Relate maths to real life

Talk to your child about how you use maths everyday so they can see how the maths they’re learning at school relates to real life. For example, explore how you use fractions in cooking, percentages while shopping, distance in driving, keeping score in sports games and telling the time.

Discover the beauty of maths

What shape can be made by unfolding a carton? How many apples can be packed into the fruit tray? What shape is that box? How do you draw a circle with a piece of rope? Next, explore mathematics in nature, music, visual arts, music and architecture.

Cook together

Cooking with your child is great for developing early maths skills. Talk to your child about shapes, sizes and quantities while they watch or help you cook. You could say, for example, “I need one large carrot and one small potato” or “I am cutting our sandwiches in triangles today.”

Work together

Count things with your child every day or work on a project together. Sew, knit or build something with Lego. Perhaps you can get together and sort different things by shape.

Play games

Playing with puzzles is another great activity that can help your child develop their maths skills. Explore spatial games, board games, card games, jigsaw puzzles and logic puzzles.

Play shops with things from around the house, using shopping bags, old purses or wallets and real or play money.