Addition is when we join things together. Subtraction is when we take one number away from another number. Multiplication is when we add the name number over and over. Division is when we break a number apart and share it equally. These are simplistic definitions but for young children who are beginning to play with numbers and understand the ways in which numbers can be manipulated, they characterize the key concepts in operations. For young children, good literature or songs are initial entry points to operations. Having children draw a number story and begin to quantify their drawings and add numerals helps children to symbolically represent what may have been in their minds for some time. Revisiting collections and telling stories about them is a way to begin to help children to represent the idea that numbers can be joined and separated in particular ways.
