Early Steps In Understanding Maths
Maths for the small child has nothing to do with “sums” or figures or tables or adding or subtracting. These will all come much later. Children get to understand Maths best by handling and investigating and using real objects. Maths is also the language children use in understanding and talking about certain things in his/her daily experience:
- He/she associates certain numbers with particular things – two hands, four wheels, five fingers etc.
- Counting – one, two, three, four etc.
- Colours – black, white, red, green etc.
- Spatial language: over/under, before/after, inside/outside etc.
- Matching/Sorting – objects of the same size/colour/texture/shape etc.
- Odd One Out – difference in size/colour/shape etc.
Understanding mathematical concepts comes very quickly for some children. For others it takes a long time. Be patient. You cannot force Maths understanding on a child. Use lots of concrete examples eg count as you are walking upstairs.
You can help your child in a number of ways….
Counting up to 10 – identifying and naming the written numerals.
Counting objects such as buttons on coats, cups, plates, knives and forks etc.
Looking for numbers on cars, buses, houses etc
Making up stories to go with addition
Talk about money when shopping.
Talk about time – what you do in the morning, afternoon, evening
Practice writing numbers 1-5
Look for shapes in everyday objects and talk about them
In the course of your ordinary daily routine in the home, in the shop, in the neighbourhood you should use suitable opportunities to casually introduce the maths vocabulary;
"How many cakes? The glass is full/empty. We turn left at the lights".
Play board games with them. These involve counting, putting things in order, taking turns, the notion of before and after, and working out how many more are needed. This will also help their language development.
Play card games with them that involve matching and recognising numbers. These are some of the most basic mathematical ideas.
The environment
Encourage them to find and name shapes in the environment. This can keep them amused when you are stopped in traffic in the car or on the bus: How many squares can you see? How many circles are there?
In the home
– Involve your children in weighing ingredients when preparing food, or measuring when you are doing odd jobs around the house. Children love to help by measuring or writing down measurements. They will enjoy the activity and learn mathematics in a real situation.
If you are organising a party, or any meal, you can include children in working out the amounts that will be needed. How many are at home for tea today? How many sausages will we need if we give everybody three? How many burgers will we need? How many burger buns? How many knives, forks, spoons when setting the table?
Create opportunities that allow children to handle money and to work out what can be bought with different amounts, for example
How many 1c are there in 10c? What can I buy with 50c, €1.00?
How many ways can 5c be made up? 5c or 2c+ 2c+1C or how can 14c be made up? 5c+5c+2c+2c or 10c+2c+2c.
Problem-solving
Encourage your children to take part in solving problems. You could also get them involved in solving problems directly connected with their own lives. An example of this, suitable for children in senior classes and relating to the elements of shape, space and measure in the curriculum, would be:You can find good examples in simple puzzle books. Sodoku, etc
How can we make a greeting card? How will we make the card fit into the envelope? Could we make an envelope?
Songs and rhymes
Teach your children rhymes and number songs you know yourself, and encourage them to repeat the ones they learn in school.