Supporting Maths at Home

At Bramber, every child is a mathematician. Our love of number and pattern is embedded in reception through daily lessons and wider provision in playful learning. 

Early years maths with NCETM.

Here are some ways you can support your child at home: 

1. Count everyday objects together

Bringing numbers to life can be as easy as counting everyday items with your child. Start by counting small objects together: toys, fruit, or crayons will work. Only count one type of object at a time.

You can ask them simple questions, such as ‘How many apples are there in the bowl?’ or ‘Are there more pennies than crayons on the table?’

2. Sing counting songs

Many nursery rhymes are designed to help children to count. Counting songs like Ten Green Bottles or Three Little Frogs progress in reverse order, which can be especially helpful when young children start thinking about adding and taking away.

Using fingers as counters can be a useful way to make a visual link between numbers and quantity.

3. Build, draw, and write numbers together

Help your child to learn the numerals by engaging with their shapes. You can start by making numbers out of modelling clay: try an important date, their age, or your house number. From there, you can start drawing numbers together for fun activities. Why not bring some chalk outside and draw up a hopscotch grid?

4. Point out numbers when out and about

We’re surrounded by numbers wherever we go: try pointing out numbers when you see them! For example, waiting at the bus stop can be a great way to practice this: ‘We need the number 3 bus… Here one comes: which number is that?’

When travelling, pointing out house numbers, bus timetables, or platform numbers will demonstrate that numbers have a real-life context.

5. Play board games together

As well as being a great way to spend family time, many children’s board games can help with counting. Games using dice provide a great opportunity to count and add up numbers together.

Snakes and ladders can have children counting from about 20 all the way up to 100, depending on the size of the board. Stimulate mathematical thinking by asking questions such as ‘How many spaces do you need to advance to win?’ or even ‘How many spaces did you manage to skip by landing on the ladder?’

6. Enjoy an episode of Numberblocks as a family!

Talk about the themes of the episode and encourage children to join in with sentences or songs as they watch!

7. Share number-themed books!

Here are some of our favourites: