Games & Play
Scroll through these cards for a few ideas to get you started...
There are chances to play with numbers in all sorts of everyday activities you do with your child. Pointing out the maths in what you’re doing can help your child feel positive about maths. It helps children understand that maths isn’t scary!
On this page we’ve listed just a few ideas to inspire you. Get creative! Talking about the shape and size of objects is a great place to start – e.g. big car, round ball, rectangular box. Try asking questions like “can you pass me the biggest box?” or “which is the smallest shoe?”. Practising how to count up to twenty and back to one is another activity you can do almost anywhere.
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.
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?
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.
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. (Note: toddlers may put coins in their mouth, so always keep an eye out!)
Help them to understand that it doesn't appear by magic at the cashpoint! Talk about how we get paid to do work or explain the other places that money comes from.
Nursery rhymes, songs and books with numbers are a fun way to introduce children to how numbers look and sound. Here are some ideas.
You can also sing along by following these links:
One, two, buckle my shoe - on BBC Teach