Building Numeracy beyond the classroom

Let's work on numeracy together, one game, one recipe, and one conversation at a time.

Have you been wondering what to buy family and friends for a Christmas present this year? Before reaching for the latest gadget, consider giving a gift that brings the family together while also helping develop valuable mathematical thinking skills. Board and card games are a fantastic way to support numeracy in a fun, relaxed environment, often without children even realising they are learning.

Games such as Yahtzee, Chess, Monopoly, Triominoes, Uno, Qwirkle, Skip-Bo, and even a simple deck of cards encourage number sense, strategic thinking, pattern recognition, probability, logical reasoning, and problem-solving. These are the same skills students use every day in mathematics classrooms.

Another wonderful way to build numeracy at home is through cooking and baking. Following recipes involves measuring ingredients, working with fractions, estimating quantities, calculating cooking times, and adjusting recipes to serve different numbers of people. Whether doubling a batch of Christmas biscuits or dividing a pizza equally among family members, mathematics is at work in everyday life.

One of the best things about family games and cooking together is that they create opportunities for learning without worksheets, homework, or screens. They show children that mathematics is not just something studied at school, but a practical life skill that helps us make decisions, solve problems, and understand the world around us.

This Christmas, consider adding a family game to your gift list, dusting off an old favourite from the cupboard, or inviting your children into the kitchen to help prepare a meal. Small moments like these can make a big difference to confidence with numbers.

Let's work on numeracy together, one game, one recipe, and one conversation at a time.