Early Maths

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Little Owls Let’s Talk About Maths!

 

Important ideas

Comments

Try to comment on what your child does rather than question, this is much more likely to lead to a conversation.  Lots of questions can disturb and limit their thinking.

For example rather than “How many have you got?”

“Goodness! You have got a lot of cars”.

“I wonder how many cars there are?”

“Shall we take them out and count them?”

 

Using the phrase “I wonder..” encourages conversation.

 

Talking and signing

Some ideas can be difficult to grasp because of the words that go with them are hard to remember. Talking and adding actions can be one of the most effective ways to help children understand maths ideas and remember the vocabulary that goes with them. For example some children confuse on, under, infront and behind.  By playing games with children that involve these ideas and teaching actions, you can literally “see what you mean”.

 

Songs and stories

Songs sung using signs actions, real objects and even a dance, help children to learn maths ideas and vocabulary.  Look on the link for counting songs and maths stories if you need further ideas of songs and stories to share with your child.

 

Below is a document that has lots of ideas that you can share with your child.