard him do this before so wasn't suprised (think he's seen it on Team Umizoomi). Then he says i'm going to count in 10s from 11 and basically followed the column of numbers down saying 11, 21, 31 etc to 91. Then goes to the next column and says i'm going to count in 10s from 12 and does the same.

How on earth did he know that is you follow the columns down it is counting in 10s?

That does sound clever - my DS1 is in Year 1 and 'counting in tens' is one of his targets at school at the moment (he does it quite easily btw, but he is 6 so a lot older than yours).

But you say in your OP that you think he's seen 'counting in 10s' on Team Umizoomi (presume that's a TV programme, don't recognise the name). So presumably that's where he's got it from? Don't understand your question.

I still think he sounds jolly bright though.

Ah, whoops! I've just read your OP again, and I understand what you mean now. Yes, that does sound clever.

Your 3yo is clearly a lot cleverer than me too.

I am trying to finish my PhD this year. Perhaps I could send it over and he could whizz through it for me

Yes, it is pretty clever, and the patience to do it is commendable.

But could he do it WITHOUT the 'hundred square' chart, and does he UNDERSTAND what it means?

See if he can see other patterns in the 100 square; or make a large card mask with holes that reveal certain numbers, and ask him what numbers are going to be adjacent to ones he can see, but underneath the mask.

Here's a couple of web sites to keep him entertained:

resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/interactive/numbers.htm

www.ictgames.com/

Do activities with counters, blocks, Lego etc, for 'Bonds of 10'; 'n many more than'; 'n many fewer than' ('n' being a number you specify).

Another good activity is Data Collection, and representing as a bar chart or pictogram; traffic is a favourite one, so count (tally) all the cars, trucks, buses, bikes etc; or in the park, count birds, trees, plants, etc.

PS: in 'ictgames' my favourite in numeracy is "Save the Whale".

www.ictgames.com/save_the_whale_v4.html

When the number square was introduced to DD in year 1 the first concept she learned with it is as you move top to bottom,rows increased in tens and as you move left to right columns increase in ones- units. This was combined with learning chunking.
To me that what explain how he knew how to do this.

lonecat> Hes not at school yet though (starts next september) so thats why i was suprised.

Ferguson> thats for the links i'll look at them. Its funny you say the patience is commendable because he is the least patient child ever. At nursery he is the most likely not to listen or wander off in the middle of something etc but if he's interested in something then his concentration is really good. I don't push him too push in maths type things just when he initiates as he's so good in this area but then other things (like mark making) he is quite behind

Years ago, in a pre-school, the supervisor speculated out loud that she wondered if 4 yr old boy might be deaf, because he never listened to her.

His 4 yr old friend said: "He's not deaf! He just knows what you're going to say, so he doesn't bother to listen."