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Topic “Maths”

Developing awareness that an object exists when out of sight

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
Peek-a-boo - A toy that your child is motivated by. - A small blanket.	Show your child the toy and let them explore it. Cover the toy with the blanket. Pull the blanket off the toy - you could say 'peek a boo' or name the toy as you uncover it. Repeat this a few times and watch your child's reaction - do they anticipate you are going to pull the blanket off? Do they attempt to get to the hidden object? If your child is not looking towards the blanket when you hide the toy, try using a noisy toy so they can listen to the sound when it is hidden under the blanket.	Only do this activity when the child is interested in the toy and is likely to want to continue to play with it Keep other distractions to a minimum - if there are other toys for them to play with they may not look for the hidden toy If the child is not aware that the toy still exists, gain their attention and lift up the cloth. 'Here it is!' Let the child play with the toy again

Develop language skills through cookery

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
Deciding on the ingredients Pen; Paper; Optional - picture symbols for food items you need; An idea for what you are going to make. If using, you can make picture symbol cards using the Commtap Symboliser for PowerPoint.	Say to the children what you are going to make - e.g. pizza. Ask them to say what you would need to make a pizza; Write their ideas down, and discuss them - to support those who may have difficulties reading the words, do a rough sketch of each ingredient, or use picture symbols; Decide which ones you need to go to the shop for, and use these to make a shopping list. See comments for variations on doing this.	Making it easier: Have a set of pictures of ingredients which are appropriate for what you are making, and some other ingredients. Get the children to choose the appropriate ingredients. Even easier: Have a set of pictures for the ingredients, and some further pictures which aren't food (e.g. pictures of furniture, clothes). Help the child to choose those which are food items. Harder: Get the children to draw and/or write down the ingredients themselves.
Buying ingredients Shopping list that you made in the "buying the ingredients" activity; Money; Bag. You can make a shopping list with symbols using the Commtap Symboliser for PowerPoint.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	On subsequent occasions, you can pretend that you have a really bad memory, and you need the children to help you to remember what to take. If they don't remember everything, you can look a bit confused, and say something like "I'm sure we need to take something else...". You could also use ideas based on the comments in "Deciding on the ingredients".
Making the item Ingredients; Cooking implements; Aprons; Paper/pencils or pictures for each step of the cooking process (e.g. - get out the pizza base; spread on the pasta sauce; put on the toppings; put in the oven; take out of oven; eat it).	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	If the children are familiar with cooking this item, but they sequenced the pictures for doing the activity incorrectly at the beginning, you don't necessarily have to correct them straight away - you can correct it at the point when it becomes a problem - e.g. if you get to the putting the pizza in the oven bit before you've put the sauce and toppings on (look very confused!). Sketches for the sequence - these do not need to be accurate at all - they will be useful for this activity no matter what level of drawing ability you have. The children can also help with this. You can incorporate a number of maths concepts into the activities, for example: "full", "empty", "more", "less", "hot", "cold". Safety. Clearly you will need to manage any dangerous aspects of the cooking process as appropriate for the children you are working with (e.g. use of knives, the cooker).

consistently acts on objects

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
Playing with action toys Drum Jack in a box Pop-up toys Toys which need to be squeezed or a button pushed to produce an effect	Sit in the child's sight line in a quiet room and choose an action type toy to have on your lap. Gain the child's attention by stroking their face/clapping your hands or calling their name. Use the toy. Show happiness and/or surprise as you do so. Wait to see if the child makes a move to request a repeat. Repeat the action if the child requests. If the child does not request a repeat do the action again as above. After a few repeats take the child's hand and help the child activate the toy. Gradually reduce the amount of help you give the child to activate the toy. Can the child activate the toy independently if you show the child the toy? Move on to a different toy and follow the procedure above.	Work in short bursts. Keep the experience fun and light hearted. Give the child enough time to explore the toys and enough time to try to use the toy themselves. Give lots of praise for any success.
Snack time Small edible treats (biscuits/fruit/crisps) Transparent container with a lid.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.	You want the child to be able to open the container independently and help themselves. Give lots of time to explore the objects and praise for any success. Give lots of opportunities to learn by repeating the activity.
Favourite toy Small toys e.g. car/squashy ball	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.

Makes a choice from two items

Activity/strategy name and materials required	How to do the activity	Key principles for doing the activity and comments
Choosing between food items 1 Small pieces of desired food Small pieces of less desired food	Find a quiet place to work and sit opposite the child. Get the child's attention by calling their name or stroking a cheek or clapping your hands. Present pairs of food items the child must choose from (one desired and one less desired item). Put them on a small tray and place the items as far apart as possible. At first give choices between favoured and hated food items e.g. crisps and raw onion! Draw the child's attention to both the options. You may need to take the child's hand and reach their hand in the direction of the options. Say "Look ... ... crisps ... ... onion. Choose".	Give child time to settle and see the items to choose from. Work for short bursts. Give lots of praise for making a choice or starting to make a choice.
Choosing between food items 2 Small pieces of 2 different desired foods.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.
Choosing between toy items 1 One desired toy One undesired toy.	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.
Choosing between toy items 2 Two desired toys	Login or register to see the instructions for this activity.

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