Our mission: Counting Fingers and Toes empowers parents to play an active role in their child’s math learning by providing them with the knowledge and tools they need to engage in math activities at home.
We Believe:
- All children are capable of excelling at all levels of math.
- Math is about creativity and flexibility.
- Children need strong numeracy skills to pursue big goals.
- Families play an essential role in their child’s math learning.
Why early math learning?
Research shows if children are behind in math skills when they enter kindergarten, they tend to stay behind. Additionally, by the time children enter kindergarten, there is already a gap in math performance between children from low socioeconomic backgrounds and those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. In order to give all children the ability to succeed in elementary school and beyond, it is essential that we begin supporting children’s math learning as early as possible.
Why parents?
Parents are children’s first teachers. Children spend the majority of their time at home with their parents, and a child’s home environment has the potential to be full of learning experiences that support cognitive development. Although engaging in math activities at home is a strong predictor of children’s math performance, many parents are unsure of how to support their child’s math learning. Furthermore, many adults report having some level of math anxiety or discomfort with doing tasks that involve math.
I am Rachel Devaney, and I live in Nashville, TN. I have spent the last nine years working in schools with students in grades 5-12, as both a teacher and instructional coach. I currently work as a computer science curriculum designer.