Building early childhood mathematics confidence through play

Early numeracy, especially in preschool and kindergarten, plays an important role in later mathematics success, overall learning and quality of life.  

Active learning through play and exploration 

Mathematical learning happens everywhere and should be as hands-on as possible. Children learn best when they can touch, see and interact with objects, with plenty of time for free exploration. Activities like counting, matching and organising objects make learning enjoyable and engaging.  

Important early mathematics skills may include: 

• counting aloud using number words (singing counting songs)  
• counting and comparing small quantities (sorting toys by colour or size) 
• comparing sizes, dimensions, capacities and weights (pouring water or sand into jars of different sizes) 
• exploring properties of shapes by fitting them together and building models (constructing with building blocks) 
• understanding space by describing locations and giving directions (playing hide and seek) 
• recognising different patterns (spotting colour sequences in beads) 
• problem-solving in practical ways (teachers encouraging thinking with open-ended questions like ‘What happens if we add one more?’) 

Creating engaging learning experiences 

Teachers create spaces where children can explore numbers in meaningful ways. Having access to different materials and tools motivates children to experiment and learn.  

These teaching resources developed by Erasmus+ funded projects can help: 

• A good practice guide developed by the ‘Good Start, Grow Smart’ project offers practical ideas for preschool teachers.  
• A manual for teachers created by ‘ABC for kindergartens’ highlights that learning must be meaningful and understandable for young children and provides concrete examples (available in EN, SL, CZ). 
• The project ‘The child is a researcher and a practitioner’ produced a  handbook for outdoor learning which presents best practices on STE(A)M teaching methods. 
• Vidukids (materials available in DE, EN, IT, NO, PT, SV) uses video making to teach mathematics in kindergarten; moving images bring concepts like space, numbers and shapes to life, linking them to real-world experiences. 

Supporting early numeracy starts at home 

Children thrive when they are supported by adults who encourage their learning and offer support. When numeracy is part of daily life, children develop confidence with numbers. While teaching maths in preschool and kindergarten is important, children’s first exposure to numeracy happens at home.  

Parents can support numeracy learning and can build numeracy skills through   

• everyday activities such as counting steps when walking, or identifying numbers in books or on signs 
• role-playing activities like running a pretend shop with play money can help to introduce basic mathematics skills 
• board games that use dice to build number recognition 
• simple home tasks like setting the table or sorting household items by size or shape