Kindergarteners and Mathematics

In today's world, we must stop for a moment and think to ourselves about this topic- Kindergarteners and Mathematics. 

What do you think of? 

What was mathematics like back when you were in kindergarten? 

As much as I can remember from when I was in kindergarten, things are A LOT different now then they were then. Back then, we were taught the basic concepts of math through structures of play. Play was everything in young children's lives of learning years ago. Today, not so much. It seems to be that kindergarteners are being taught not only math, but every subject in a more structured, strict way, with little to no play involved. 

When I say little to NO play.. I kid you not. It's sad to notice and observe how the standards and curriculums have changed drastically over the years. All these education courses I'm enrolled in are always stressing how important it is to link play to infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners learning. Reading through multiple articles that I stumble upon on the internet, it astonishes me that these children are learning math concepts such as geometry, algebra, statistics, and probability.

Thinking of all those concepts, jeez, I don't think I was introduced to them until at least the sixth or seventh grade!! Another funny thing is, you hear some of these students' parents talk with other parents about their children. What do you hear? "Oh, little Johnny pulled out a math worksheet he had to complete for homework and asked me for some help on it. I took one look at it and had no idea what to do!" Now isn't that just terrible? A young child's own mother is unable to help him with his math homework. Something needs to be done here. Either parents meet at the school with the teacher to get an understanding of what the children are learning so they can know how to help them when they need it, or the children's work needs to be a little less complicated for them to work on at home without guidance from a teacher. 

Although mathematics is not one of my favorite or best subjects out there, I would do anything to make mathematics more fun for these young children to learn! When learning is linked to play, it is linked to fun. When children are having fun, they want to keep doing whatever it is that's fun for them. If you make learning fun, the children will want to learn more!