Activities: ages 5 and under

There are chances to play with numbers in all sorts of everyday activities you do with your child. Pointing out the maths in what you’re doing can help your child feel positive about maths. It helps children understand that maths isn’t scary!

On this page we’ve listed just a few ideas to inspire you. Get creative! Talking about the shape and size of objects is a great place to start – e.g. big car, round ball, rectangular box. Try asking questions like “can you pass me the biggest box?” or “which is the smallest shoe?”. Practising how to count up to twenty and back to one is another activity you can do almost anywhere.

Around the house

Cooking: measure ingredients and set the timer together.
Find the same amount of different items to help your child understand what numbers mean. For example, find 3 spoons, 3 hats or 3 socks.
Put items in order. You could do this by weight, height or size. Ask your child to help you organise items around the house.
Solve problems. Work out “how many altogether” and “how many more”. Ask your child questions such as: “We have 3 red apples and 2 green apples, so how many apples do we have altogether?”

Out and about

Go on a shape hunt at the park or while you’re out and about. How many circles, squares, rectangles or triangles can your child find? Try getting your child to look for patterns.
Look for numbers on doors, buses, cars, signs, at the shops – anywhere! Remember to talk about what the numbers mean when you see them.
Count things. For example – how many lampposts are on our street? How many houses have a red door? How many dogs can you count in a day?
Talk about time. How long does it take to walk to the shop, or to school?

Games & Play

Scroll through these cards for a few ideas to get you started...

Show your child how to use money

You can do this with real money at the shops or pretend money at home. This is a great way to start doing some simple maths and to teach children about money.

At the shops

Ask your child to guess how much items will cost together. Give them small amounts of change and ask them what they think they can buy with it. Talk about the items you buy: which are more expensive and which are cheaper? Which are heavier, which are lighter?

Play shops

You could make pretend money or use Monopoly money for your play shop, and use items around the house as shop items. By ‘buying’ things with play money, your child begins to understand that different things cost different amounts of money.

Play the coin game

Trace around coins and then colour in the shapes. Ask your child to match the coin to the picture and talk about each coin’s name. (Note: toddlers may put coins in their mouth, so always keep an eye out!)

Talk to your child about where money comes from.

Help them to understand that it doesn't appear by magic at the cashpoint! Talk about how we get paid to do work or explain the other places that money comes from.