How might we cultivate a joyful numerate community in our early childhood and primary classrooms?
Join Michelle Morris Jones as she chats with Carrie Halbasch and Kirsten Myers-Blake about practical, concrete strategies for developing early number sense, fostering positive math identities, and weaving mathematical thinking into everyday routines.
Carrie and Kirsten share their deeply held belief: all children are capable mathematicians, and numeracy (just like literacy) is a civil right. Numeracy begins when a child stacks their first block tower and continues as they line up for their first day of school. By seeing these everyday moments with fresh eyes, teachers can intentionally build number sense, mathematical identity, language, and community. In this episode, Carrie and Kirsten explain what it means to be numerate and how Early Childhood and Primary Educators can cultivate joyful, inquisitive, numerate communities through daily rituals and routines ~ from attendance and morning meetings to transitions and movement breaks.
About Carrie & Kirsten
Carrie Halbasch brings 34 years of early childhood teaching experience to her work as a PEBC Staff Developer. A lifelong advocate of math through exploration and discovery, she guides teachers in using the Workshop Model to create collaborative classrooms where young students problem-solve, share their thinking, and discover who they are as mathematicians.
Kirsten Myers-Blake has spent 25 years teaching students and educators across Colorado, the Carolinas, New York, California, South Dakota, and Kentucky. As a PEBC Staff Developer and advocate for both literacy and numeracy, she helps adults deepen their own learning so that students can follow their lead with excitement. Kirsten is passionate about building trusting, joyful communities where identity and thinking flourish.
Learn with Carrie & Kirsten
Carrie and Kirsten lead the PEBC Foundations of Numeracy Institute in Denver and across the country. Learn more here
About the Podcast
The Phenomenal Teaching Podcast, brought to you by the Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC), showcases educators who are making classrooms and schools more phenomenal than ever ~ through intentional community, purposeful planning, workshop structures, thinking strategies, rich discourse, and assessment practices that promote student agency and deep understanding.