Maths News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Last week I was able to meet and talk with the parents of our 2026 Preps about Mathematics. When preparing for the presentation, I was again reminded of just how many foundational skills occur at home before a child even starts at school. Within the recent research around how we learn, there is a lot of evidence around the importance of building on prior knowledge. For children just starting in Prep, that prior knowledge is built up from the learning they do at home: when observing parents or older siblings, or helping around the house, or asking questions based on their experiences of the world around them.

The great news is that you are already doing an amazing job building these vital foundations! Every time your child sorts their toys, helps you set the table, or talks about their favourite shapes, they are engaging in early mathematical thinking. These are not ‘lessons’, but simple, everyday interactions that give them a head start.

Building Blocks for School

Before they learn to add 2+3 in a classroom, children need to understand concepts like:

• Classification and Sorting: Which toys are big? Which are blue?
• One-to-One Correspondence: Does everyone at the table have one fork?
• Number Sense (Subitizing): Quickly knowing there are three buttons on a coat without having to count them.
• Measurement: Who has the biggest cookie? or Let's see how many steps it takes to get to the fence.
• Positional Language: Put the teddy under the blanket or The ball is behind the chair.

These foundational skills are essentially the ‘building blocks’ of Mathematics. By talking about and pointing out these concepts in daily life, you are helping them build the framework they will use throughout their schooling.

Simple Ideas to Build Mathematical 'Prior Knowledge' at Home

Here are some suggestions that I mentioned at the meeting with the parents of our 2026 preps with some additional ideas:

• Maths is Everywhere: Show them that maths is all around them, such as money, maps, distances, patterns, time and temperature. This could also include:
  • In the Kitchen: Ask your child to help sort the cutlery, count out the plates, or help you compare the sizes of different containers or the mass of different objects.
  • On a Walk: Point out different shapes (a rectangular door, a circular wheel) or use positional language when crossing the road (Is the car in front of us or behind us?).
  • At Playtime: Encourage them to build with blocks and talk about height (taller/shorter) and comparison (more/less), and name the shape of the blocks and features of the blocks (cube/ straight edges).
• Games: Help to engage children in mathematical concepts and skills in a fun way. Play games together such as card games like Uno, board games like Snakes and Ladders or Monopoly, hopscotch and dominoes, just to name a few.
• Numbers in their environment: Children can be number detectives searching for and finding numbers in their environment - house numbers, road signs, price tags.

• Be Positive: One of the best ways we can help children and young people is to promote positive attitudes towards Mathematics, so help your child to see ‘mistakes’ (in any task) as a natural part of learning, and as the stepping stones on the pathway to learning.

   

At school, children then can continue building on this fantastic base you have already established. Thank you for all the incredible ‘pre-learning’ you are already doing!

Kind regards,

Conchita Thomas