Maths, love it or hate it, it’s necessary. Whatever your profession, there’ll always be a need for maths at some point and it’s important to help children learn to feel confident with maths no matter what their age. Before your child begins preschool or nursery, it’s a good idea to introduce some simple number games to them. This helps them familiarise themselves with both the concept of and the appearance of numbers.
Visual number games
To help your child become confident with numbers, buy a simple number chart and pin it to the fridge. Count the numbers and point to them as you go – it won’t be long before your child imitates you.
Painting numbers is fun – print some large numbers off, one per A4 sheet. Help your child to paint around the shapes of each one in different colours.
Numbers in everyday life
There are numbers literally everywhere and because children learn from their environment, you can use this to your advantage. Try pointing out the following –
- Bus numbers
- House numbers
- Numbers on packaging
- Numbers on birthday cards in the shop
- Numbers on signage
You can also count with your child as you go up or down the stairs, do up buttons and check shopping as you place it in the basket. Singing number songs is fun and helps cement the information in your child’s mind. Here are some ideas:
- Four Little Speckled Frogs
- Three Little Ducks
- One Two Buckle My Shoe
As your child grows in confidence, you can try using buttons, beads, sweets, or counters to do simple maths. Show your child how to move one, two, and more items together counting as they go. This is your child’s first attempt at maths!
Remember to always approach maths with a positive attitude, even if you don’t like it! Your child will pick up on your feelings around the subject and little children are quick to make judgements and decide if something is good or bad.
Once your child begins school, they will hopefully pick up a passion for numbers and even if it’s not your strong point, it might be theirs! As your child approaches secondary school age, the strong foundations which have been set in place will become apparent and they will be able to manage their new workload with ease.
If they find that maths is something they enjoy then there may even be extracurricular activities or opportunities for more maths lessons such as those this senior school in Surrey offers.
Whatever skill level your child eventually reaches, it’s important to remember that they should have a fun, gentle introduction into the subject to really allow them to succeed.
