Maths in the early year’s foundation stage is a vital stepping stone for children and it forms one of the seven key areas for learning. Therefore it is so important to make sure that your little ones can explore and learn it in an enjoyable way. In this blog we share 10 of our favourite EYFS numeracy activities for you to try out with your little ones and support a love of learning maths!
1. Counting Songs
Resources required (optional):
- Puppets or props
- Audio or instruments
Activity details:
- Start by playing the chosen songs a few times with your children for them to become familiar with it (if they aren’t already)
- Next, start by introducing counting elements such as encouraging children to count on their fingers “1, 2, 3, 4, 5” alongside the song 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Once I caught a fish alive for example
- Elevate this by introducing puppets or props as a further visual aid
- Depending on your child’s development, now you might want to consider additional challenges such as pausing the song after 1, 2, 3__ and seeing if they can correctly name the following two numbers
2. Numicon Shape Matching
Resources required:
- Numicon shapes
- Numicon picture baseboards (you can draw these on white paper as an alternative)
Activity details:
- Challenge your little learners to match the Numicon with the coloured shapes on the baseboards
- They will need to be careful to use the pieces with the correct colours and numbers to make them fit correctly!
- Test their understanding by prompting them to count the numbers of each piece or the shape as a whole!
3. Snakes and Ladders
Resources required:
Snakes and ladders board game, OR:
Activity details:
This game is as old as time and the rules simple: roll the dice to determine how many steps your piece can move forward. If you land on a ladder you travel upwards and if you land on a snake you travel down! Whilst this is a fun game for all, it is also a great way for children to practice their counting as they roll the dice and move forward to win the game.
4. Lolly Stick Maths
Resources required:
- Lolly sticks
- Pegs
- Pens
Activity details:
This is a great activity to teach maths on a budget. Start by writing a number line 1-10 on a lolly stick. Then add the individual numbers 1-10 on pegs (you can add a number to each side)
All your little ones will need to do is match the numbers and add he correct peg over the matching number. Your little ones will develop their fine motor skills whilst also improving their number recognition
5. Colour Sorting
Resources required:
- Tuff tray colour mat (optional)
- A selection of different colour resources
Activity details:
A simple yet effective activity to help children to develop early maths concepts. The objective is simple, children will need to select an object from the pile of resources provided, correctly identify a key characteristic, in this case, its colour and then add it to the corresponding coloured section.
This activity can be adjusted depending on your objective, for example can objects be classified by size or shape instead? Tailor the activity to support your individual child’s area of development.
6. Numicon City
Resources required:
Activity details:
Numicon is a brilliant early maths resource as it allows children to visualize the concept of addition, subtraction and other maths challenges
- Start by building your numicon “towers” flat on the tuff tray paper pad
- Then trace around the towers with your pen leaving an outline behind
- Your children will then be challenged to rebuild the towers to fit inside the outlines
- You can further supplement this activity with counting cubes. Why not try building towers that stand up independently?
Why not prompt your children with some questions:
- How many pieces do you use?
- What do the pieces add up to?
7. Sand Writing
Resources required:
Activity details:
- This is a great activity to encourage children to practice their number mark making, understanding the shape of the numbers and generally become more familiar.
- By using sand, there is the added bonus that any mistakes can easily be brushed away and it provides children with a fun tactile and sensory experience with which to enjoy maths!
- Simply provide your little ones with a number – this could be presented visually or verbally depending on your child’s development level – then they will need to write this in the sand using their hands!
8. Target Tuff Tray
Resources required:
Activity details:
- Encourage children to practice their hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills by throwing the bean bags onto the target mat to hit a number
- Why not encourage children to hit a particular number to make this more challenging? For example, try asking them “what number is missing, 1, 2, 4, 5” and see if they can correctly identify 3 and then hit it on the target
- Alternatively why not encourage children to complete a particular task depending on the number that they hit, for example, when a 1 is hit see if they can do a star jump, if a 2 is hit why not ask them to pat their head twice.
9. Shopkeeper Role Play
Resources required:
Activity details:
- Set up a designated “shop” area. Children can be encouraged to use their imaginations for the items in their shop or various different resources can be gathered to be “sold” in the shop
- Talk your little ones through the different coins and their values – these can be made up depending on your child’s level of development
- During role play, guide the children in using the correct amount of money and counting out the change
- You could also engage your children in conversations about prices, quantities and costs. For example, “how much are these two items”, “do I have enough money for that toy?”
10. Pattern Practice
Activity details:
- Introduce your child to patterns and discuss what a pattern is by showing different examples
- Next create a basic pattern in front of the children for their reference and get them to identify what comes next in the sequence
- Then provide children with materials to start creating their own patterns using objects of different types, colour, shapes and sizes!
We hope you try some of these EYFS Numeracy Activities and enjoy them! If you have any activities you would like to share with the community then tag us in your posts on social media or use the hashtag #ExplorewithEYR to start the conversation!
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