The Effectiveness of a Crossword Puzzle Game in Improving Numeracy Ability of Kindergarten Children

AbstractThis research is motivated by the low numeracy ability of kindergarten children in Padang. The children still find it difficult to recognize the numbers, and the learning methods applied by teachers are less varied. This study aims at revealing the effectiveness of a crossword puzzle in improving numeracy ability of kindergarten children. This is a quantitative research with quasi experimental approach to compare between the children's ability in the experimental class and in the control class. The population of this study is the students of group B at TK Arrahim Padang. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling. Based on the calculation of the t-test, it is obtained that t^sub calculated^ is 2.78, while t^sub table^ at the level of confidence (α) of 0.05 is 2.064, so that t^sub calculated^ > t^sub table^, then the hypothesis can be accepted. It can be concluded that the use of a Crossword Puzzle Game is effective in improving numeracy ability of the kindergarten children.Keywords: numeracy ability, crossword game, kindergarten1. IntroductionKindergarten is one of the Early Childhood Care and Education found in the formal education system. As an initial educational institution, the main task of kindergarten is to prepare children by introducing them to a variety of knowledge, attitudes or behavior, skills and intelligence in order to adapt themselves to the actual learning activities at elementary schools.Education in kindergarten aims at facilitating the growth and the development of children as a whole in accordance with the norms of the values of life. Through education in kindergarten children are expected to develop all their potential both physically and psychologically which includes moral, social, economy, cognitive and language ability to be ready to enter further education.According to Law No. 20 Year 2003 PART I Article 1, paragraph 14 about National Education System, it is stated that early childhood care and education is the developmental effort which is addressed to children from birth up to the age of six years which is done through the provision of educational stimulation to assist the growth and the physical and spiritual development so that children are ready to enter further educationDevelopmental aspects that should be developed in kindergarten are developing habits that include: the development of moral and religious values, social development, emotional development, and self-reliance development. Basic skills development includes: language skills, cognitive skills, physical/motoric skills, and art One of the cognitive skills that should be developed is the numeracy skill. In developing aspects of cognitive development there are a lot of things that can be learned by children, one of which is children can master various concepts of colours, sizes, shapes, directions, numbers, magnitudes, numerals, and others.The result of preliminary observation that the researcher found in kindergarten TK Arrahim Padang is that the children's numeracy ability is still low. Children have not been fully able to recognize numbers. In order to stimulate the children's numeracy ability, the teacher rarely used games as a media in delivering the lesson. Often, the teacher only used counting textbooks, magazines, worksheets as media, and sometimes just used singing and question and answer methods, so that the children became less responsive in receiving the materials delivered by the teacher. Because the method used was less interesting and boring for the children, some of them often played by themselves or talked to their friends while the teacher was explaining the lesson.Looking at the above phenomena, the writer's main reason of doing this research is because using game in teaching is interesting; therefore, it can relieve the children's boredom in learning and can eventually enhance the children's numeracy ability.According to the Ministry of Education (2000: 1), it is stated that arithmetic is a part of mathematics which is needed in developing numeracy skills which are very useful for everyday life, particularly the concept of numbers as the basis for the development of mathematical skills. …

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