Colours

Encourage your child to learn their colours. You can support this by talking about the colour of things e.g. The grass is green....The black dog is eating....You are wearing your red t shirt.

Asking your child to get things for you using colour clues is a fun way to learn the colours e.g. Can you get Daddy the black hammer...Where is mummy's green sock?...Pass me the red sauce...

Have fun with colours by putting cellophane on windows at home or making cellophane mobiles that hang at the child's sight level. Make different cellophane coloured glasses or binoculars from old cardboard tubes from gladwrap/tinfoil. Crystals hanging in windows make wonderful colour patterns that can be discussed. After rain look for rainbows and identify the colours together.

Writing numbers

Give your child opportunities to write numbers. At kindergarten we have charts with the numbers to 20. The tamariki (children) enjoy writing these numbers. It is great practice for them in forming the numbers. Don't be alarmed if their formation is not accurate. Remember small children are still developing their coordination skills and fine motor skills require longer to develop with each child developing these at different rates.

Ideas:

• Old calendars are great for children to use.
  
• Letter box numbers are fun to trace around
• Try tracing number stencils.
• Make numbers in the sand at the beach (start with child's age, house number etc)
• Put large numbers on your child's bedroom wall (or get number frieze)
• Buy number magnets for your child to play with (name them for child then let them)
• Buy or borrow from library, number puzzles

Remember to count with your child regularly so they become familiar with the number names and the order of the numbers. Start counting forwards firstly 1-5, then when that's learned try counting 1-10, then 1-20. Once the forward counting is mastered count backwards following similar pattern with 5-1, 10-1, 20-1.

Don't forget to count in your native tongue too if English is not your first language.

Number rhymes and songs

Encourage your child to count through singing songs and chanting rhymes. Do the actions and count on those fingers and toes too to help reinforce the concepts.

Rhymes/songs:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 once I caught a fish alive (counting to ten)

Ten little Indian boys (teaches counting to ten and back from ten too)

10 fat sausages sizzling in the pan (concept of subtraction)

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Five little ducks went out one day

Ten in the bed

Five little peas

Two little Dickie Birds sitting on the wall

Ten green bottles sitting on the wall and if one green bottle should accidently fall...