Involve your child in:

• sorting (washing, odd socks, toys, cans) while tidying up
• telling you what their favourite things are – food, sport, colour reading - notice and talk about numbers.
• ask questions about the pictures like “how many birds are there?”
• a shape and number search together wherever you are, like numbers of shoes, shapes of doors and windows.
• use mathematics words during play (treasure hunts, obstacle courses, building huts) - "under', "over", 'between", 'around", "behind", "up", "down', "heavy", "light', 'round", "your turn next","before", "after", "left" and "right", "square", "triangle" – you can use your first language
• play with big cardboard boxes using words like "inside", "outside"
• play games and do puzzles; eg jigsaws, "I spy something that is longer, bigger, smaller than..."
• do water play using different shaped containers and measuring cups
• bake – talk to your child about the recipe/ingredients and how many pieces you need to feed everyone
• dance to music and sing/clap to favourite songs make and play stick games with tī rākau or newspaper rolls play with a pack of cards - make up addition and subtraction problems using numbers to 20 look at a calendar – "how many days/weeks until an event?", "how many days in the month?", "how many weekends?".
• Encourage your child to look for patterns.