Whether we are at home or in school, maths is all around us and many daily activities contain some element of mathematics. Mathematical understanding develops across all areas of learning and we appreciate that each Nursery child will join us with differing levels of knowledge. By offering a broad range of play contexts, the children are able to develop their early skills by experimenting, exploring and talking about maths. Although numeracy and mathematical skills cannot be taught in isolation we have tried to highlight some of the experiences the children may enjoy, covering a range of concepts such as:

  • Estimation
  • Number and Number processes
  • Simple fractions
  • Money
  • Time
  • Measurement
  • Patterns and relationships
  • 2D shapes and 3D objects

From experiencing number in lots of different ways, i.e. spotting numbers in the school grounds as a ‘Number Detective’ or playing a counting game with the metre sticks or even working out if there will be just enough Snack for their friends, lots of concepts can be explored.

Within Sand and Water Trays our children will have lots of fun pouring and filling containers and some may begin to use mathematical vocabulary such as ‘more’ ‘less’, ‘bigger than’ and ‘smaller than’ (and they might also begin to learn what happens when they pour too much sand into their container!) Others might join a baking activity, weighing out the ingredients and will be beginning to develop early measuring skills.

By using open ended questions in many play contexts we also encourage the children to solve problems and develop their critical thinking skills.  For example, can the children find just the right bricks that fit together to finish off their tower or, what can we do if there is not quite enough snack for their friends? The children will also have the opportunity to explore and play with real and pretend money and consider how much something might cost in the Role Play shop or ‘pay’ for imaginary show tickets.

In addition to the play opportunities within the room, the children also have a wide range of easily accessible mathematical resources which they can choose to support their interests and learning each day. During Gather and Group Times the children are introduced to number rhymes and playing counting games and singing number songs help the children begin to understand the number system. It is of course great fun when some of the children begin to become more familiar with larger numbers and begin to use these in their play.

Tidy up time is also a powerful way to support development as sorting resources into the right baskets or matching visual images with real resources or parking the bikes in the correct number bay can encourage children to explore concepts in a relaxed and informal way.

How to help at home

How to help at home

As a parent, you will undoubtedly use mathematical language many times in everyday conversations with your child:

  • Bigger/smaller
  • Longer/shorter/taller
  • Heavier/lighter
  • More than/greater than/less than
  • How much?/How many?
  • Before/after
  • Buying new clothes and shoes
  • Sorting clothes for washing
  • Setting the table for meals
  • Allowing the children to weigh out ingredients when helping to cook or bake
  • Family birthdays
  • Making patterns
  • Playing number games e.g. Snakes and Ladders, dominoes and dice games.

Number

  • Can you spot different house numbers when you are out and about
  • Look at bus numbers – which numbers are on the bus stop?
  • Play games using dice, dominoes and cards

Problem Solving

  • Help your child to develop strategies e.g. for tricky jigsaws and board games.
  • Challenge by asking questions so your child learns to articulate their thinking – “Why do you think…?”
  • Construction activities such as Lego – encourage your child to follow illustrations for building as well as being freely creative.
  • Encourage your child to try again if something doesn’t work – “What do you think we could try this time?”

Money

  • Sort and match coins
  • Let them stick price tags on tins and packets in the kitchen to play shops (keep prices low).

Shape

  • Hunt the flat shape – how many circle, square… shapes can you see in the room?
  • Have fun with shapes when preparing food e.g. making pizza, sandwiches, cakes, etc.
  • There are many commercial games that encourage picture making using shapes – which shapes fit together?
  • Using construction sets and building bricks to learn about shape through play.
  • Cutting and gluing, making and doing – being creative with shape.

Time

  • Use a sand timer or egg timer to time simple tasks, like setting the table or getting dressed, to help your child to develop an awareness of time.
  • Beware of using misleading language in relation to time, for example, ‘wait a minute!’ or ‘I’ll be there in a minute!’
  • Use vocabulary to describe the passage of time (before/after, today/tomorrow/yesterday).
  • Talk about and sequence the days of the week and the months of the year in relation