Joyful Number Talks in Kindergarten

This article discusses the use of number talks to engage kindergarten children in regular joyful math opportunities in the classroom. As an educator of four- and five-year-old students in a full day kindergarten (FDK) program in Ontario, Canada, I embrace inquiry-based learning to guide children’s activities. Inspired by the childcare centres in Reggio Emilia, Italy, I continually support and scaffold the expressed interests of children in the form of projects. This means that children are engaged in and discover answers to self-directed questions on a regular basis. I have always compared kindergarten to a dance; sometimes I lead and other times I follow.