Practitioners Can Support Children's Mathematical Development

Practitioners can support children’s mathematical development in several ways. Emergent mathematics starts from birth and emerges through play. Maths is used in our everyday lives for example, keeping track of time, shopping, routines or cooking. It's important that children have the opportunity to use resources and have experiences that support emergent mathematics. Practitioners should demonstrate an interest in mathematics so children have a positive view of maths and feel capable of it. Practitioners should be supportive, enthusiastic and encourage children to try to do tasks giving praise when they achieve something. Lessons and activities should be fun and physical for example cooking lesson or going on shape walks. According to the early-years.org website, ' Play cannot be directed by adults. An adult can support, enhance or extend play, but the …show more content…
Practitioners need to be aware that every child is at different stages and has different needs which may be biological or environmental factors. An example of a biological factor is Dyscalculia as it is described as the dyslexia for numbers. Having dyscalculia can affect a child's ability in understanding mathematics and can affect the way information is processed, stored, and retrieved. Other biological factors include brain damage and turners syndrome. An example of an environmental factor is Socio-economic factors. According to Meggitt, C, 'Socio-economic factors are also significant, such as lack of money to provide sources, opportunities and experiences for children, and lack of social opportunities for children to engage in the range of social interactions which support learning.' (2015:430). We put out resources on tables that accommodate 4 or 5 children and other spaces for 2 or 3 children. We have resources outdoors as well as indoors that children can