ABSTRACT
The activities in this section develop the following mathematical skills: Age range What a child is learning Birth–11 months Babies’ early awareness of measure grows rom their sensory awareness and opportunities to play and explore, 8–20 months Recognises big things and small things in meaningful contexts. Gets to know and enjoy daily routines, such as getting-up time, mealtimes, nappy time, and bedtime. 16–26 months Enjoys filling and emptying containers. Associates a sequence of actions with daily routines. Beginning to understand that things might happen ‘now’. 22–36 months Beginning to categorise objects according to properties such as shape or size. Begins to use the language of size. Understands some talk about immediate past and future, e.g. ‘before’, ‘later’ or ‘soon’. Anticipates specific time-based events such as mealtimes or home time. 30–50 months Uses positional language. 40–60+ months Can describe their relative position such as ‘behind’ or ‘next to’. Orders two or three items by length or height. Orders two items by weight or capacity. Uses everyday language related to time. Beginning to use everyday language related to money. Orders and sequences familiar events. Measures short periods of time in simple ways. Remember, children develop at their own rates, and in their own ways. These statements and their order should not be taken as necessary steps or checklists for individual children.
