What to do with this activity?
1. Count with your child at every opportunity, for example:
- putting together pairs of socks. Look at how many pairs you have;
- putting plates and knives and forks on the table;
- counting out in seconds when you are doing something that needs timing;
- count things as they go past you when you are walking - birds, cars, people.
2. Encourage your child to count backwards – it gives a real understanding of how numbers relate to each other.
3. Encourage your child to guess how many things there are (make an estimate) before they count them (smarties in a small box for instance).
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Why am I doing this?
Children learn numbers and maths in a natural way through play and everyday activities. It’s different to school and should always be fun and practical – that way your child will enjoy working with numbers.
Your child also develops a sense of patterns and what time means in everyday life. This is important for helping your child to manage everyday activities – going places, how long they have to wait and understanding when things will happen in the future.
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How can I do more?
Talking about numbers helps your child’s fluency in counting, estimating and understanding numbers and money in everyday life. It takes time for children to understand addition and subtraction so use objects when helping them understand this or when doing their homework.
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