5 Ways to Support Your Child's Maths at Home (Ages 5–7)
The early years of maths are all about building number sense. Here are five practical, fun activities you can do at home to give your child a head start.
Maths anxiety starts early — often before children even reach Key Stage 1. The good news is that a few minutes of playful maths each day can make a huge difference to your child's confidence and ability.
1. Count everything. Stairs, grapes, cars on the street. Counting out loud builds number sense naturally and costs nothing. Make it a game: 'Can you count the steps before I do?'
2. Play with shapes. Spot circles, squares, and triangles on your walk to school. Ask 'how many sides does that sign have?' Shape recognition is a core Year 1 objective and it's everywhere.
3. Use real money. Even plastic coins help children understand value and simple addition. Set up a pretend shop and let them be the shopkeeper.
4. Tell number stories. 'There were 5 birds on the fence. 2 flew away. How many are left?' Story problems build the mental model for subtraction without a worksheet in sight.
5. Play Sodafom's Number Pop. Our balloon-popping game targets exactly the counting and number recognition skills in the Year 1 and Year 2 curriculum — and children genuinely love it. Ten minutes before bed beats a maths worksheet every time.
The Sodafom Team
Making maths, spelling & reading fun for ages 5–13