Flora is finding Maths challenging.
But when Maths are combined with play and the skills learned can be applied to everyday life, Flora manages to develop her Numeracy skills by playing.
What can we do to combine play with Maths?
For example, this week Flora is learning and becoming familiar with numbers.
1. Using symbols and objects
As we have mentioned in previous posts, it is important to use symbols in every learning activity. By hearing but also seeing the new vocabulary, Flora can learn and link the sound with the word and the concept.
Using objects makes the activity more interesting and fun.
To help Flora learn the numbers, we planned an activity in which we use the following objects as props: beads, spaghetti and a dice.
2. Demonstrating the activity
Before we demonstrate the activity, it is important to name the objects we will use. In this way, Flora develops and maintains her vocabulary.
The adult, as in all activities, needs to demonstrate the activity. This makes it easier for Flora to understand and can anticipate what she needs to do.
In this case, the activity consists of 4 steps:
(a) roll the dice,
(b)identify the number,
(c) count the beads
(d) thread the beads onto the spaghetti.
In this way we combine fine motor skills and Maths.
For more information on fine motor skills, see here.
3. Student’s turn
It's Flora's turn to do the activity. At first, Flora struggles with the fine motor movements so we help her hand over hand. Gradually, we can reduce our support so that she can start to do it independently. It is important to adapt the activity and the support to the child's needs.
4. Connecting knowledge with everyday life
After Flora has started to learn the numbers, we can help her consolidate her knowledge by using it in her everyday life. For example, at snack time we can ask her how many raisins she wants. When she helps with folding clothes, we can ask her to give us a specific number of pegs.
For more information about the activity, see here.
We will share more tips and activities in the future, so keep visiting us.
We are looking forward to hearing your views and experiences.
You can email us at florastophasma@gmail.com.