Math

Teaching children to count by 2s is a multi-step process. I have split it into three main phases, how to start, how to develop the skill, and how to practice it once children have mastered the process. I have tried out all the following strategies over the last ten years of my teaching career. Over …

Partners games are exactly what they sound – a game that a child plays with a partner. Just two children can play them, or they can be played by a whole class split up into partners. Partners games can be really beneficial. They are so simple to do and break up any structured learning time …

You will find numbers stories in many different forms – you can teach them, you can read them in books, and you can experience them in life! They are a fantastic way of teaching number skills because they make learning real. They also link numbers to the world around us. But what are number stories? …

Maths is full of patterns, as is the world around us. An understanding of simple patterns will later develop into children’s understanding of numbers and how the number system works! It is crucial to let young children experience patterns in many different ways. It should be multisensory – they should paint patterns, dance them, sing …

Understanding positional words is quite a long process. It takes most children a while to first comprehend the terms, and then longer again to start to use the words themselves. Having worked as a preschool teacher for many years, I have lots of tricks and games up my sleeve to get them going with this …

In the ten years I have spent teaching young children between the ages of 3 to 5, one of the most important secrets I have discovered is how to teach number recognition. Some children will just pick this up from exposure to numbers in their environment. However, for most children, this is a long process …

1 to 1 correspondence is super important! In the ten years I have taught young children between the ages of 3 and 5,  I have found that 1:1 correspondence is a foundation for all the skills that come after it: adding, subtracting, finding one more and less, and lots of other things, too. Without one …

Puppets act like magic on young children! They can be the difference between children rolling around on the floor during a carpet time, or sitting in captivated awe! Children are usually far more excited by puppets than they are by humans, and the research suggests this also. But how can you use puppets in teaching? …

Balloon games are fantastic for getting children to cooperate, get active and have fun. I have taught children between the ages of 3-5 for the last ten years, and I have used balloon games regularly to get children working as a team and communicating in an exciting context. The whole curriculum can be linked to …