“Children come to school with some mathematical knowledge, which they have gained at home and through play” (PDST). Children are learning everyday, they see the world through imaginative eyes – something which some of us adults lose as we get older. Early Mathematical Activities allow children to become aware of maths in their own environment and access learning through playful exploration and meaningful experiences in this environment.
Early Mathematical Activities consist of Comparing, Ordering, Matching and Classifying. Children take part in these activities almost everyday without even knowing:
- Tidying their room – children may sort toys into different boxes/blue toys here, green toys there (Sorting/Classifying)
- If a child notices that someone else has more sweets/treat than they do “hey you have more than me in your plate” (That’s comparing – children are beginning to realise what unfair sharing is – you have 3 and I only have 1)
- Stacking cubes/Ordering teddies according to height (Ordering – which size comes next)
- Shape sorting toys – where child put the circle into the circle slot, square into the square slot and so on (Matching)
I have put together some activities that I have used in my classroom that are based on the four key elements of Early Mathematical Activities. All my templates were downloaded from Twinkl.com and are available to view on their website. I downloaded them, cut them out and used velcro backing to stick them together so they can be used over and over again. I find velcro much better than pritstick for this reason. I hope you enjoy!
Classifying



Ordering



Comparing


Matching


Hope this helps!
Leah x