The role of play in early childhood development is so important, it is a vital component of learning, especially when it comes to developing early numeracy skills. Lots of playful activities lays a strong foundation for mathematical understanding and helps children grasp complex concepts in a natural and enjoyable way. Here’s our top reasons why play can greatly enhance early numeracy skills in children.
1. Play Builds Basic Number Sense:
Simple counting games that involve counting objects, steps, or even claps can help children understand the concept of numbers and their order. For example, counting the number of blocks while building a tower reinforces numerical sequences.
Also, rhymes and songs with numbers, such as songs like “Five Little Ducks” or “Ten in the Bed” introduce children to counting in a fun and memorable way. These repetitive and rhythmic songs help with basic counting and subtraction concepts.
2. Understanding Quantities and Comparisons:
Sorting and grouping activities, where children group objects by colour, size or type, teach them to recognise patterns and compare quantities. This is fundamental for children to understand more complex mathematical concepts as children grow.
Board games such as, “Snakes and Ladders” or “Monopoly Junior” involve counting spaces and recognising numbers on dice, helps children to associate numbers with quantities and develop a sense of magnitude.
3. Spatial Awareness and Geometry:
Toys like building blocks and Lego allows children to explore shapes, sizes, and spatial relationships. This is due to them constructing structures with blocks or the Lego pieces. Children learn about symmetry, balance, and geometry through hands-on experience with these blocks.
Jigsaw puzzles also enhance spatial reasoning by requiring children to recognise shapes and how they fit together. This skill is crucial for geometry and problem-solving.
4. Recognising Patterns and Sequences:
Activities that involve creating or identifying patterns (such as alternating colours or shapes) help children to understand sequences and predict what comes next. Recognising patterns is an important skill for understanding algebra and advanced math.
Stringing beads in specific sequences (e.g., red, blue, red, blue) not only improves fine motor skills but also helps children learn to identify and create patterns.
5. Developing Measurement Skills:
Cooking and baking are great for introducing children to measuring. Measuring ingredients for a recipe teaches children about quantities, fractions and the concept of more or less. It’s a practical way to introduce children to units of measurement and volume.
Playing with sand and water, using different-sized containers, helps children understand concepts of volume and capacity. They learn through experimentation and observation.
6. Enhancing Problem-Solving Abilities:
Setting up a pretend shop or restaurant allows children to use money, make transactions, and handle change. These activities require them to solve problems and think critically about numbers and operations.
Strategy games like Chess or Checkers involves strategic thinking and planning ahead, which are important skills for solving mathematical problems.
Our STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) activity cards is a great way to introduce maths skills early on through play. The activities use simple items from around the home or supermarket. Shop our STEM Activity Cards here.
To help nurture numeracy skills through play, it’s important to create an environment where children feel free to explore and experiment. Integrate play into your daily routines by using everyday activities as opportunities for playful learning. For example, counting steps while climbing stairs or sorting laundry by colour. Participate in play with your child, guiding them gently and asking questions that provoke thinking and reasoning. Encourage children to ask questions and explore different ways of solving problems. Celebrate their curiosity and creative solutions.
Play is not just a break from structured learning; it is an essential part of developing early numeracy skills. Through playful activities, children naturally discover mathematical concepts and develop a love for learning that will serve them throughout their educational journey. By integrating play into everyday life, parents and educators can provide children with a strong foundation in numeracy and a lifelong appreciation for mathematics.
Sensory play is a favourite in our house! We try to do some sensory play with our daughter at least a few times per week. We love watching our daughter develop and thrive through this type of play. Sensory play is a crucial part of a child’s learning and development but we know it can feel a little overwhelming. Whether its knowing what to do or worrying about the clean up afterwards, hopefully this blog will help you get started!
The benefits of sensory play for children
Cognitive development: sensory play engages stimulates multiple senses and enhances cognitive abilities like problem-solving, decision-making, and creativity.
Fine motor skills: sensory activities involving textures, pouring, scooping, and manipulating objects helps to develop children’s hand-eye coordination and dexterity.
