Or does it? Zero is such a powerful idea that it was once considered privileged knowledge. Now, we all wish our bank account balance had more of them– in the right position, of course. As part of the general learning and discovering about numbers, having some fun with 0 can be considered part of readiness for kindergarten.
Learning that 0 has an empty value is really very tricky, but still lots of fun. With older preschoolers, there are ways of exploring 0. Ask your child if s/he would like 0 icecream. It may take a few repeats of the question–and some powerful thinking–before your child can say “No, not 0 icecream.” Play the 0 game: 0 toys on the floor, 0 minutes to wait for lunch, 0 grumpy bears at bedtime, maybe a 0 bath. (Using 0 instead can give No a rest: “Mom, can I have a cookie?” “Right now, you can have 0 cookies. Ask me after lunch.” )
0 juice in a cup shows how 0 is an empty space, waiting to be filled. 0 may be nothing but it has lots of meaning. Q. What did the 0 say to the 8? A. Nice belt.
Did you find more than 0 ideas in this series of 10 early premath activities?