Examining a factor structure of home math activities by math subdomain with associations to children’s math skills

Evidence of positive associations between the frequency of home math activities and preschool children’s math skills is mixed, and the operationalization of home math activities varies across studies. We test whether home math activities can be grouped by activity factors based on the math subdomain they target (i.e., counting and cardinality, comparison, number identification, addition and subtraction, and patterning) and examine associations between these activity factors and child math skills. Data were collected from 78 parents and their four-year-old children in the United States. Parents completed a home math activities survey, and children completed math assessments. Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) indicated a well-fitting model with the five activity factors (one factor per subdomain) and a sixth factor for activities that could incorporate multiple subdomains. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses indicated positive associations between activity factors and child math skills for counting and cardinality, comparison, addition and subtraction, and patterning, but not for number identification. Results reveal that this model is appropriate for older four-year-old children closer to the beginning of kindergarten but is not appropriate for younger four-year-old children. This study suggests the possibility of operationalizing home math activities by activity factors based on math subdomains.