A child’s number sense refers to his or her fluidity and flexibility with numbers. It helps children understand what numbers mean, improves their mental math performance, and provides them with the tools to compare math in the real world.

Children with strong number sense think about numbers in a flexible and fluent manner. They are able to:

• Visualize and hold a conversation freely about numbers.
• Breaking numbers apart and putting them back together in different ways, for example, 5+0=5; 4+1=5; 3+2=5; 2+3=5; 1+4=5; 0+5=5 and so on, helps the children learn all the ways to make five.
• Mentally compute — solving problems in their heads rather than using paper and pencil.
• Relate numbers to real-world problems by connecting them to their surroundings.

The importance of number sense

Number sense is essential for young math students because it helps in building confidence and encourages flexible thinking. It enables the children to develop a relationship with numbers and to speak about math as a language.

When does number sense develop?

Klein and Starkey (1988) discovered that we are born with a sense of number. They measured the focus time of babies looking at dots pictures and discovered that as the number of dots changed, so did the babies’ focus time. These infants had recognized a numerical difference.

Number quantity appreciation is a survival instinct. Our forefathers needed to be able to detect danger while out hunting and gathering. As a result, when one of the animals approached a couple of hunters, they saw it as an opportunity for a meal. However, if ten animals approached them, they would either flee or become the meal!

Some creative and meaningful ideas to promote number sense

Using estimation to bring math into your child’s everyday life: Calculate how many steps it takes to walk from your car to your house or how long you have to wait in line at the grocery store.

Model numbers in various ways: Seeing numbers in different contexts greatly aid your children’s understanding of numbers. Looking at numbers in a deck of cards, for example, or identifying numbers on dice or dominoes without counting the dots.

Consider different ways to look at numbers: Every day, you can ask the child to imagine a number and describe what he or she has seen. Your child will perceive numbers in various ways. Celebrate his or her unique abilities and encourage him or her to think outside the box. An eight can be compared to a snake, while a ten can be compared to a baseball and bat.

Think about math with an open mind: Instead of asking what 6+4 is, ask, “What are some ways to make 10?” This approach brings flexibility in the thinking processes and give learner the required confidence in knowing more than one answer. For example, you can ask what are the three different ways to make ten?

Mentally solve problems: Encourage your child to use mental math instead of memorization (calculating problems in his or her head). If you know 6+6=12, you also know 6+7=13. He or she can use his/her double fact (6+6) to help him/her find a harder fact (6+7) and think about problems by building on concepts he/she already knows.

Number sense develops over time as a result of opportunities to experiment and play with numbers. Visualizing numbers in different contexts, noticing relationships between numbers, and predicting patterns are all aspects of developing good number sense.

A strong number sense aids in the development of mathematical understanding. Focusing on number sense in the early grades helps lay the groundwork for older students to compute and solve more complex problems. Building a love of math in your children begins with teaching them about numbers.

Make the entire process interesting and creative for the children. Creative means will also help reduce math anxiety. Ask the younger ones random questions related to mathematics.

For example, you can ask them to count the fruits on the plate, the number of cars in the parking area, and the number of colors a child can see in his or her shirt. There are several creative ways to develop number sense among young learners.