Recently, I was away from my family, and when I returned home, I was delighted to see that Drew (my husband) had done the washing—but even more exciting was seeing Lola using the Maths Kit that was sent home after our Maths Expo Night. She proudly taught Finn, my 4-year-old, how to roll the dice, recognise the number without counting (subitise), record the numeral in her tens frame, and then ‘count on 0, 1, 2 or 3’ from that number.

To say I felt like a proud mum—and teacher—is an understatement. It’s so important for children to have positive experiences with maths in their everyday lives. Talking about maths is a great place to start. Simple actions like asking ‘how many?’ questions, spotting patterns in shapes and colours, weighing produce at the supermarket, reading road signs, or working out arrival times all offer valuable, incidental learning opportunities that help build a strong understanding of mathematical concepts.

Playing games, such as those in the Maths Kit, encourages your child to explore strategies taught at school while building fluency, recall, and confidence. Recently, our school has been focusing on the strategies ‘count on 0, 1, 2, 3’ and ‘using tens patterns’ to support counting and addition skills. We hope you enjoy playing some of the games at home. Please email through any celebrations of learning you may want to share.

Marissa Carpenter – Numeracy Leader