In your environment see if you can find things shaped like this…
Category Archives: Numeracy and Mathematics
Daily Hunt The Shape
In your environment see if you can find things shaped like this…
Daily Hunt The Shape
In your environment see if you can find things shaped like this…
Daily Hunt The Shape
In your environment see if you can find things shaped like this…
Daily the Hunt the Shape
In your environment see if you can find things shaped like this…
Sock Search
Get lots of socks and pair them up! This practical life activity is great for children who want to help around the house. Matching and sorting helps concentration, it also improves the ability to find similarities and differences in objects.
POM POM DROP!
This is a fantastic activity which helps your wee ones begin to understand how things can disappear and come back which
is central to early mathematical development. It is also a fun activity for all the family to enjoy.
What you need:
• Paper roll tube
• Craft pom poms
• Tape (masking tape preferably)
• A container
What to do:
1. Tape the tube to the wall and show how
the pom pom can travel down the tube
when you put it in at the top, collecting
at the bottom.
2. This is great demonstrating cause
and effect and will also develop their fine
motor skills, and should be fascinating.
3. Some wee ones just want to
pull the tube off the wall, park the game
for a bit and try it again in a few months.
4. Extend the activity by showing them
what happens when you tilt the tube instead
(of course, it’s going to change the
speed) and try to set up a slightly more
complicated run of toilet tubes.
Measure with Duplo
This great guessing game gives your wee ones a chance to test out
their predictive skills using this classic resource.
• Duplo blocks
• LEGO blocks
• Things to measure
What to do:
1. Start the game off by getting your wee one
to measure one of their favourite
toys. How many pieces long was it?
2. This is your starting off point for lots
of fun with open-ended questions and
experimenting. Ask questions like ’Do
you think this will be more or fewer
LEGO blocks long?’, ’Are you taller or
shorter than these two things?’ and so
on.
3. For younger children, this is a great
activity for teaching early counting skills.
For example, you could tap each of the
LEGO blocks in turn while counting, helping
to teach them that units correspond
to numbers and that each number has a
name.
4. For older children, you can even
see if they can guess exactly how many
bricks it will be, and build up the tension
as you make the measurement!
Human Sundial
This simple science experiment utilising the sun and
shadows is the perfect starting point for lots of fantastic
conversations. Get out there and catch the sun…while it’s there!
What you need:
• Chalk
• The Sun!
What to do:
1. The idea of this one is to teach your wee ones
a little something about perspective and
the world around them!
2. Make sure you have a sunny spot with
plenty of space for long shadows and nothing
creating its own shadows on your
spot.
3. On a sunny day, get your wee one
to stand on a certain spot and then have
another member of your family draw their shadow on
the ground in chalk.
4. Later on in the day, try again. How has
the shadow changed? What’s been going
on? It’s a great starting point for all
sorts of interesting questions and learning
opportunities.
Symmetrical Shapes
Give your wee ones a great grasp of shapes and space with
this simple shape matching activity.
What you need:
• Craft sticks or cardboard/ paper or duplo
• Coloured pens or wipe able ones if using duplo ( you can make the shapes on paper and stick them on to items)
1. Take two pieces of whatever you choose to use and make various
symmetrical shapes across the two pieces
so that the shape is only made full when
the pieces are put together.
2. Leave the pieces for your wee ones to explore,
you could demonstrate on how to
put them together to make a full shape.
3. If you make at least two
shapes on each set to give your wee one two reference points.
