1st & 2nd Numeracy

Suggestions to Reinforce Maths Skills at Home

1. Make Maths Fun

Use real-life situations like baking or shopping to practice counting, simple maths and mathematical vocabulary. E.g. (how much more sugar do I need to add? How many altogether? He has less milk than your sister? Taking notice of the time or telling the time, reading some price tags, selecting coins to pay etc.)
Play maths-based games and use websites such as Topmarks and Numbots (Login for this in your child’s Homework Journal)

2. Focus on Number Skills

Practice counting forwards/backwards, skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. Examples of this could be: Dot to dot drawing or passing a ball while skip counting.

Some more fun ideas can be found here:

3. Use Manipulatives

4. Addition and Subtraction

5. Time and Measurement

6. Shape and Space

Identify shapes around the house and draw or cut them out to reinforce recognition. Play “I Spy“ with shapes in the environment (2D and 3D)
Use puzzles like tangrams to develop spatial awareness.

7. Problem-Solving

Use simple word problems to apply maths to real-life situations E.g. "The total is €5, and we’re paying €10. How much change will we get?" or "If we double the recipe, how many eggs will we need?"
Encourage logical thinking by asking how and why questions E.g. "Why do we need to measure the milk exactly? What would happen if we added too much or too little?" or "We have 12 cookies and 4 people. How many cookies does each person get?"

8. Creative Activities

9. Be Encouraging

Praise effort, not just results, and maintain a positive attitude towards maths.

10. New Primary Maths Curriculum

Here are some links below with further suggestions and ideas from the NCCA (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment) for parents.

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