ABSTRACT
Those who observe young children at play will notice how readily they engage in mathematical activity. Young children spontaneously pose and solve problems that involve a broad range of mathematical ideas and processes. They enthusiastically embrace problems involving pattern, shape, number, and measurement as they explore their physical and social environments. Of particular significance in young children's mathematical development are the reasoning processes they use in learning about their world, such as spatial and quantitative reasoning, deduction and induction, and analogical reasoning. Other processes such as classifying, comparing, representing, experimenting, and creating, also play a significant role in children's mathematical development. As we illustrate in this book, children's reasoning processes are powerful facilitators of their early learning, even more so than specific items of mathematical knowledge (Perry & Dockett, 2002).
