The Creative Curriculum® for Pre-K - Criterion 2.4

The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials partially meet expectations for developing numbers and counting.

The Year Ahead shows that Objective 20a Counts is addressed in every study every week. 

In the Architecture guide, there are some activities that address counting addressed at other times of day, such as when children play games outdoors that involve counting, such as:

p. 18, Exploring the Topic, Day 2, Focused Project Learning: Mighty Minutes activity MM176, “Flexing Fingers”

p. 25, Exploring the Topic, Day 3, Outdoors time of day, Intentional Teaching Experience P21, “Hopping”

p. 53, Investigation 2, Day 1, Outdoors, Intentional Teaching Experience P18, “Dribbling a Ball”

There are other counting activities found in the Teaching Guides.  For example, in the Building a Classroom Community study (p. 47), the activity called Bounce and Count has children bounce a ball and count how many times it bounces. Further in the study, p. 71, the activity Sink or Float has students count a number of objects scattered in front of them. Another activity has students build numbers from modeling clay. On page 95 of the study, students are building a set number of blocks to match the quantity. 

The teaching guides include activities on numbers and counting; however, these do not consistently follow a sequence that builds mathematical knowledge over time.

For example, in the Architecture Guide under Focused Mathematics for Exploring the Topic, the activity uses Instructional Teaching Experiences (ITEs) and Mighty Minute activities.

Day 1 ITE M21 Geoboards-children make shapes

Day 2 ITE M62 How Big Around?-children compare and measure

Day 3 ITE M31 -Lining it Up-children practice longest to shortest/smallest to largest

Day 4 MM289 Missing Shapes-children practice with patterns

Children are encouraged to say the names of the numbers through oral chanting, nursery rhyme counts, or counting sets of objects or movements. Materials sometimes connect counting to everyday life, but these activities are not included in every study. For example, children count the number of hops they complete, the number of times they hit a ball with a paddle, and recognize numbers in their classroom environment 

Subitizing is defined in Foundation Volume 5: Mathematics (p. 4) as the ability to recognize the number of items in a small set immediately, without counting. This skill typically develops with small quantities (often up to 4 or 5) and supports children’s understanding of number relationships and quantity. A few activities that support perceptual subitizing are found in Mighty Minutes:

Flash Fingers – Students are briefly shown a set of fingers and asked to identify how many they saw by subitizing. How Many Friends – Students identify how many in a set by subitizing (MM 380 & 381 cards are accessible online; not included in MM for the pre-K box).

Overall, in The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials, counting is referenced across studies and appears in the Teaching Guides through Focused Mathematics, Mighty Minutes, and Intentional Teaching Experiences. While the Teaching Sequences on the ITEs provide scaffolding within individual activities, they describe increasing levels of challenge during the implementation of a specific activity rather than illustrating how counting concepts are systematically introduced, reinforced, and extended across lessons or across the year. There is limited evidence of materials promoting an understanding of perceptual subitizing across the materials.

The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials partially meet expectations for developing numerical relationships and operations (2.4b). 

In Foundations Volume 5: Mathematics (pp. 5, 7), the curriculum defines addition as combining sets to find a total, and subtraction as removing objects to determine what remains. It also provides guidance for instruction in number and operations.

The materials provide some opportunities for children to develop an understanding of numerical relationships and operations. In Building a Classroom Community, students are introduced to basic addition concepts through isolated experiences. For example, on p. 79, Intentional Teaching Experience (ITE) M22 introduces simple addition through story problems that involve combining groups of children. Later in the same study (p. 91), ITE M37 focuses on matching quantities to numerals. 

Additional opportunities appear in the Architecture study, where students revisit numerical–quantity connections. In Investigation 1 (p. 37), students use ITE M91 during guided discovery to connect numerals with quantities, followed by choice-time exploration with number cards and dot representations that prompt children to perform corresponding actions (e.g., hopping or clapping). In Investigation 4 (p. 89), students again connect numerals to quantities through the Garden Party game (ITE M86) and count out blocks during Choice Time. 

