Mathematics in Early Years

As a Nursery School Federation we are working closely with Origin Maths Hub. Our Executive Headteacher Nicci Burton is a member of the Origin Maths Hub Strategic Board and our Nursery Lead Teachers are currently accessing Early Years Maths training through the hub that they are sharing with the whole team. Origin Maths Hub is the government-funded local Maths Hub for Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire. The Maths Hub is a community of teachers, educators, schools and other education professionals/organisations, offering free mathematics professional development opportunities for schools and teachers, in line with the national Maths Hub programme. https://originmathshub.tgacademy.org.uk/

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum (EYFS) was developed in order to outline what educators need to teach and what children need to learn between the ages of 0 – 5 years in order to have the best start to their education journey.

Maths is one of the 7 interconnecting areas of learning.

The EYFS states that children need to learn about all aspects of Maths including:- numbers, shape, measurement, time and pattern. The basis of all of these areas is Mathematical language. At Nursery, we introduce these skills and concepts through play. We also have a weekly mathematics focused key-person group session that focuses on the teaching the maths concepts.

Below each area is considered with ideas, stories and vocabulary that you can use at home with your child.

Number

SORTING AND MATCHING – Children need to practise making groups of objects that are the same in some way and then match them first to pictures and later to numerals.

Vocabulary to practise – same, different, find

Games to play – Sort the buttons in a box/ sort out the shoes and match two the same together. Match a Balloon game/ lotto games/ picture dominoes (these will also encourage learning of new vocabulary)

An understanding of numbers to 10

COUNTING BY ROTE, eg 0,1,2,3,4,5 and 5,4,3,2,1,0

Vocabulary to practise – count, number names, What comes first? What comes next?, after, before, forwards, backwards, numeral (the symbol to represent the number)

Games to play - https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/todays-number-up-to-20

Stories to read - Spot Can Count – Eric Hill https://www.google.com/search?q=you+tube+spot+can+count+story

Rhymes to Sing - 1,2,3,4,5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive http://www.nurserytracks.com/Counting_songs.htm

COUNTING 1:1 eg where one number is spoken for each object – Once you have counted the last object say,

“Yes there are 5 balls,” so that your child realises that the last number spoken is the total number of objects in the group.

Vocabulary to practise - number names, How many? more, less, fewer

Games to play – Count everything!! Stairs/ steps/ cars / people. Share out cake, biscuits, plates, cups so that everyone has one each

Stories to read - Goldilocks and the Three Bears/ Ten in the Bed – Penny Dale / One Bear At Bedtime – Ludlow Learning

– see link

http://www.nurserytracks.com/Counting_songs.htm

How individual numbers make a pattern eg 2,4,6,8,10. Pairs

SUBITISING eg - being able to identify a number without counting and know that 4 is still 4 no matter how the objects are arranged

Vocabulary to practise - number names, the same, different

Games to play – Dice games/ number cards with numeral and dots

ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION eg how numbers are linked in a pattern - 1+9, 2+8, 3+7 and 10-1, 10-2, 10-3

Grouping quantities of objects. Matching groups of objects to numeral

Vocabulary to practise - number names, How many? How many altogether? One more, one less, the same, different, and, take away

Games to play – Snakes and Ladders/ Ludo/ Incy Wincy Spider - Orchard Toys / Sort out the sock drawer!

Stories to read – Handa’s Surprise – Eileen Browne - Link

Simon Sock – Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet - Link

Kippers Toybox – Mick Inkpen - Link

Shape

Vocabulary to practise – square, circle, triangle, rectangle, oblong, sides, corners, straight, flat, round

Games to play – Mosaics/ Dotty Dinosaurs – Orchard Games/ building blocks

Stories to read – Brown Rabbit’s Shape Book – Alan Baker - Link

Measurement

– the size of something, height, weight, capacity

Vocabulary to practise – tiny, enormous, big, small, long, short, tall, heavy, light, balance, measure, size, compare, full, empty. Comparative language – big, bigger, biggest, short, shorter, shortest, long, longer, longest

Games to play – Measure the height of the child against the wall/ play shops using weighing scales/ do some baking/ use containers in the bath

Stories to read – Jack and the Beanstalk

Rhymes to Sing - I had a Little Turtle

Pattern

– finding similar shapes, colours that are repeated.

Vocabulary to practise – same, different

Games to play – dominoes with spots/ clap along to music

Rhymes to Sing – Now We’ve Made a Pattern -Link

Time

– the sequence of something.

Vocabulary to practise – days of the week, time, today, tomorrow, yesterday, later, morning, afternoon, evening, week, month, year, How many more sleeps? First, next then, and finally, clock, calendar, sandtimer

Games to play – talk about what will happen today/ countdown to an event using the calendar/use a sandtimer

Stories to read – Mrs Honeys Hat – Pam Adams Link

The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle

Rhymes to Sing – Days of the Week – The Adams Family

Money

– Using numbers to identify coins

Vocabulary to practise – buy, money, change, coin, spend, number names, pence, pounds How much?

Games to play – Shops – buying items from the shops and using money to buy those items. Commenting on how much? Using money to pay for the items and giving change.