Numeracy Learning

Building your child’s Numeracy learning

In all my years of teaching and specialising in maths, and basically being a nerd for all things teaching and maths, one question keeps coming up. I am often asked by families...is there anything they could (or should) be doing in the home environment to better support their child's maths' learning.  The trigger may be a school report, the start of a new school term or simply an inherent belief that their child could be doing better than they are currently doing. My answer is a resounding "Yes, you can help”. I believe that Maths' ability is not set in stone and parents can help in very practical ways. 

I have created this handout that may be useful to help build your child’s numeracy learning. 

Regards 

Monica Rayner 

School Maths Leader 

How can you help build your child’s Numeracy learning? 

You can help build your child’s numeracy through doing the following: 

● be positive about their numeracy experiences and praise effort and perseverance 

● seize everyday opportunities to capitalise on numeracy development, when you can 

● describe what you are doing in situations that involve numeracy 

● involve your child in numeracy-related activities 

● let your child know that everyone can be successful 

● explain why you make certain numeracy choices 

● explore numeracy with your child 

● learn alongside your child and encourage a sharing of numeracy ideas and thoughts. 

Helping children to become numerate does not need a high level of mathematics. It means: 

● encouraging children to try, then keep trying 

● encouraging children to think (reason) 

● supporting children while they do homework (which means encouraging them and taking an interest, but not doing the thinking for them) 

● modelling numeracy with children (including interpreting data, charts and diagrams) 

● talking aloud when solving problems (every day or mathematical) 

● getting children to check their answers (Does this answer make sense?) 

● encouraging children to help with 

○ cooking (especially measuring out ingredients) 

○ scheduling events in the day 

○ reading maps and giving directions 

○ measuring –– and thanking them for their support 

● please try and not say “Maths is hard” or “I was never good at maths”. Numeracy capability is not inherited but attitudes are contagious. 

To focus on your child’s problem-solving approaches and their reasoning: 

● Ask questions and give instructions like 

○ “What do you already know about this problem/question?” 

○ “How might you work it out?” 

○ “Explain why you think that is the answer?” 

● Do not focus only on the correct response, the process/approach is important 

● Allow your child to experience some confusion. It is an essential aspect of the learning process. 

(Education.vic.gov.au )

Monica Rayner- School Maths Leader