September 2025

Written By Chris Wright

Welcome to EFM's September Newsletter!

Read, Count, Play – Every Child, Every Day!

It is essential that every caregiver in the world reads books and does math with their young children!

EFM believes in every child’s mathematical right to equity, opportunity, and personal fulfillment.

Guest Author

Erin Wahler-Cleveland, EFM board member, long-time middle school math teacher, and mom of 3- and 5-year-old girls returns as the guest writer of the September newsletter. Erin discovered Early Family Math in her quest to deepen her own understanding of early childhood math while building Roots and Wings Math—a new venture focused on empowering parents to foster strong foundations and positive mindsets for math learning with their toddler and preschool-age children.

If you want a printable guide to the activity featured below plus two more that are great for 3-5 year olds, you can get the 3 Powerful On-the-Go Early Math Activities guide here!

More Bedtime Math Moments

Recently, a family friend gave each of my girls a copy of a book called 4 is a Little. 4 is a Lot. The book was inspired by the author’s own child asking a simple but surprisingly deep question:

Is four a lot?

Turns out, the answer is: it depends!

  • 4 shots at the doctor’s office? A lot!

  • 4 blueberries? A little… unless you don’t like them.

  • 4 cupcakes? A lot for just me, but just right if I have three friends to share with!

If you caught the June newsletter, you already know how much I love turning reading time into math time. Often, that involves counting skills—but this book taps into something different: early reasoning.

Why This Is So Great

Talking about whether a number is “a lot” or “a little” supports math development in some powerful ways:

  • It requires authentic thinking

  • There are many reasonable answers

  • It draws on your child’s own experiences and interests

  • It helps them make sense of abstract ideas, like time

Think about it: 4 minutes can feel like a lot, a little, or just right—depending on how you're spending it!

The Goldilocks Routine

This book instantly reminded me of the “Goldilocks routine,” which I learned about from Sue Looney. You can find an overview in my free guide, 3 Powerful On-the-Go Early Math Activities, but here’s the gist of it using an example.

When we tried it with the number 100, here’s what my daughter Janelle (fresh out of Kindergarten) said:

  • 100 is too many TVs

  • 100 is too few atoms

  • 100 is just the right amount of cups if you have 100 people at your party

You can’t make this stuff up!

Try It This Week

Pick a number—any number—and ask:

  • When would this number be too much or too many?

  • When would it be too little or too few?

  • When would it be just right?

Get ready for some hilarious and brilliant answers.

This routine grows with your child, too. Try these with your older children:

  • Bigger numbers (2-digit, 3-digit, etc.)

  • Fractions or decimals

  • Money amounts or time spans

If you try it at the dinner table with the number 6 this week, I’d love to hear what your family comes up with. Send me an email to erin@rootsandwingsmath.com and share what happened!

Wrapping Up

Whether or not I see you over at Roots and Wings Math, I wish you many joyful discoveries as you read, count, and wonder together.

Warmly,

Erin

If you have any questions or comments, please send them our way! We would enjoy the opportunity to chat with you. Also, if you are interested in collaborating with us or supporting us in any fashion, we would love to talk with you about ways we can work together!

September 18, 2025

Chris Wright
Chris@EarlyFamilyMath.org

Erin Wahler-Cleveland

erin@rootsandwingsmath.com

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Early Family Math is a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, #87-4441486.

Chris Wright
Next

August 2025