It took us a while to create grades 1 and 2. We wanted the technology to support the playfulness of children. We wanted it to be visually attractive. We wanted to tap into the most up-to-date pedagogy.

We wanted to get it right.

Starting with back to school 2020, Netmath’s interactive platform will extend down to the critical early years of grades 1 and 2.

When children start school, they have a full slate of ideas about the world they live in. This includes mathematics. Some of these ideas are correct. Some need refinement. Some need correction. The important thing is that children are curious and will gravitate towards mathematics that is aligned to their individual modes of expression and learning.

We just need to give them the right tools and get out of their way.

The best manipulative tool children have is their fingers. They should always be encouraged to use their fingers to count, add and subtract. That is why we have included visuals that support and reflect their emergent world of thinking about numbers.

The new visuals you will see are the creations of our illustrator, Mathieu Beaulieu. He took the ideas of the content team and brought them to life with a lightness and color that should appeal to young learners.

Then there was the major didactic challenge of adapting our content for early math learners. Fortunately, several resources were on hand to help us create content that is well adapted to students’ development! Here is an example: Making Math Meaningful to Canadian Students, K-8 by Marian Small

In this teaching resource, the author sets out what she thinks are the best practices for presenting relevant content to students. Each time we had to make a choice or clarify our editorial line, this resource offered tremendous guidance!

For example, we discovered the importance of pairing math activities with the manipulation of concrete objects. So, we developed digital objects that represent materials used in the classroom. We believe that Netmath will provide fertile ground for exploring and applying students’ classroom experiences.

We hope that you’re as excited as we are about this wonderful news! If you’re interested in bringing Netmath into your classroom next year, please inform your school administration as soon as possible.

You don’t teach early math? Share this article with your colleagues so that they can take advantage of this new Netmath resource!