Modelagem matemática na Educação Infantil: quanto tempo falta para o Natal?

This work aims to highlight the contributions of mathematical modeling in early Childhood Education. The theme was proposed by a child consisting of knowing: how much time is left before Christmas? This question became a real problem of interest to the class whose investigation focused on the calendar. The research is qualitative whose instruments used in the production of data were participant observation, the logbook, photographic records and audio recordings. The results reveal that the mathematical modeling developed is in line with the principles of children, historical and rights subject, co-producer of culture, protagonist of the teaching and learning process; attributed intentionality to educational practice providing the experience of setting time, developing and acquiring new knowledge. In this sense, mathematical modeling contributes to overcoming the assistentialist conception towards an early Childhood Education that values the singularities of childhood, promoting the integral development of the child as a citizen.