Numeracy is Just as Important for our Children to Grasp as Literacy.Our children need to understand numeracy and the concepts of maths and how we can apply it to everyday life. What is numeracy? We know it has to do with numbers and maths, but what does it mean for our children? Booker et al (1997) states that numeracy is:
Booker,G., Bond,D., Buggs,J., and Davey, G., (1997) Teaching Primary Mathematics. Addison Wesley Longman Aust Pty Ltd:Melb Basically, what that means is children need to be able to use math concepts in ways that benefit what our children do in everyday activities. Mathematics has changed somewhat since we went to school. I remember doing my maths and when asking the teacher -"Why do we do it this way?", I was told "because that's how it is done". We followed set rules without really knowing exactly why we applied those rules. However in going back to university to study teaching, I actually learned many of the reasons behind why we do things in mathematics. Maths today for our children has more authentic or real learning. With early years numeracy it is important for young children to learn the basic mathematical concepts - basic number, patterns and algebra, measurement, chance and data and space. Apart from timetables, which still are often memorised through rote learning, many other math concepts and numeracy skills are taught within a framework of activities, games or tasks that have a real meaning for our children, allowing them to see links between a concept and something they know. Therefore in many instances, teachers try to teach maths in a way that is fun (makes it enjoyable and easier to be absorbed by the children) and based around real situations so children can understand. Numeracy like literacy, is a skill we need to encourage in our children. Many maths concepts occur in the everyday things we do.
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