Numeracy at home
As your child’s first teacher, you play an important role in helping develop their numeracy skills from an early age. Numeracy skills give children an important start to their learning and development. They also help prepare them for daily life at all ages.
One way you can support your child’s understanding of mathematics and numeracy at home is…
Start conversations to discuss and engage your child in maths concepts.
There are many activities you can do at home to help explore maths with your child. When participating in these activities, avoid associating them with speed. Expecting your child to work quickly on maths can cause maths anxiety. Try to focus on the process and not the outcome. Some different conversation starter might include:
★ Exploring Sports - How does your favourite sport tally the score?
★ Watching the Weather - Identify differences in temperature between yours and other areas.
★ Sharing Recipes - Encourage your child to make accurate measurements using measuring cups and spoons.
★ Browsing Catalogues - How would you spend $40 from a catalogue? How many products can you buy for $40?
★ Travel Timetables - How many stops are there on this route?
★ Handling Money - Encourage your child to work out how much change you will get after buying something.
Problem of the Fortnight
Work together with your family and see if you can find out the answers to the problems below. Hint: There is more than one possible answer!
Lower Years
When Issy was counting out loud from 0 to 100 by a number other than 1, one of the numbers was 63. What number might she have been counting by?
Middle Years
Look at the following sequence: 1, 7, 13, 19, 25… Is 80 a member of this sequence? Explain your reasoning.
Senior Years
Write some different numbers that when rounded to the nearest tenth give 21.3
How to be a Mathematician
We would love to see how families are engaging in numeracy at home, please feel free to send in any action shots to Felicity.Elliott@education.vic.gov.au