"Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically".
(Department for Education, Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage, 2021)
As part of our topic "Wake up, Shake up", we will be sharing the story of 'One Bear at Bedtime'. You can listen and watch this story by clicking on the Literacy Star!
Does your child have a favourite teddy that they take to bed?
How many teddies do they have?
Maybe they could group them in size or colour!
How about using the teddies to role play this song...
There were 10 in the bed
There were 10 in the bed,
and the little one said
"roll over, roll over".
So they all rolled over and one fell out
There were 9 in the bed.... etc.
OH NO! Each time a teddy rolls out, you can explore these questions....
How many teddies were in the bed?
How many fell out?
How many are in the bed now?
If there are 5 teddies in the bed, how many have rolled out?
Are there more teddies in the bed or have rolled out?
Here are some more Maths activity ideas to explore, around the other characters that you meet in the story...
Can you find different sized clothes to dress-up in?
What colours have you found?
Can you see any patterns in the fabrics?
Let's get jumping!
Can you jump high/low/fast/slow?
Choose a number and jump that many
Explore water and use different sized bottles and pots to fill and empty.
You can do this whilst in the bath (just like the giraffes) or in a bowl of water.
Adding bubbles makes this even more fun!
Use measuring jugs or beakers and explore the language of 'volume'.
Again, this can be explored while in the bath or when playing with dolls/teddies with a bowl of water.
Explore shampoo and make lots of bubbles.
Then rinse them away until the bubbles have all gone!
Explore the language of long and short.
You can be like the snakes and unroll the toilet paper, or use any paper to create long and short strips by ripping or carefully cutting with scissors (adult supervision).
You could use the strips of paper to create a long or short snake picture.