Early maths skills involve:

• The understanding the properties of objects, e.g. object permanence– knowing that an object still exists even if it hidden. This requires the ability to form a mental representation of the object.
• Spatial relations, e.g. a child relating their body to objects near or far.
• The ability to problem solve, for example, planning actions with objects and/or people to have an end result, e.g. cause and effect.
• Learning to use their various senses.
• Learning to develop physical skills for manipulation and mobility.
• Developing early attention and awareness skills.

You can work with your child to:

• Develop attention and early sensory skills by looking at, tracking and handling a variety of objects that you have within the home.
• Encourage them to engage with shared participation throughout various activities to widen their experiences.
• Offer them opportunities to demonstrate consistent preferences and responses to objects, activities and people . They may demonstrate this response by making vocalisations, gestures, facial movements and may result in them expressing simple needs, e.g. requesting or protesting an activity.
• Develop their understanding of object permanence, e.g. placing a piece of material over an object that your child knows is there and seeing if they remove or attempt to remove it, moving an object away quickly and looking at their response.
• Practice their cause and effect skills and understanding that their actions can make things happen, e.g. understanding that if they bang a drum it will make a sound, pressing buttons on toys for a particular response, building and knocking down towers together, helping them to understand that verbalising/making a specific movement will gain the attention of somebody.
• Develop their anticipation to activities and experiences through repetition of them, e.g. repeating actions such as rolling cars down a track or try other anticipation activities such as spray water spray after counting 1,2,3, Go!
• Explore their various senses through the use of different resources. For example, using distinctive smells, tastes and textures and see how they respond. (For more information see the Sensology link in the Communication and Interaction homework tab)
• Carry out hands on practical activities such as building towers and manipulating/exploring different objects. You can get your child to fill, empty and stack various objects, e.g. emptying containers of sand in a tray. 

Please speak to your child's class teacher to determine suitable activities.