Spatial Awareness = Problem Solving Success

I've been teaching for over 25 years and I've always thought that those individuals with what I refer to as having an innate curiosity tend to perform better in mathematics.  When I refer to this innate curiosity, I merely mean that a child who is determined to see how things work, how things fit together and how to take things apart only to put them back together again. I then came across this research that shows that a toddler's spatial knowledge may lead to a better understanding of number lines and solving math problems. Therefore, improving spatial skills may just have a better achievement outcome in math.