Aistear Blogs

This blog looks at emergent numeracy in the updated Aistear curriculum framework. The Framework aligns with the recently published Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy 2024-¬2033: Every Learner from Birth to Young Adulthood and shares the understanding that numeracy in early childhood involves the exploration and development of mathematical skills, concepts, knowledge and understanding. Through play and meaningful hands-on experiences, babies, toddlers and young children’s lives are enriched by numeracy experiences in their everyday lives.

Central to supporting babies, toddlers and young children’s knowledge and understanding of numeracy are relationships and interactions. Educators, embracing a slow relational pedagogy, can support and extend opportunities for babies, toddlers and young children to build awareness of the variety of numeracy symbols and concepts in the world around them. The daily routine flowing between free-play, guided play and educator-led playful experiences provides opportunities for educators to notice when number, shape and space, size or volume intrigues babies, toddlers and young children. Together, educators with the baby, toddler or young child can build an awareness of the important functions these have in everyday experiences. For example, five strawberries is more than two, the longer piece of timber makes the bridge or, that the metal ball is heavier than the cork bottle top in the treasure basket.

All four aims of Aistear’s Exploring and Thinking Theme support emergent numeracy. Through enjoyable and meaningful play and playful experiences, babies, toddlers and young children come to understand concepts such as matching, comparing, ordering, sorting, estimating, counting, spatial awareness, size, weight, height, length, capacity and money.

To realise these aims in practice requires the creation of an inclusive, numeracy- and maths-rich environment. This means educators provide a range of provocations and age- and stage- appropriate resources for babies, toddlers and young children to safely explore and learn about the role of numeracy in their world. Having items in the learning environment to feel, count, sort, classify and weigh is essential. Some of these items include: interlocking toys, large and small blocks, inset boards, measuring tapes,  jigsaws, sorting sets, art materials, old clocks, money, balls, stacking toys, threading beads, buckets, spades, spoons, ladles, cups, bottle caps, saucepans, sieves, spoons, jugs, kettles, cardboard tubes, pine cones, seashells, scraps of material, hoops, bean bags, balls, balancing beams, blocks, boxes, wheeled toys, tractors, trailers, trikes, balance bicycles, slides, climbing frames, ride-on toys, pull and push toys, climbing frames, slides and ramps. The list is endless!

Educators should ensure that a variety of books, focusing on numeracy related concepts and maths language, are in the learning environment, indoors and outdoors. For example, exploring the concept of small, medium-sized and big through the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Using songs and nursery rhymes that incorporate maths concepts and maths language throughout the day can be very effective in developing babies, toddlers and young children’s mathematical understanding. Educators can also draw attention to numbers in the environment – notices, signs, food containers, shop windows, house numbers and car registrations. Activities like baking, shopping, cooking and gardening are also very useful in developing a positive dispositions towards numeracy and for using maths language in meaningful ways, for example big/bigger/biggest, tall/taller/tallest, wide/wider/widest. These activities can support babies, toddlers and young children’s understanding that mathematics is important and useful.

The updated Aistear positions emergent numeracy as an important part of early childhood education and care, empowering babies, toddlers, and young children to explore, think, and communicate in ways that are meaningful and developmentally appropriate. The Framework highlights the role of the agentic educator and how they use their knowledge and skills to interpret the Principles and Themes of Aistear in their individual context. Educators know the babies, toddlers and young children they work with and adapt the Framework to suit their needs and interests. By seeing the endless possibilities in the learning environment and in local communities, educators can nurture and support emergent numeracy, fostering babies, toddlers and young children’s holistic development. 

Read the previous blog in our series here