Everyday Maths

Year 1

Help your child to:

find numbers around your home and neighbourhood – clocks, letterboxes, speed signs
count forwards and backwards (clocks, fingers and toes, letterboxes, action rhymes, signs)
make patterns when counting "clap 1, stamp 2, clap 3, stamp 4, clap 5…"
do sums using objects such as stones or marbles eg 2 + 3, 4 +1, 5 + 4
make up number stories – "you have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. There are 4 of them"

Here's a tip - maths is an important part of everyday life and there are lots of ways you can make it fun for your child.

Involve your child in:

preparing and sharing out food – "two for me and two for you". Ask, "How many for each of us?"
talking about time – "lunchtime", "story time", "bedtime"
using words in everyday play like "under", "over", "between", "around", "behind", "up", "down", "heavy", "light", "round", "circle", "yesterday", "tomorrow". You can get library books with these words and ideas in them too
asking questions like "How many apples do we need for lunches? What do you think the weather is going to be like today/tomorrow? What are we going to do next?"
play with water using different shaped containers and measuring cups in the sink or bath
bake – talk to your child about the recipe/ingredients using words like "how many?" "how much?" "more". Count how many teaspoons of baking soda are needed, how many cups of flour, how many muffin cases
play dress-ups and getting dressed, use words like "short", "long", and ask questions like "what goes on first?", "what goes on next?", "does it fit?"
create a ‘sorting box’ with all sorts of ‘treasure’ – bottle tops, shells, stones, poi, toys, acorns, pounamu (greenstone), cardboard shapes, leaves. Ask questions like "how many?", "which is the biggest group?", "which is the smallest?", "how many for each of us?"
do jigsaw puzzles, play card and board games and build with blocks.

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