Abstract:

This article aims to show how, in pre-school, the development of transversal mathematical skills can be enhanced by using significant contexts related to children's daily life. Following a qualitative methodology, the solutions of five-year-old children when faced with mathematical problems were analyzed. In addition, the children were also invited to formulate and solve two other problems centered on familiar contexts. The results show that children value the representations of problematic situations through drawings which model the contexts, eventually using symbolic numerical representations only to represent some of the quantities involved. The oral communication of the children allowed the explanation of their reasoning. in conclusion, the results obtained confirm the involvement and enthusiasm of the children in challenging and developmentally appropriate mathematical situations and how they are gradually becoming more competent in problem solving and formulation.

The capacity for oral communication has gradually evolved, this aspect becoming particularly visible in the children's graphic representations that progressively included explanations of their mathematical reasoning in an increasingly clear way, facilitating subsequent communication of mathematical ideas.

Keywords:

Pre-school, problem solving.