Page 296 - Čotar Konrad Sonja, Borota Bogdana, Rutar Sonja, Drljić Karmen, Jelovčan Giuliana. Ur. 2022. Vzgoja in izobraževanje predšolskih otrok prvega starostnega obdobja. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem
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ja M. Maričić and Mirjana M. Stakić
2017, 9). Preschool program argues that ‘a child reacts with his/her whole be-
ing, and their intellectual, emotional, sensomotoric, social and speech devel-
opment are interwoven and dependent on each other’ (Pravilnik o osnovama
programa predškolskog vaspitanja i obrazovanja 2018, 5).
Researches of preschool children’s learning and development ‘point to the
fact that children cannot learn in the isolated subject disciplines, and that
successful development of elementary mathematical concepts cannot oc-
cur if they are isolated in special learning situations’ (Maričić, Stakić, and
Malinović-Jovanović 2018, 632). Hence the decisive role of preschool teach-
ers is to ‘prepare and ensure the stimulating environment in order to give
children the possibility for learning through touch, movement, sight and
hearing’ (Novaković 2015, 154). When developing their program, preschool
teachers are encouraged to focus on ‘creating learning opportunities as an
integrated experience for the child, concentrating on things he does (ac-
tion) and experiences (relationships), instead of focusing on preplanned in-
dividual activities based on development aspects, content areas or isolated
teaching content’ (Pravilnik o osnovama programa predškolskog vaspitanja
i obrazovanja 2018, 35–36). The child will experience learning as an element
integrated in his/her everyday life context, and through exchange with his
environment. Learning is a cooperative and communication-based process
(Pavlović Breneselović and Krnjaja 2017, 22).
When it comes to preschool mathematics education, recommendations
stating that the process of mathematical learning should be integrated with
other areas of knowledge at an early age reverberate even louder. This makes
sense, given the abstract quality of mathematical concepts on the one hand,
and the characteristics of the thinking process of children on the other hand.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and
the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) also recommend
that we should ‘integrate mathematics with other activities and other ac-
tivities with mathematics’ (National Association for the Education of Young
Children and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2002, 7). Therefore,
authors of this paper would like to draw attention to the importance of in-
tegrating preschool mathematics education and language development in
teaching practice by means of literary content for children.
Our starting point is the idea that the development of mathematical con-
cepts from an early age ‘must be placed in a realistic context, the child must
be movitated to participate in learning, and the learning process must be
prompted by internal impulses of the child’ (Stakić and Maričić 2018, 370),
but also by the ideas of Vygotsky (Vigotski 1977) and his associates who ob-
296
2017, 9). Preschool program argues that ‘a child reacts with his/her whole be-
ing, and their intellectual, emotional, sensomotoric, social and speech devel-
opment are interwoven and dependent on each other’ (Pravilnik o osnovama
programa predškolskog vaspitanja i obrazovanja 2018, 5).
Researches of preschool children’s learning and development ‘point to the
fact that children cannot learn in the isolated subject disciplines, and that
successful development of elementary mathematical concepts cannot oc-
cur if they are isolated in special learning situations’ (Maričić, Stakić, and
Malinović-Jovanović 2018, 632). Hence the decisive role of preschool teach-
ers is to ‘prepare and ensure the stimulating environment in order to give
children the possibility for learning through touch, movement, sight and
hearing’ (Novaković 2015, 154). When developing their program, preschool
teachers are encouraged to focus on ‘creating learning opportunities as an
integrated experience for the child, concentrating on things he does (ac-
tion) and experiences (relationships), instead of focusing on preplanned in-
dividual activities based on development aspects, content areas or isolated
teaching content’ (Pravilnik o osnovama programa predškolskog vaspitanja
i obrazovanja 2018, 35–36). The child will experience learning as an element
integrated in his/her everyday life context, and through exchange with his
environment. Learning is a cooperative and communication-based process
(Pavlović Breneselović and Krnjaja 2017, 22).
When it comes to preschool mathematics education, recommendations
stating that the process of mathematical learning should be integrated with
other areas of knowledge at an early age reverberate even louder. This makes
sense, given the abstract quality of mathematical concepts on the one hand,
and the characteristics of the thinking process of children on the other hand.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and
the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) also recommend
that we should ‘integrate mathematics with other activities and other ac-
tivities with mathematics’ (National Association for the Education of Young
Children and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2002, 7). Therefore,
authors of this paper would like to draw attention to the importance of in-
tegrating preschool mathematics education and language development in
teaching practice by means of literary content for children.
Our starting point is the idea that the development of mathematical con-
cepts from an early age ‘must be placed in a realistic context, the child must
be movitated to participate in learning, and the learning process must be
prompted by internal impulses of the child’ (Stakić and Maričić 2018, 370),
but also by the ideas of Vygotsky (Vigotski 1977) and his associates who ob-
296
