Mathematics

Do you ever count your yummy snacks to make sure you have enough. One, two, three crackers. Or maybe you line up all your toy cars to see how many you have. I am your secret helper for that. I am the happy feeling you get when you know exactly how many. I love to help you sort your colorful blocks and make tall, tall towers. I am like a secret friend who loves numbers and patterns, and I help make everything fair and fun. I help you see what is big and what is small, and what comes first and what comes next.

A long, long, long time ago, even before there were houses or books, people needed me. My first friends, the Early Humans, would make little marks on sticks, maybe around 20,000 BCE. Each mark meant one thing, like one sunny day or one big animal they saw. It was their way of remembering. Then, I traveled to a warm, sandy place called Egypt around 3000 BCE. My friends there, the Ancient Egyptians, used me to do amazing things. They used me to build giant, pointy buildings called pyramids. I helped them make the sides straight and the bottoms perfectly square so they wouldn't wiggle or fall. I helped them measure their farms so everyone had a fair piece of land. They knew I was a special helper, and they gave me a name. I am Mathematics.

Guess what. I am still here with you today, and I am in all your favorite games. When you build with blocks, you are playing with my shapes like squares and triangles. When you clap your hands to a song, you are feeling my rhythm. Clap, clap, clap. That's counting. I help you know how many days are left until your birthday. I help you follow a recipe to bake yummy cookies. I am everywhere. I am here to help you build, create, play, and understand your amazing world. And it is always so much fun to learn together.