This section contains some ideas for practical maths activities based around family life. Many are presented as questions you could ask as a starting point for further learning and discussion - you are probably already familiar with many of them and hopefully a few might inspire you. Choose the ones that best match your child's current knowledge and have fun!

Grocery Shopping

• Can you find the large / small tin of beans?
• Count how many apples there are in the bag
• We need 4 apples - how many more / less do we need?
• If buying a 'family treat' eg a bun each, how many will we need?
• Which coins will we need to put into the ticket machine at the car park?
• How many rolls are there in a packet?
• What numerals can you find on this packaging? What do they mean?
• Find all the packets with red on them when unpacking
• Which is the biggest banana?

Cooking
(some of the suggestions are for activities your child can play in the kitchen while you get on with the cooking!)

• Sort a small pile of various dried pastas into sets eg by size / by type.
    (Sorting items into groups is one of the first steps to understanding number)
• Let child help you to weigh ingredients
• We need 4 eggs. How many eggs are left in the box?
• Can you lay the table, so everybody has a knife and fork?
• How many sweets can you fit into an egg cup?
• Find the 'partner' for several items eg cup and saucer / knife and fork / salt and pepper
• Can you put a (small) group of potatoes in order, from the smallest to largest
• Hold 1 potato in each hand, which is heavier?

Doing the laundry

• Can you find the smallest vest?
• Can you help me to measure the washing powder?
• Can you put 5 clothes into the washing machine?
• Can you give me 2 pegs each time? (count in twos together as you use the pegs)
• Can you find all the pairs of socks?
• What numbers can you find on this label? What do you think they mean?
• How many clothes can you fit into the basket?
• Can you sort all of the white clothes into a pile?

Organising the toys

• Find all of the toys that have 4 legs
• How many bricks high can you build a tower?
• Which toy car travels the fastest? How can we find out?
• Find all of the round toys
• Can you find all of the pieces for this puzzle?
• Which is your longest toy? How can we find out?
• Can you find all of the blue bricks?

Bathtime

• How many toes do you have on 1 foot? How many on both feet?
• Let's count down from five to zero before you get into the water
• (Provide a variety of empty plastic bottles) Which bottle is the fullest?
• Can you brush your teeth ten times?
• Count how long it takes for the bath water to run away

On a car journey

• Count how many red cars you see in a minute
• Tell me whenever you see the number 4
• Can you see a big bus?
• Can you see a small dog?
• What numbers can you see on the road sign?
• What colour is the traffic light showing? What does it mean?
• What's the largest number you can see on a car number plate?
• Can you add up all of the numbers on the number plate of the car in front?

Anytime maths

Children need to become confident working with numbers mentally as early as possible.
This can be encouraged by asking quick questions and being supportive whatever answer you receive!

• Which number comes after 3?
• Which is the smallest number, 2 or 5?
• If I have 8 sweets and you have 9 sweets, who has the most sweets?
• Let's count in twos from zero to twenty
• What is 2 and 6 altogether?
• Listen to the pattern - 1 2 1 2 - what number comes next?
• Which number is 1 less than 6?
• Count from 5 to 10
• Count from 10 back to 5