The materials also introduce comparison concepts, particularly in the Percussion Instruments study. On page 57, an ITE provides direct instruction on comparing quantities using terms such as more and fewer, with follow-up Choice Time activities that encourage children to build and compare block towers. Another experience, Which Has More (ITE, p. 77), asks children to compare groups of objects and determine which has more or fewer items, supported by related play-based exploration. These activities introduce comparison vocabulary, including more, fewer, and most.

While these experiences include some structured activities and play-based practice, they are typically presented as individual learning opportunities rather than as part of a clearly articulated progression that builds numerical knowledge over time. The Yearlong Curriculum Guide indicates that these skills appear across multiple studies, providing recurring exposure; however, the materials offer limited clarity on how or when skills are systematically revisited or how they connect and build across experiences. Similarly, while the Teaching Sequences provide helpful scaffolding within individual activities by increasing levels of challenge, they focus primarily on support within a single lesson rather than illustrating how concepts are intentionally developed, reinforced, and extended across lessons or throughout the year.

Overall, The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials include opportunities related to addition and comparison; however, opportunities for instruction focused on subtraction, composing and decomposing numbers, and conceptual subitizing appear less frequently. Opportunities to explore numerical relationships beyond counting and simple comparison are present in some instances, and support for understanding how numbers can be broken apart, combined, or recognized in structured sets without counting is present but not consistently developed across the materials.

The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials partially meet expectations for developing geometry and spatial thinking (2.4c). 

The materials provide some opportunities for students to explore shapes and spatial relationships through structured activities and play. Foundation Volume 5: Mathematics (p. 11) states that “both two- and three-dimensional shapes are important,” and that children need opportunities to recognize, build, describe attributes, compare, and sort shapes, with examples of common 3-D shapes (e.g., cube, rectangular prism, cylinder, sphere). 

In studies such as Architecture and Percussion Instruments, students identify and describe two-dimensional shapes using pattern blocks, drawing, and creative materials, including dough, stickers, and craft sticks. Activities such as Shape Match (MM245), Buried Shapes (M30),  Stack & Measure (MM295), and Kooky Car (MM287) support recognition of shape attributes and encourage descriptive language.

In the Getting Ready for Kindergarten Teaching Guide (pg. 13, 33), ITE M20 I’m Thinking of a Shape uses geometric solids and includes 3D block materials to support identification and exploration beyond 2D shapes. In Seeds (pg. 53), children are provided with 2D and 3D shape cards during Choice Time. In the Grocery Store study (pg.21), children chose a 2D shape and created a 3D shape.

Across the Foundation volumes, there is an emphasis on the intentional use and repeated reinforcement of math and spatial vocabulary. Volume 1: The Foundation highlights that children develop understanding of mathematical concepts such as more, fewer, same, and how many through everyday experiences and teacher–child interactions (pg. 113). Volume 5: Mathematics further emphasizes the importance of integrating mathematical and spatial language (e.g., around, through, inside) into daily conversations and explicitly connecting this language to geometric concepts (pg. 13, 137–138). In addition, Volume 4: Language and Literacy reinforces that vocabulary learning is strengthened through multiple exposures and use across varied contexts (pg. 10–11).

Spatial reasoning is addressed through movement-based and interactive experiences that promote the use of positional vocabulary. Lessons such as Where’s the Beanbag? (ITE M56), Position Practice (MM250), This Way or That Way? (MM126), and Treasure Hunt allow children to apply terms like above, below, next to, and behind in meaningful contexts. Children occasionally connect shape and spatial concepts to real-world experiences, such as identifying shapes in the classroom or navigating obstacle courses.

Overall, The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials provide some opportunities for children to explore shapes and spatial relationships through hands-on activities and play. Children engage with both two- and three-dimensional shapes and use positional language in meaningful contexts, supported by guidance in the Foundation volumes that emphasizes the importance of math and spatial vocabulary. While the Teaching Guides introduce foundational geometry and spatial skills through a range of engaging activities, guidance for explicitly introducing, reinforcing, and revisiting key spatial and mathematical vocabulary is less consistently embedded over time, and connections across activities are not organized into a clearly sequenced progression of learning.

