During the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) your child will start their formal maths learning journey. Throughout Nursery and Reception, your child will be playing with numbers every day and using a range of familiar objects to help them understand basic mathematical ideas.
Times tables and long division may be a way off, but the basic numeracy skills your child begins to learn in Nursery will lay the foundations for the years ahead.
Early maths skills: how your child learns about number
Counting may seem as easy as one-two-three to us, but it’s a tricky skill for your child to learn. We explain the stages of getting to grips with number in Reception and Year 1.
Some numbers might be more important to you than other numbers. Ask your grown-up to help you answer the questions below. Then find the correct number and stick it in the spaces.
Shuffle the cards and play Snap! Place a card face-up on the table. Then take turns to form a face-up pile of cards next to it. When the number on one pile matches the picture on the other, that’s SNAP! The player who says “snap” first keeps the cards. Keep playing until one player has all the cards – they win!
The Reception Maths Learning Journey is a course of 40 worksheets that cover all the key topics in the numeracy curriculum for Reception Year.
By following the programme, which closely mirrors what your child is being taught in school, you’ll quickly be able to spot any topics that your child hasn't fully grasped and reinforce learning that is happening in the classroom at home. Your child will feel more confident in their own abilities and you’ll know you are giving your child the very best chance of succeeding in school.
In Reception your child will develop the foundations of all their future numeracy work, learning to count accurately, add, subtract, order numbers correctly and use mathematical language. Find out where to support their learning at home with our Reception Maths Progress checks, then plan lots of numbers fun to boost their confidence.
The tests are designed to help you practise counting, adding 'one more' and subtracting 'one less', basic shape recognition and other key skills with your child at home. Each term’s maths check consists of 20 questions and a total of 20 marks. Work through the questions with your child and include plenty of drawing, Lego-brick counting and Smartie-eating 'subtraction' as possible!
