Plan to provide some maths-related activities across the early years provision. For example, if the older children in your setting are learning about money in their local environment, plan to set up a shop indoors or outdoors using pretend money to buy things. Maybe encourage children to buy their snack at snack time using pretend money and listing how much the items are.
Remember to keep the activities age-appropriate and prioritise safety.
Provide ample opportunities for children to ask questions, make predictions, and explore through hands-on experiences. Maths should be a playful and exciting journey of discovery for children.
Show your child how to use money
You can do this with real money at the shops or pretend money at home. This is a great way to start doing some simple maths and to teach children about money.
At the shops
Ask your child to guess how much items will cost together. Give them small amounts of change and ask them what they think they can buy with it. Talk about the items you buy: which are more expensive, and which are cheaper? Which are heavier, which are lighter?
Play shops
You could make pretend money or use Monopoly money for your play shop and use items around the house as shop items. By ‘buying’ things with play money, your child begins to understand that different things cost different amounts of money.
Play the coin game
Trace around coins and then colour in the shapes. Ask your child to match the coin to the picture and talk about each coin’s name.
Please note, that toddlers may put coins in their mouth, so always keep an eye out.
Talk to your child about where the money comes from
Help them to understand that it does not appear by magic at the cashpoint. Talk about how we get paid to do work or explain the other places that money comes from.
Out and about
- Go on a shape hunt at the park or while you are out and about. How many circles, squares, rectangles, or triangles can your child find? Try getting your child to look for patterns
- Look for numbers on doors, buses, cars, signs, at the shops - anywhere. Remember to talk about what the numbers mean when you see them
- Count things. For example - how many lampposts are on our street? How many houses have a red door? How many dogs can you count in a day?
- Talk about time. How long does it take to walk to the shop, or to school?
Around the house
- Cooking, measure ingredients and set the timer together
- Find the same number of different items to help your child understand what numbers mean. For example, find three spoons, three hats or three socks
- Put items in order. You could do this by weight, height, or size. Ask your child to help you organise items around the house
- Solve problems, work out how many altogether, and how many more. Ask your child questions such as: “We have three red apples and two green apples, so how many apples do we have altogether?”
Painting by numbers
Time for some finger painting. Let the children paint numbers using finger paints. This is a fantastic sensory and messy play activity that is sure to engage the children in maths. Use fluorescent finger paints for an additional visual touch.
Frozen maths
Sort the numbers before they vanish. Freeze numbers in water to make numbered ice cubes, then ask the children to order the numbers in an ice tray before they melt away. A great way to build their number sense with a sensory touch.
Magnetic fishing number game
This fishing number game is a perfect activity to accompany the nursery rhyme 'One, two, three, four, five, once I caught a fish alive'. Children will have fun singing, counting, and ordering numbers as they catch the fish.
