Maths in the Early Years

As part of our Maths Champion programme we have focused on the learning environment for our pre-school age group , and at half term the team created two new role play areas in Otters and Puffins.

Otters have a cafe , with menus, china crockery, a till and payment machine, play money, cakes to buy, clocks and calendars. The children are developing their counting - laying the table.. how many chairs, how many forks, how many customers?  How much does this cost, counting the coins and giving change. Looking at the menu and Specials Board (the children chose their own specials, including jelly!) and writing orders on the notepad.

 Although many children are able to count in rote fashion, reciting 1 - 10 like a song, it is a different skill learning the concept of number - touching objects as they count,  finding two objects without having to count them, recognising number patterns (such as 6 on a dice) and knowing this represents an amount.

We  have been matching different shaped coasters , naming the shapes and finding things that are the same - this can be done at home too.. matching pairs of socks, having a shape hunt around the house or out on walk. 

The children have been sharing knowledge about time... taking phone calls in their cafe, taking bookings in their diary , checking their big clock - what time, which day, tomorrow, this afternoon , next week ...

In Puffins supermarket, the children have been weighing real vegetables discussing size, colour  and weight - a great big, heavy, purple swede, the longest  orange sweet potato and sorting different shapes of dog biscuits.  The children have been making shopping lists, and taking a receipt with their shopping. Going along with their trolley finding heavy tins, different shaped packets and counting the numbers of items. When you go along to do your shopping, making a list together for them to check off is a great experience, especially if you have quantities on the list... 6 eggs, 3 bananas, 2 tins of beans.  If they scan they will see the amount increasing too !

Pack away time is a good time to 'put things where they belong'; sorting and matching categories.  At home children can help you  to put away dishes into the right cupboards, cutlery into the tray. Or put away your shopping together ..what belongs in the kitchen, the bathroom etc.  

We will be sharing more updates with you as the areas develop, in the meantime be sure to ask them about their supermarket and cafe!