Maths AT HOME

Numbers

The Early Learning Goal by the end of a child's 4th year: Most children can count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Children can use quantities and objects, they add and subtract two single digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. Children by the end of their 4th year can also learn to solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing.

• Singing songs that take away or add things e.g. 10 green bottles, 1 man went to mow, 5 little monkeys

• Exploit all counting opportunities – count stairs, count buttons, count gates when on a walk, count ‘red’ cars on a journey etc.

• Commercial games such as snakes and ladders - these help with the counting on strategy.

• Throwing beanbags/balls at numbered targets and adding up scores – who scored the most? The least?

• Practice counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.

• Look for numbers whilst walking or on a journey.

• Ask questions like ‘if I took one away how many would I have left? ‘ or if I add one how many have I got now?

• Use magnetic numbers. Put them in order. Miss one out of a sequence – do they know which one is missing ?

Shapes, space and measurement

The Early Learning Goal by the end of the child's 4th year for shape, space and measure:

Children can use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. They learn to recognise, create and describe patterns. They explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.

• Looking for and name shapes at home and in the environment.

• Talk about 3D (solid) shape names - packaging on food items is an excellent way.

• Junk model with 2D and 3D shapes – can you name them all?

• Make pictures with different shapes.

• Involve children in cooking. Look at numbers on scales and measuring jugs.

• Measure and compare feet sizes and height of other family members.

• Shopping activities – real or pretend – use real money to help identify coins and weight.

Find the math in daily routines at home - Make math fun!

• Spotting numbers on houses..buses.. In your everyday environment.

• Writing numbers in glitter, mud etc. (different textures)…

• Number sequencing in the bath…wherever the opportunity arises.

• Anything that is fun and informal..

Young children begin to develop math concepts and skills very early in the first years of life. Family members play a special role in helping children learn about math. Throughout the day, as families talk, play, or carry out routines, children are learning. Families can use everyday experiences to help their young children learn math. Some important things to consider:

• • Math experiences should provide for fun, shared times between parents and their children. Children will build a positive attitude toward math learning and toward learning in general.

• • Children need experiences handling and working with things. They need to look at, hold, count, stack, and explore the characteristics of things. While children are actively exploring, adults can “mathematize” their play. By introducing mathematical words and talking about the experience, parents help children understand the meaning of numbers, shapes, and other math concepts. For example, while children are playing with blocks, parents can describe blocks by using words such as curved, straight, longer, and shorter. Children hear new math vocabulary and deepen their understanding about characteristics of blocks at the same time.

• • Children need repeated experiences. Just as children enjoy hearing the same books over and over, they need to handle materials and do things again and again. Over time, children need to practice these experiences again, so they recall what they have learned. In this way, they deepen their understanding and develop new concepts.

• • Parent involvement in their children’s learning is extremely important. It especially helps children’s learning when parents use the language they speak best. When parents speak in their home language, they are more likely to have deep, meaningful conversations and use rich, descriptive words. This type of language helps children to deepen their understanding of ideas and concepts.

• • Parents can observe their children’s interests and use those interests to build an understanding of math. For example, if a child goes to a slide in a park, adults can talk about position words like behind and on top of the s

Getting dressed

“How many buttons do you have on your shirt? Let’s count them as I button you up.” Number—counting “Here’s a sock for this foot. That’s one foot. Here’s a sock for the other foot. That’s two feet!” Number—counting, using one-to-one correspondence “Do you want to wear your short pants or your long pants?” Measurement—comparing sizes

Setting the table

“Will you help me? Each person gets one fork, one spoon, and one napkin.” Number—using one-to-one correspondence “How many spoons do we need? Let’s count.” Number—counting, solving problems “Give the big cup to daddy. I would like to have a little cup.” Measurement—comparing sizes

Eating a meal

“Your sandwich looks like a square. If I cut it this way (corner to corner), what shapes will it make?” Geometry—recognizing shapes “How many pieces of cheese do you want” “Do you want one or two?” “Let’s count how many raisins you have.” Number—counting “You have more pieces of apple than I do.” Number—comparing number of objects

Picking up toys

"Let’s put your cars on the shelf and the balls in the box.” Spatial Sense—recognizing positions of objects “Can you put three trucks here?” “There should be six dinosaurs. Will you count them and make sure they are all there?” Number—counting “You can put away the square pieces. Your brother will put away the round ones.” Geometry—recognizing shapes

Here are some ideas for helping children learn math when at the grocery store.

Making the shopping list

“How many apples do we need so each person in the family gets one?” Encourage your child to use fingers to show how many people in the family (and how many apples to buy). Number—counting, solving problems Involve your child in making tally marks or written numerals next to items on the list to indicate “how many.” Encourage your child to make a “pretend” list, too. Number—representing numbers

Shopping at the supermarket/shop

Point out the numerals (written numbers) that you see at the store, for example, “2 for $1” or aisle numbers. Encourage your children to find more numerals as you shop. Number—recognizing numerals Count apples, oranges, carrots, peppers, and other items with your child as you put them into bags or the shopping cart. Number—counting Talk with your child about sizes of items, such as cereal boxes or cartons of milk. Measurement—comparing sizes Look for shapes (e.g., circles, rectangles, or triangles) as you go through the store. Play a game with your child. Find a shape, such as the rectangle on the front of a cereal box, and then look for other items with the same shape. Geometry—recognizing shapes

At the checkout counter

“We should have five cans of soup. Let’s count and make sure.” Number—counting, solving problems Point out the numerals on the cash register display and talk about what they mean (shows how much each thing costs). Number—recognizing numerals

Here are some ideas for helping children learn math in the outdoors/at apark.

Going outside

“There’s a bird on the branch of the tree.”

Spatial Sense—recognizing positions of objects “Let’s look for numbers as we go to the park. What numbers do you see?” Number—recognizing numerals “First we go past Tina’s house. Next, we turn right at the corner by the library. The park is close to the library.” Spatial Sense—learning about direction and location

On a play structure

Encourage your child to climb on play equipment, jump off a small step, walk backwards, or crawl through a tunnel. Spatial Sense—recognizing position and direction “Let’s count the children on the swings. One, two, three, four!” Number—counting “The play structure has a round window. It looks like a circle. Do you see any other circles? Let’s look around.” “Let’s make the same shape in the sand.” Geometry—recognizing shapes

Having a snack

Ask your child to pass out the snack. “Will you pass out the snack? Each person gets a box of raisins.” Number—using one-to-one correspondence Count the food items as they eat them. “I have four carrots. How many do you have?” Number—counting “What shape do you think the cracker is? It has four straight sides.” Geometry—identifying shapes