Maths out & about for under 5s | Family Maths Toolkit

Tips & ideas

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? Are they 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional? Try getting them to look for patterns.

Play games that use counting. Hopscotch, hide and seek, What’s the Time Mr Wolf, skipping or hula hooping are a great place to start.

Dance. Create patterns by making up short dances and rhythms using your body (e.g. clap, clap, stomp, belly slap, and repeat).

Sport. Sports are the perfect chance for your child to think about speed, scores, time and angles. Get competitive; how many goals or points can your child score? How many can you score?

Look for numbers on doors, buses, cars, signs, at the shops... anywhere. Remember to talk about what the numbers mean.

Count anything. 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?

For ideas, look at:

All external resources have been reviewed and recommended by our Parental Engagement Pedagogical team. (External links will open in a new tab).

Family Maths Toolkit Everyday Activity Packs

Each pack contains 18 activities which are fun, creative and will get you and your child talking about everyday maths.

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Skipping game

On a hot day, play this skipping game with cups of water. Turn it in to a competition and measure who can keep the most water in the cup.

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Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Practise counting and number sequences.

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Learning Through Landscapes

Ideas for outdoor maths activities.

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Maths On The Go

This book contains 101 simple tips, games and activities to make practising maths enjoyable, for you as well as your child.

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Out and about