Have some understanding of 1 and 2, especially when the number is important for them.
Create and experiment with symbols and marks.
Use some number language, such as 'more' and 'a lot'.
Recite some number names in sequence.
How young children show their understanding of number labels such as 1, 2, 3.
The contexts in which young children use marks and symbols.
Situations that prompt children to talk about numbers.
The numbers children recite spontaneously in their games.
Children matching one thing with another, for example, glasses and straws.
Children putting things in order of 'turn'.
Show children how we use counting to find out 'how many'.
Talk about how the symbols and marks you make stand for numbers and quantities.
Ask questions such as "Would you like one sandwich or two?".
At mealtimes, talk about portions of food so that children learn about quantities, such as 'enough', 'more', 'how many'.
Encourage parents of children learning English as an additional language to talk in their home language about quantities and numbers.
Introduce number labels to use outdoors for car number plates, house and bus numbers.
Create a 'number rich' environment in the home play area. Introduce numbers as they are used at home, by having a clock, a telephone and a washing machine.
Keep a diary with the children about their favourite things. Talk about how many like apples, or which of them watches a particular TV programme at home.
Calculating
Begin to make comparisons between quantities.
Know that a group of things changes in quantity when something is added or taken away.
The deductions children make about whether there is some juice left, or whether it is 'all gone'.
Children's attempts at estimation and their efforts to check by counting.
How children engage with simple counting songs and games, for example, 'Five Currant Buns'.
When children begin to know about dividing things equally into two groups.
Help children to organise their ideas by talking to them about what they are doing.
Play games which relate to number order, addition and subtraction, such as hopscotch and skittles.
Sing counting songs and rhymes which help to develop children's understanding of number, such as 'Two Little Dickie Birds'.
Cocoa for 50p - In the outdoor area of a pre-school on a sunny day, the practitioner supports a child in his role-play about shops and money. [transcript]
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Provide props for children to act out counting songs and rhymes.
Provide games and equipment that offer opportunities for counting, such as skittles.
Plan to incorporate a mathematical component in areas such as the sand, water or other play areas.
Shape, Space and Measures
Notice simple shapes and patterns in pictures.
Begin to categorise objects according to properties such as shape or size.
Are beginning to understand variations in size.
Observations made by children relating to shapes or patterns.
When children begin to use some words that describe time, amount and size, for example, when children say things like "me bigger" to a smaller friend.
Talk about and help children to recognise patterns.
Draw children's attention to the pattern of square/oblong/square which emerges as you fold or unfold a tablecloth or napkin.
Be consistent in your use of vocabulary for weight and mass.
Sort coins on play trays into interesting arrangements and shapes; sort them into bags, purses and containers.
Measure for a purpose, such as finding out whether a teddy will fit in a bed.
Collect pictures that illustrate the use of shapes and patterns from a variety of cultures, for example, Arabic designs.
Provide opportunities for children to measure time (sand timer), weight (balances) and measure (non-standard units).
Vary the use of volume and capacity equipment in the sand, water and other play areas to maintain interest.
Acknowledgements
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