The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials partially meet expectations for developing measurement and data (2.4d).

The materials engage children through Intentional Teaching Experiences (ITEs) during Focused Mathematics time, offering opportunities to explore measurement concepts within structured instructional contexts.

In Foundation Volume 5: Mathematics, there is an emphasis on modeling measurement, revisiting concepts through play, and expanding children’s measurement vocabulary across attributes such as length, capacity, weight, and time. encourages teachers to model measuring behaviors using everyday classroom experiences (p. 22). It also provides guiding questions to observe children’s understanding of measurement (e.g., longer/shorter, heavier/lighter, holds the most/least) (pg. 23). 

In the Gold Objectives For Development and Learning Birth through Third Grade, strategies are provided for Objective 22: Compares and Measures (pg. 131). Some activities related to Objective 22 include the following ITEs:

• M02, “Counting & Comparing”

• M12, “Measure & Compare”

• M25, “The Long and Short of It”

• M26, “Huff & Puff”

• M58, “Missing Lids”

• M62, “How Big Around?”

In the Building a Classroom Community study, p. 138, ITE M58 has children line up containers from smallest to biggest and match lids to containers based on size and shape. In the Architecture study, p. 21 ITE card M62, children use yarn to measure distance around different objects. Further in the study, on p. 105, students compare objects of different weights and find objects that balance with similar weights.

Most math activities are structured and then revisited during Play or Choice Time. Some opportunities to engage with measurement concepts are present across studies; however, these experiences are not clearly sequenced to show how understanding develops over time. Activities appear across studies, with some opportunities to build on skills, though this progression is not consistently evident.

The materials offer some opportunities to connect measurement to real-world contexts. For example, in ITE M15 Molding Dough during Investigation 4 in the Architectural study, children use different measuring cups and spoons to measure, pour, and scoop ingredients to create dough. Both the Seeds and Grocery Store studies offer lessons for students to consider real-world scenarios and apply measurement to them.  For example, the ITE card M44 asks children to measure different amounts of water and then listen to the sounds it makes on the glass for guided instruction. During Choice Time, they are directed to discuss which measuring cup holds more.

The Year Ahead Objective 22c: Represents and analyzes data that is reflected in math activities associated with ordinal numbers. In the Objectives & Development for Learning expectations for this objective (pg.130) for a Pre-K 4 class states: Knows a few ordinal numbers

• Responds, “I’m the first to use the computer. Then you’re next”.

• Says, ”I was first. Justin was last”.

• Says, “I sat in the biggest chair first, then the middle-size chair, and the little chair third. I’m like Goldilocks”.

Across the Foundations volumes, there is an emphasis on supporting children in collecting, organizing, representing, and discussing information through meaningful and repeatable data experiences. Volume 2: Interest Areas highlights opportunities for children to record discoveries and classify objects, with guidance for documenting findings through drawing, constructing, molding, and graphing (pp. 139, 145). Volume 3: Social–Emotional, Physical & Cognitive Development incorporates daily data routines, such as attendance and helper charts, that encourage children to interpret and discuss who is present or absent (p. 59). Volume 4: Language & Literacy extends these practices by guiding teachers to record children’s ideas on charts, revisit shared writing, and integrate graphs and charts into both interest areas and daily instruction (pp. 55, 124–125, 191). Volume 5: Mathematics provides guidance on data analysis, defining it as posing questions, organizing responses, and representing data, and includes concrete routines such as “question of the day,” tally marks, and people graphs (pp. 31–36). It further emphasizes the use of class-created charts and graphs within a mathematically rich environment and offers strategies for reinforcing these concepts throughout the day (pp. 51, 53–59).

There are some opportunities to collect, organize, display, and interpret data. Intentional Teaching Experiences (ITE SE02) “Look Who’s Here!” (Attendance data) Children use an attendance chart to determine who is present/absent and discuss “How many children are here today? Who did not come to school?” Tallying (M06) and Graphing (M11). Mighty Minutes, How’s the Weather (MM 204) includes an activity to create a weather graph to track the weather and a review of this information with students. Syllables on the Move (MM230) includes an activity in which students graph words by the number of syllables and compare how many are in each column. 

