|
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Maths
There are plenty of opportunities to develop your child's maths skills through carrying out simple activities and daily routines. For more ideas on specific activities select a mathematical area from below. Mathematical Areas
Maths is a key skill which children need to develop and use in their everyday lives. There are many aspects to maths, and these can be explored at an early age through everyday informal contexts. There are also many workbooks and activity books available for your child to practise their maths skills further and prepare them for school.
Number recognition to ten and subsequently twenty and then further is a key part of early maths. To begin with children can be introduced to numbers up to five and when able to recognise these, move on to numbers up to ten. By talking about numbers in the environment your child will develop the ability to recognise numbers more quickly e.g. mention the number bus you are catching, the numbers on houses, numbers in car registrations, telephone numbers. Give them the opportunity to see the different contexts in which numbers are used around them.
Counting is also an important part of early mathematics and a skill needed in our daily lives. Begin by encouraging your child to count to five, perhaps through familiar number songs. When they are confident with counting to five, count to ten and subsequently twenty. By using fun and familiar objects counting can be taught in an enjoyable way e.g. counting teddies, toy cars, marbles etc. By learning to count objects up to five and perhaps matching the correct number card to the five objects, your child is beginning to link the number five to the five objects. Keep practising this skill until your child is competent with counting objects to five. As and when you feel your child is ready, you can introduce them to counting objects to ten and then progress onto twenty. Give your child time at each stage to grasp the concept and number skills involved.
Number formation needs to be practised and refined. This can be done by simply writing numbers together and your child progressing to do so independently. You may want to introduce number formation by writing numbers in sand, shaving foam. This informal context makes it more enjoyable and relaxed and will not put pressure on your child to write numbers correctly the first time. Keep practising informally until you feel your child is ready to start practising on paper. Firstly let your child try writing over numbers you have written and talk about where to start and how each number is formed. To begin with start with numbers one to five and then progress to numbers up to ten. Tip - By having a colourful and fun number line up in your child’s bedroom, they become familiar with the order and formation of numbers.
Once your child is competent with counting and writing numbers one to twenty they are usually ready to progress onto simple addition. It is helpful to work though simple addition sums at home, perhaps to begin with by using things around you. The first step is to use a practical real-life situation to explain the concept e.g. adding two objects together such as buttons or shells. It is best to concentrate on adding numbers to five using objects to explain this concept. You could use buttons or pebbles to help your child understand how we can count and add two objects together. When they understand how to add and count objects introduce them to the number sentence and addition sign (+). Practise simple addition sentences together. Give them plenty of practise with simple addition to five and encourage them to write out the addition sum and work out the answers (1 + 1 = 2).
Adding Ten If your child is competent with number bonds to ten they can move onto adding ten to a number. This can be introduced through using simple objects to represent ten e.g. marbles, buttons etc. As with number bonds, it is important that your child is able to write the number sentence and answer e.g. 4 + 10 = 14, 7 + 10 = 17.
Number bonds to five can be introduced once your child has understood the concept of addition. This involves your child learning and understanding what pairs of numbers make five and then being able to write these out in number sentences e.g. 5 + 0 = 5, 4 + 1 = 5, 3 + 2 = 5, etc. When your child is competent with number bonds to five, they are usually ready to move onto number bonds to ten. This can be done through using objects such as marbles, counters or buttons to help them understand the idea of making ten in different ways e.g. 5 + 5 = 10, 6 + 4 =10 etc.
Subtraction is an important concept for children to grasp and is best taught after addition has been understood. Subtraction can be introduced through practical activities where object are taken away and the reminder then counted. Nursery rhymes are a valuable way to explore subtraction with younger children e.g. ‘Ten in a Bed’, ‘Five Speckled Frogs’ When children understand this concept, they can be moved on to formal ways to record subtraction i.e. number sentences. There are also written workbooks which provide activities for children to practise their subtraction skills.
Our everyday lives provide many hidden opportunities to teach maths skills. They often require no planning for and occur naturally on a daily basis. These situations should be taken advantage of and used to help your child learn basic skills such as counting, addition and number recognition.
Shopping There are opportunities for maths at the supermarket…
Cooking
Cookery activities are another way in which you can bring maths into
your everyday routines. Cooking can be used to develop many aspects of
maths such as an understanding of number, measuring, size and shape.
Gardening The outdoor environment provides an ideal opportunity to develop mathematical understanding in a practical way. When outside in the garden encourage your child to get involved by...
There are many games which promote mathematics. To ensure a wide range of skills and mathematical vocabulary is developed you need to play these games with your child first. Once you have modelled them your child can play these with other children or brothers and sisters. After playing the games a few times your child will then feel comfortable and confident with the mathematical language and skills.
A game of skittles involves counting those knocked down and also those still standing therefore demonstrating subtraction and number bonds. Parents can also introduce positional language when rolling the ball. Pen and paper could be used to try and find a symbol or recall a numeral to represent the number of skittles they knocked down.
Try and ask questions such as: How many skittles have you knocked down? Who has knocked down the most skittles? How many skittles are left standing?
Ladybird Dominoes
This is an ideal game to introduce doubles. For young children picture dominoes could be used. For example, finding the ladybird with two spots on and searching for the other domino with two on. Your child could then work out the answers to double three and find the correct domino i.e. six. This game can lead onto practicing number sentences and experimenting with representing the pictures on the dominos with numbers.
Ask questions such as: Can you find the other ladybird with six spots? How many more spots has this ladybird? Does this ladybird have the same number of spots as this one? Which ladybird has more spots? Can you find the double for this ladybird?
Snakes and Ladders This game develops a range of mathematical language and skills through rolling the dice, moving the counters and moving up and down the snakes and ladders.
Ask questions such as: How many more spaces do you need to finish? Can you count on six spaces? What direction are you moving in?
Ludo
This game is ideal to reinforce counting, colours and shapes and is a fun game to play with your child. It is beneficial as it introduces children to a dice and turn taking. It is a brilliant game for position and direction and gives your child an introduction to positional language.
Ask questions such as: How can you describe the position of your counter? What direction are we moving the counters in? What shapes can you see? |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Whilst every care has been taken in the compilation of the information provided on this website, Teaching Your Child will not be held liable or responsible for any loss, damage or other inconvenience caused as a result of any inaccuracy or error within the pages of this website.
Copyright ©
Teaching Your Child,
All Rights Reserved. |
|||||||||
