España 
Italia 
United States 
Brasil 
Chile
Ecuador
Mexico
Colombia
Perú
Imagine a room full of Kindergarten teachers, energized, laughing, and deeply engaged, connecting with one another as they explore, build, and reimagine what it means to teach math.
Little Thinkers is Innovamat’s professional development initiative for PreK and Kindergarten teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators, grounded in the belief that the earliest years of math learning deserve intentional support. Each event combines interactive math sessions, community reflection, and cross-district connection.
Contents
A Full Day of Early Years Math Learning at Millstone Township
Early Years educators are some of the most important math teachers in a child’s life yet, they are among the least supported when it comes to professional learning in math. And often, they do not “see” themselves as math teachers. Little Thinkers was created to change that, by cultivating experiences that help Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers deeply understand the math that they teach.
The first event took place at Millstone Township Elementary School in New Jersey. Forty educators from across the state came together for a day of intentional math play, connection and conversation. Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many describing it as one of the most meaningful PD experiences they’ve attended.
Three sessions with a perfect 5/5 rating
Session 1: The Power of Playful Math
We opened by challenging the two biggest myths in Early Years math: it’s “just play”, and rigorous math has no room for play at all. The keynote showed how intentional design turns a game into a vehicle for number sense, spatial reasoning, and mathematical discourse.
Learn more in this 7-minute read: Play in early childhood education by Judith Fábrega.
Session 2: Geometry, Art, and the Words That Make Math Click
Session two was a vibrant exploration of quadrilaterals, inspired by the artwork of Graciela Hasper. Participants explored the inclusive classification of quadrilaterals, going far beyond “name the shape.” They grappled with the idea that quadrilaterals can belong to multiple categories at once! And, they justified their thinking, refining their definitions as they realized the power of discourse in making sense of math!
Everyone left with two ready-to-use classroom posters. Real artifacts. Real math vocabulary, with actionable takeaways to use the very next day in class.
Want to learn more? Read Geometry in Early Childhood Education.
Session 3: Movement, Games, and the Standards Behind the Fun
Session three gave teachers the opportunity to think like a kindergartener, while intentionally thinking about mathematics. Teachers moved through interactive game-based math “spaces” where they made sense of decomposing numbers, measurement with non-standard units and attributes and spatial reasoning. Teachers then collaborated to identify content standards and mathematics practices that surfaced in each math space. The final takeaway was for teachers to modify each space to meet the needs of their students.
One question they carried home: What is the math here, and am I protecting it?
Looking for activities that spark this kind of thinking in Early Years? Read Short activities that spark math conversations by Judith Fábrega.
The moments between sessions: Building a Math Community
“I used to think play-based learning and rigorous math were opposites. Now I think one is how we get to the other.”
Every moment of the day was intentionally designed to create time for teachers to be reflective and collaborative practitioners. Using the prompt “I used to think… now I think…”, educators reflected on how their thinking about early years math has shifted. They shared their reflections on large, brightly colored quadrilaterals and triangles, and then created a collective mural, inspired by Graciela Hasper’s artwork. (check out the mural here!)
The home-school connection is important during the early years and teachers are always looking for ways to create a home-school connection to support the work they are doing in school. Enigmath is Innovamat’s adventure-based math challenge designed to spark curiosity at the earliest ages.
We closed by reading aloud The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss: a story about planting something, tending it patiently, and trusting it will grow. A quiet tribute to what Early Years educators do, every single day, without always seeing the results.
This is just the beginning
Early Years math teachers deserve a supportive professional community that helps them connect meaningful mathematics with play. In this community, educators share ideas, learn from one another, and strengthen a shared belief: even the youngest learners are capable of deep, rigorous mathematical thinking. Innovamat’s Little Thinkers goes beyond a single workshop. It is cultivating a network of educators who hold one another to a shared standard: that the youngest mathematicians in our schools deserve our very best.
Look for Little Thinkers as it grows into an annual, regional event. We’re expanding alongside the Innovamat network across the U.S.
FAQS about Little Thinkers and Early Years Math Professional Development
Little Thinkers is an Innovamat initiative: a professional learning day for PreK and Kindergarten educators. It combines hands-on math sessions, reflection, and community-building for teachers, coaches, and administrators.
For anyone involved in Early Years education: classroom teachers, math interventionists, instructional coaches, and school or district administrators.
Sessions cover intentional play in math learning, geometry vocabulary and spatial reasoning, and movement-based math activities grounded in the Standards for Mathematical Practice.
Play, when designed with intention, is one of the most powerful vehicles for developing early mathematical thinking. At Little Thinkers, we explore how to design play experiences that build number sense, geometry, and reasoning from the earliest years.
Yes. Our vision is to make it an annual, regional event and to expand as the Innovamat community grows across the US. Stay tuned.