Language development: sensory experiences provide opportunities for children to express themselves verbally, expanding vocabulary and communication skills.
Emotional regulation: sensory play can have a calming effect on children (and let’s face it, us parents will try anything to help calm our children), helping children to regulate emotions, reduce stress, and build resilience.
Imagination and creativity: sensory materials inspire imaginative play, encouraging children to explore, experiment, and invent new ways of interacting with their environment.
Scientific inquiry: Sensory exploration lays the groundwork for scientific curiosity, as children observe, hypothesize, and experiment with cause and effect. Our STEM Activity Cards are a great pack to get children involved in science activities early on. They’re simple, fun and can be created with everyday items from the supermarket. Shop our STEM Activity Cards here.
Self-Discovery: Through sensory experiences, children learn about their preferences, sensitivities, and boundaries, fostering self-awareness and self-confidence.
Tips to win at sensory play
Keeping sensory play simple can be both effective and practical.
Use everyday materials by utilising common household items like rice, pasta, beans, water, sand, flour, and oats.
Limit the materials: Offer a few sensory materials at a time to avoid overwhelming children. This allows them to focus more deeply on the experience. –
Focus on one sense: while sensory play often engages multiple senses, sometimes focusing on just one sense can simplify the activity. For example, playing with different textured fabrics or exploring various scents.
Open-ended play: Provide materials without specific instructions. This helps to allow children to freely explore and create their own experiences. This encourages creativity and problem-solving.
Minimal setup: keep your sensory set up simple and easy to clean. Use trays or containers to contain messes and consider using materials that are easy to sweep or wipe up.
Outdoor exploration: nature around us provides a rich sensory experience for children. It offers wonderful textures, sounds, smells, and sights. Take children outdoors to explore natural elements like dirt, leaves, grass, and water.
Sensory bins: use sensory bins or trays to contain materials, making cleanup easier and more manageable. These can be as simple as a plastic tub filled with sand, water, or rice.
Rotate materials: introduce new materials periodically to keep sensory play fresh and exciting. Rotate through different textures, scents, and colours to maintain children’s interest.
Follow the child’s lead: In the words of Maria Montessori “Play is the work of the child”. Observe children’s interests and preferences and tailor their sensory play experiences accordingly. Let them guide the play and follow their cues.
Go with the flow when it comes to sensory play. We often spend so much time setting up a sensory activity that it can then be hard to sit back and watch our kids grab anything but the items we originally set up. What’s your favourite sensory activity you like to do with your child? Let us know in the comments below
Author
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, women in STEM and the Montessori practice.
Children always have fun taking part in science experiments. They help to stimulate curious minds and offer a great introduction for young children to the wonders of the world around them. The early years is an important time to encourage curiosity and exploration and science experiments can help to do that.
Engaging children in science activities offers a plethora of benefits. Here are some of the fabulous benefits of science experiments in the early years.
Curiosity and exploration
Science activities helps to nurture children’s natural curiosity about the world around them. Taking part in science activities and experiments encourage children to ask questions, explore, investigate and helps to foster a lifelong love for learning.
Critical thinking and problem solving
Through hands-on challenges and experiments, children learn to think critically and solve problems creatively. Science activities and experiments helps young children to develop analytical skills by observing, hypothesising, experimenting and coming up with a conclusion.
Develops STEM skills and prepares children for future careers
Science activities integrate concepts from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). They help children develop foundational skills in these areas, preparing them for future academic and career pursuits. Engaging in science activities lays the groundwork for future career paths in STEM fields. It exposes children to various scientific concepts and disciplines, helping them explore their interests and passions from an early age.
Creativity and innovation
Science activities often involve designing and building, which helps to encourage creativity and innovation. Children learn to get creative and think outside of the box, experiment with different ideas and find unique solutions to the problem.
Teamwork and collaboration
Many science activities are group-oriented. This helps to promote teamwork and collaboration. Children learn to communicate effectively, share ideas, and work together towards common goals.
