10 Easy Ways

Everyone has the cognitive capacity to learn and it is the information and structures present in the environment that create the conditions for learning.

1. Count – count everything as you go along, the steps you walk up, how many people are in front of you at the check-out, the numbers on the elevator buttons.
2. Notice – numbers everywhere, point out signs while driving and tell children how long it will take to get where you are going, how fast the car is going, what day of the week it is etc.
3. Play Games – games involving dice and moving pieces, but also card games like snap and fish help develop mathematical concepts
4. Water play – in the bath give children a variety of containers to fill and empty. Get them to see how many little yoghurt containers it takes to fill the ice cream container.
5. Cook – make cakes, biscuits etc., get children measuring, pouring, counting
6. Number Sort – give children cards with numbers on them (old playing cards are good) and get them to put all the same numbers together
7. Number Runs – give children cards with numbers on them (old playing cards are good) and get them to put them in the correct order. Do lowest to highest first then the reverse. Once they get good at this you can even remove some of the numbers.
8. Number Matching – give children cards with numbers on them (old playing cards are good) and get them to clip paper clips around the edge to match the number, or give them beads/ Lego pieces/ small farm animals (be aware of any potential choking hazards) and get them to put these on the cards.
9. Shopping – get the children involved by pointing out prices, getting them to choose the BIG box of cereal, counting 10 mushrooms into a bag, having a list of 4 or 5 items they are responsible for and asking questions like “How many of your things have you got? So how many things have you still got to find?”
10. Household jobs – get children setting the table, counting out the number of forks, plates etc. that are needed, tidying up their toys into the correct place, sorting socks etc., all these develop mathematical concepts.

Remember the best way to do any of these activities is as a game. Make it fun and stop when they have had enough.