You will need: • A container for collecting things in • To visit places such as a garden, park or beach where you can collect things Collect: acorns, shells, pine cones, leaves, pebbles, pumice, sticks, stones, large buttons Children will need to be supervised closely when handling small items

You can:

• Collect and store items (clean before using if necessary)

• Let your child sort objects in their own groups or ways – give them spoons, scoops and containers to put things in as they sort

• Encourage your child to sort things by size, shape, colour and texture

• Make rows going from smallest to biggest

• Talk about how things are the same or different

• Use the language of number, size, shape, colour and texture as your child sorts and groups objects

You can also:

• Collect things from grandparents such as plastic containers, old buttons, lids, cartons, bottle tops, milk bottle lids

• Add written numbers alongside the objects you have sorted or counted

• Sort with jars and lids, matching lids with jars

• Sort out which lids match with which saucepans

• Sort fruit and vegetables into types

• Help put the groceries away (sort tins, fridge food etc into separate places)

• Put socks in pairs

• Match pyjama tops with pants

• Match shoes

Did you know:

• When children are collecting and sorting they are using basic mathematics

• When collecting outside remember to be sun safe (shade, hat and sun block)

• CHILDREN CAN CHOKE ON SMALL ITEMS

What your child is learning:

• Some of the foundational concepts of numeracy

• To sort and classify objects according to size, shape, colour, texture, type etc

• About position (before, after, next to, and middle)

• To join together (addition) and take away (subtraction)

• About weight (heavier, lighter) and size (bigger, smaller)

• To organise, decide, arrange and explain