Resilience and perseverance
Science experiments don’t always go as planned, teaching children the importance of resilience and perseverance. They learn to embrace failure as a natural part of the learning process and to persist in the face of challenges.
Environmental awareness
Many science activities focus on topics such as sustainability, conservation, and environmental science, fostering an appreciation for the natural world.
Confidence building
Successfully completing science activities boosts children’s confidence and self-esteem. They feel a sense of accomplishment and empowerment, motivating them to take on new challenges.
Start your child’s science journey with our STEM activity cards or our ABC activity flashcards. Both include simple science activities and experiments using items from around the home or from the supermarket. Get your little scientist started today and shop our STEM activity cards.
As a business we’re moving from a core part of our business being focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning and moving towards STEAM (STEM + Art). STEAM like STEM focuses on developing a child’s critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity skills.
STEM education focuses on the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and maths. It encourages children to develop both their analytical and technical skills, as well as helping them to solve real-world problems using scientific and mathematical principles.
STEAM learning on the other hand, adds art into the mix. STEAM focuses on using creativity and design thinking to help solve problems. STEAM recognises and values that art and design can enhance innovation and creativity and that incorporating art into STEM can lead to more innovative and well-rounded solutions.
Both STEM and STEAM learning have their benefits. STEM learning helps to prepare children for careers in science, technology, engineering and maths, which are all in very high demand. It also helps develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are useful in many fields.
STEAM education, adds an artistic and creative element to STEM learning, allowing children to explore different ways of thinking as well as encouraging them to use their imagination. It can also lead to more diverse and innovative solutions to problems. This is because art and design thinking can offer unique perspectives that may not be immediately apparent through traditional STEM approaches.
Incorporating art into education has a lot of benefits for children. It can help children develop their imagination, creativity and self-expression, as well as empathy and their emotional intelligence. Art and design can also provide a form of therapy and stress relief, and can be a source of joy and fulfilment for children.
If you would like to introduce STEAM learning to your children. We have a great pack of STEM activity cards. The 32 activities and experiments are simple and fun and can be created with everyday items from around the home and the supermarket. The cards are double sided with illustrated instructions and key learnings for each activity/ experiment. You can shop our STEM activity cards here.
Overall, both STEM and STEAM education have their benefits, and incorporating art into education can have a lot of positive effects on children’s development and well-being. As a business we will be launching an art prints range in May and we will be talking a lot more about art. Natalie is the illustrator for the business and a qualified web and app designer, so she has lots of creative experience.
What are your thoughts about STEAM learning? Let us know in the comments below.
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
This week is National Coding Week here in the UK and we often get asked by parents how to get their kids into coding. There are many benefits of coding for kids, including improving their; logical thinking, problem solving skills, resilience and their maths skills. Natalie is a coder/developer, so below are her 3 tips to get your kids started with coding.
Our STEM Activity Cards are a great way to introduce coding to your child early on. The pack includes some coding activities. You can buy the pack here.
3) Our STEM Leaders: Black inventors and innovators who changed the world
Our STEM Leaders book includes inspirational leaders in tech and has useful links to help you introduce coding to your child. You can buy the book here.
We hope you found these three coding tips for kids useful. Let us know in the comments below
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
Black History Month is only a few weeks away (where is the time going? It will be Christmas soon, eek!) Our STEM Leaders: Black inventors and innovators who changed the world book would be a great resource. We all know schools will not be teaching children about these amazing people. So it’s for us all to do this at home.
STEM Leaders will introduce children to important Black inventors and innovators who changed the world. This vibrantly illustrated book is a stimulating reference source; it is educational and includes; Q&A’s, useful links, fun facts and activities to get children started with STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) experiments. You can buy the book here.
We’re so excited about this book. We both work in the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) industry and we don’t see many people that look like us. So we want to inspire the next generation to embrace STEM subjects. An industry which creates the inventors, innovators and leaders of tomorrow. You can buy the book here.
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
