Developmental Milestones in Mathematics

The development of mathematical thinking skills begins at birth. It occurs in a very natural way through play, routines and loving interactions with adults.

From Birth to 12 months, the child is…

• exploring with her senses and motor skills
• actively developing a physical sense of where she is in relation to the world
• developing a basic understanding of patterns, as they relate to her world
• using basic classification skills (i.e., mom/not mom)
• beginning to test ideas (i.e., grabbing or banging objects to see if she can get a response.)

From 12 to 24 months, the child is…

• experiencing spatial relationships hands-on, as she is mobile!
• learning by imitating adults and through trial and error experiments
• understanding the concept of object permanence (the idea that people and things exist even when she can’t see them)
• developing object classification skills – matching, using one attribute at a time. These skills will one day be used for measurement, algebra and geometry.
• developing ordering and sequencing skills. These skills will one day develop into an understanding of numerical comparisons (more/less) and quantification (how much/ many).
• beginning to incorporate relationships in her play to represent quantities. (i.e., setting out two plates and cups for two people). This is the beginning of one-to-one correspondence.  

From 24 to 36 months, the child can…

• observe a peer as she engages in parallel play
• verbally count to three
• non-verbally and mentally understand addition and subtraction with the numbers "one" and "two"
• visually compare, using the words “same” and “more”

• recognize patterns in daily routines
• show an interest in physical patterns
• show symbolic thinking with pretend play
• complete four- to eight-piece puzzles
• sort, order and build with solid shapes
• put together and take apart shapes
• stack a set of rings on a peg by size
• understand a daily time sequence (i.e., time to eat, nap time)
• explore objects by filling and emptying containers (i.e., with sand or water)
• sort and classify objects (hard/soft, big/small, heavy/light)