Mathematics

The mathematics program at Bass Valley Primary School is a 1 hour daily session dedicated to developing mathematical concepts through the manipulation of concrete materials and involvement in a variety of hands on learning experiences.

Our daily Mathematics sessions cover the domains of Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry and Statistics and Probability.

As your child’s first teacher, you play an important role in helping develop their numeracy skills from an early age! Here are some activities to help develop a mathematical language at home:

• Use specific terms when asking for items. For example, ask your child to get the ‘one litre’ milk bottle from the fridge, or the ‘one kilo’ bag of flour from the cupboard.
• When cooking, talk about different measurements used, such as teaspoons, millilitres, litres, and cups. Discuss ideas about empty and full.
• As you walk, talk and play together describe your child’s movements as they climb ‘over’ the fence, slide ‘between’ the poles, and swing ‘under’ the monkey bars. This helps your child understand language related to spatial awareness.
• Sorting activities support your child to understand concepts such as ‘same’ and ‘different’. Use recycling as an opportunity to sort items to place in the rubbish. For example, paper, plastic, food waste and general waste.

Here are some ideas of maths resources you can access at home:

• The Victorian Maths Challenge is a fun and engaging way for families to engage in real life mathematics and explore problems together: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/events/vmc
• https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au (select Early Childhood or Primary Students tabs)
• http://education.abc.net.au
• http://www.ictgames.com/resources.html