One of the best ways to get young children interested in numeracy is to involve them in ‘maths talk’. Talk about the numbers they see on doors, road signs or in shops and help them count what they see, for example three blue cars. Count a set of small objects, move them around then count again. Do they get the same answer? Play memory, matching and board games. Give you child a set of objects (for example Lego bricks) and challenge them to sort them by colour, size or shape. Compare and order toys and other objects by size, for example:
“I have found 5 shells. This one is the smallest.”
“The football is bigger than the tennis ball but smaller than the beach ball.”
“The juice bottle holds the most water?”
WEBSITES
The following websites contain lots of games and activities for making Numeracy fun for primary aged children.
BBC Schools – Numeracy websites for 4-11 year olds with advice for parents:
APPS
There are also lots of apps that can help make Numeracy fun for your child. Here are a few Angus school favourites. Your child’s teacher will be able to advise you about the numbers and shapes to use.
| 10 Frame Fill | Free | Helps develop counting and a deep understanding of numbers to 10. |
| Number Line Math | £0.49 | Helps develop children’s ability to use a number line to solve addition and subtraction problems. The Options menu allows you to choose the type of problem and the range of numbers to be used |
| Pattern, Colors and Shapes | £0.49 | Allows children to complete different repeating patterns (many other apps offer similar activities). |
| Count Sort | Free | Helps children to count objects, recognise numbers, learn about ‘more or less’ and use a ten frame (see glossary). |
| Pattern Sets | £0.49 | Helps children to recognise the number of objects in groups. |
| What’s Hiding? | £0.49 | Helps with counting, adding and taking away. |
| Ah Chute | £0.49 | Helps with basic counting and number recognition. |
| Number Flash
Mitchell Mark |
Free | Helps children’s understanding of basic maths facts by getting them to think about a number of objects in relation to five and ten (ten frames – see glossary) |
| Just the Facts | £0.49 | Helps cement children’s knowledge of number facts at all stages |
| Domino Addition | Free | Allows children to practise adding by subitising (see glossary) and counting on. |
| Thinking of a Number | £0.49 | Helps children remember number order. Their job is to guess the secret number by responding to the clues given. |