Overall, The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials provide some opportunities for children to explore measurement and data concepts through structured activities and play-based experiences. Children engage in comparing, measuring, and representing data using hands-on materials and interactive activities that promote the use of mathematical language and reasoning. There is some guidance for teaching measurement and data-related vocabulary. The Foundation volumes offer guidance on embedding measurement and data experiences throughout the day, including modeling, questioning, and integrating charts and graphs into daily routines. While these opportunities are present across studies, they are not clearly sequenced to show how skills build over time.

The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials partially meet expectations for developing patterns, structure, and algebraic thinking (2.4e).

In the Year Ahead guide, patterns (Objective 23) are spaced throughout the curriculum. Each study has at least 2 weeks of instruction on patterns. Students engage in experiences such as identifying and extending patterns with manipulatives, drawing repeating patterns, and acting out rhythmic or movement-based patterns. 

Patterns are addressed in Intentional Teaching Experiences during Focused Mathematics, through Mighty Minutes activities that help children transition to a new part of the learning day, and in the Question of the Day. For example, in the Cameras Teaching Guide, these are the activities that address patterns:

• Intentional Teaching Experience M40, “Cube Trains”

• “Follow the Beat” (text box)

• MM239, “Musical Patterns”

• Intentional Teaching Experience M80, “Pots & Pans Band” 

• 3-Step Instruction Card 15, “Create a Color Pattern”

• MM262, “What Comes Next?”

• Question of the Day: What comes next in this pattern? 

Another example of a pattern is found in Building Your Classroom Community, ITE M40 Cube Trains, where children are asked to pretend the cubes are train cars and connect them to make a pattern. ITE M45, “Picture Patterns” (strategic questioning + pointing/labeling + pattern hunt) provides step-by-step prompts that explicitly name pattern parts while pointing (e.g., “Here is a green line… here is a red line… That is a pattern”), asks children to find/describe/copy/extend patterns, and includes a pattern hunt where children photograph patterns and then describe them using sequence language. Children have the opportunity to create, continue, or represent patterns through movement, sound, or manipulatives in M35 Action Patterns, M38 Patterns Under Cover, and MM 222 Pattern Line Up. 

In Foundation Volume 5: Mathematics patterns include movement/gesture patterns and translating between representations explains that patterns occur in “sequences of sounds and movement (e.g., stomp, clap, clap)” and describes translating a block pattern into a sound/movement pattern—work that requires children to “read the pattern using her own words” and “read it another way.” Guidance on encouraging “pattern talk”  and prompting questions to encourage vocabulary use is also included. (pp. 25–30). Strategic questioning for pattern language is explicitly modeled, and there are  teacher prompts such as “How do you know it’s a pattern?” “Can you finish this pattern…?” and “Tell me or show me how” directly support repeated, intentional pattern talk. (p. 92) 

While the lessons provide structured opportunities and play-based experiences with patterning concepts, a clear sequence of activities is not consistently evident. Some teacher guidance for introducing mathematical vocabulary is present; however, consistent reinforcement and expansion of this language across lessons is less evident. 

Real-world applications are included and provide some opportunities for children to connect patterning to everyday contexts, such as identifying patterns in nature or engaging in playful “pattern detective” activities. These experiences support initial connections, though there is room to further deepen and extend them across a wider range of contexts. For example, in the Camera study (ITE M80), children create rhythms with household items like wooden spoons and pots, exploring themes of softness, loudness, and beats. This activity helps children relate patterns to music while using familiar objects, offering a meaningful entry point for understanding patterns.

Overall, The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials include opportunities to practice patterns, structure, and algebraic thinking through both structured instruction and play-based experiences. While these activities support engagement with patterning, a clear and consistent sequence of activities is not evident, and opportunities to gradually build and advance students’ understanding in these areas are less clearly defined. Mathematical vocabulary related to patterns is introduced, and some teacher guidance is provided; supports for reinforcing and expanding this language through strategies such as gestures, repetition, or purposeful questioning are present, though not consistently applied across the materials.

