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Math Games and Programs

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Posted by Your Guide on March 1, 2006 8:29 PM

Children’s educational software programs are available for every ability level and math skills are one of the most common types of programs. It is arguable that our preschoolers of today will be the math geniuses of tomorrow because they learned to love math before they were told math was difficult. Preschoolers don’t have the “I’m not good at math” mindset. They only know they enjoy their math game. Then, when they get to an organized classroom setting, they find that they are ready for all the math the teacher can provide because they played math games when they were preschoolers.

Math games are often the best for preschoolers since concepts like matching, grouping, and counting can be enjoyed by pre-readers and readers alike. Skills build upon these basic concepts and numerals 0-9 are easier to learn than all 26 letters of the alphabet and all the sounds they make, not to mention all the possible combinations of those letters that form words. By comparison, math skills are the simpler ones to master, making them perfect for early learners.

Math games in the preschool realm are often slower paced than later games will be, but are filled with all forms of positive reinforcement and almost no condemnation when the answer they have chosen is the wrong one.

Children’s educational software has an unwritten rule about positive reinforcement and the lack of negative responses for wrong answers. Preschool children, just like the rest of us, are encouraged by the happy sounds the computer makes when they choose the correct answer. And since the likelihood of their choosing an incorrect answer is very high at first, program designers do not want to give the children any negative responses so that they will continue to play the game.

Next Page: Pre-reading, and Reading Programs

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