The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials partially meet expectations for developing mathematical processes and skills (2.4f). 

The Foundation Volume 5 defines mathematical process skills (problem-solving, reasoning, communicating, connecting, representing), with teacher actions and examples of children applying math during play (e.g., solving whether there are “enough cupcakes for everyone”). (pp. 38–45)

The Objectives for Development & Learning have objectives that are related to some of the mathematical process skills:

Objective 11c, “Solves problems,”

Objective 11e, “Shows flexibility and inventiveness in thinking”

Objective 12b, “Makes connections’

Objective 14a, “Thinks symbolically”

Connections to these objectives are sometimes found under Questions to Guide Your Observations on the Intentional Teaching Experiences Cards. For example:

• ITE M05 Sorting & Classifying-1 question asks, “Was the child able to think of new ways to sort the objects?’ which connects with Objective 11e.

• ITE M17 Guessing Jar-1 question asks, “What strategies did the child use to estimate her answer?” which connects with Objective 11c.

In every Teaching Guide, there’s a call-out box titled Playful Observations. These address guidance for observing and supporting these skills as children naturally demonstrate them; however, they do not have explicit connections to mathematics. For example, in the Percussion Instruments study :

Playful Observations

• p.43 “Observe children engaging in interest areas and notice how they plan activities and modify their plans along the way. This could look like children assigning roles in dramatic play and then adjusting them as new children join, or like a child beginning a block construction and then moving blocks around as the structure grows. You can support children’s ability to think flexibly by encouraging them to try new ideas and to notice how other children use the materials differently.”

• p. 51 “As you observe children engaging in the interest areas, notice how they solve problems. This could look like a child examining the puzzle pieces before choosing the one they think will fit or searching through the doll clothes to find an outfit that will fit a certain baby doll. You can support children’s ability to solve problems by offering appropriately challenging materials, e.g., if a child has mastered a 12-piece puzzle, add 16-piece puzzles to the Toys and Games area.”

The materials include some activities that support the development of problem-solving skills, such as counting, comparing, and exploring mathematical ideas with hands-on materials. Teachers are guided to prompt student thinking through questions through Intentional Teaching Experiences; however, these opportunities lack variety and depth across the year. Problem-solving tasks typically focus on single-step solutions, with limited opportunities for students to engage in extended reasoning, compare strategies, or reflect on different approaches. As a result, students have few opportunities to build persistence and flexibility in problem-solving over time.

While some activities allow for open-ended responses, the curriculum does not provide structured scaffolds for students to justify their thinking or engage in sustained mathematical discussion. Opportunities for students to engage in meaningful mathematical discourse are limited, and expectations for reasoning and argumentation are not clearly articulated.

The materials include some opportunities to use mathematical language during instruction as teachers introduce vocabulary related to concepts and strategies. However, students are not consistently supported in using this language to explain reasoning, describe problem-solving strategies, or evaluate solutions. Observation prompts encourage teachers to notice student language use, but explicit instruction and guidance for developing mathematical communication lack depth and quality.

The materials also include some activities that highlight connections between mathematical ideas and external, real-world contexts, such as designing models or measuring plant growth. While these experiences are relevant, they are limited and not consistently leveraged to strengthen conceptual understanding or reasoning. Additionally, the materials provide some opportunities to use different representations, primarily through manipulatives and simple charts. These representations tend to be basic with limited exposure to more complex or abstract representations, such as graphing or data displays.

Overall, while The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K materials introduces key mathematical processes and skills, the Foundations volumes clearly position these processes (problem-solving, reasoning, communication, connections, and representation) as central to children’s mathematical learning. This guidance establishes an expectation that mathematical concepts should be taught through these processes. Across the Teaching Guides and Intentional Teaching Experiences, there are examples of these practices in use; however, they are not consistently embedded as the primary lens for instruction. As a result, opportunities for students to engage in mathematical processes and skills are present but vary in depth and consistency.