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Recently, the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics has recommended that Early Years practitioners use materials that are available to correlate with the CBeebies show ‘Numberblocks’ to draw upon and build a foundation of mathematical skills that are learnt in the programme (NCETM, 2021).

Gilmore and Spelke reviewed three different experiments regarding infants and children aged 5’s ability to understand addition and subtraction problems, which showed that they solved them in two different ways. This could give indication that children understand inverse relationships of addition and subtraction (Gilmore & Spelke, 2008, p. 933).

It is the responsibility of the practitioner to inform parents about how important their role is in supporting their child’s mathematical learning at home in practical ways, and make parents to feel comfortable with this, for example, talking with them and showing how their children are learning (Bennett & Weidner, 2014, p. 133).
Figure 8:
Numberblocks

Note, from NCETM, by NCETM, 2021, (https://www.ncetm.org.uk/in-the-classroom/early-years/).

The most effective method of teaching is the application of differentiation, requiring the practitioner to have extended knowledge of their student’s needs, subject matter and classroom skills (Prast et al, 2018, p. 22). According to Development Matters, at age 4-5 children should be developing their ability to count with more accuracy (Department for Education, 2021).
There are many approaches to teaching mathematics to young children vary, one way that children may learn is through their own fantasy play and exploratory talk as studies have shown that mathematics can not only be observed, but when speaking with the children Williams was able to discover that the children were able to reflect on what they were learning, a form of meta-cognition (Williams, 2014, p. 17).

Figure 6:
Multilink cubes

Note: From Coventry University, by Emma Gillespie, 2021.

When entering the reception year, some of the children may have been in another childcare setting before and have good communication skills, whereas some will not have and appear behind other children in speech and language, which may lead to communication and social difficulties (McEvoy & McMahon, 2019, p. 133). Studies have shown that tasks children are set in schools require focused attention and the ability to remember multiple pieces of information, which corresponds to higher levels of academic achievement, and when these are used together, provide an indication of school readiness (Morrison et al, 2010, p. 205). This can be related to executive functioning skills as these are beneficial in environments that require children to maintain attention on tasks, self-regulate and follow rules and instructions (Morrison et al, 2010, p. 205).

Several studies have shown correlations between children being in high-quality childcare and their performance on literacy and numeracy measures of school readiness, particularly in higher language performance (Linder et al, 2013, p. 3). In addition to this, there is a clear relationship between executive functioning skills and socio-economic status, particularly in language abilities and long-term memory, thought to be due to a lower availability of environmental stimulation and increased stress on the family (Farah et al, 2008, p. 795).

Figure 7:
Executive functioning wheel

Note: from Brain Power Academy, by Brain Power Academy, 2021, (https://academy.brain-power.com/powerpd-executive-functioning-coming-soon).

Home and settings play an integral part in creating an environment that children are encouraged to interact with language in their world. Children can use the literacy in their world, for example, signs, to incorporate into their play which children spend most of the waking hours doing, while also supporting their well-being (Hayes, 2018, p. 164- 165). Some children’s home life has the potential to be a barrier to their development if parents are unsure how they can support their child’s development, so working with parents can show them that your respect their diversity as well as being beneficial for the child (The Early Years Foundation Stage, 2007). This is why projects like The Family Literacy in Prisons project are vital. The project focused on how absent fathers who are in prison can aid their child’s literacy and general development, providing a starting point to maintain family connections with the aid of practitioners (Nutbrown & Clough, 2016, p. 1-2).

Figure 5:
We need you!

Note: from Barewalls, by Barewalls, 2021, (https://www.barewalls.com/posters-art-prints/we-need-you.html).

Vygotsky believed that relationships always have a cultural context, therefore the child’s thoughts would also be socially constructed and that there was a sequence of language development; external speech (0-3 years), overt inner speech (3-7 years) and inner speech (7+ years) (Conkbayir, 2017, p. 77). To quote Vygotsky ‘Learning proposes a specific social nature and a process by which children grow into the intellectual life of those around them’ showing the importance of practitioners using good communication and having a knowledge of other cultures to facilitate the child’s linguistic development (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 88).

According to Conkbayir, studies recording the magnetic activity of the brain have shown a relationship between infant-directed speech and higher levels of attention and speech perception in infants (Conkbayir, 2017, p. 72).

Figure 4:
Language and literacy

Parenting styles can have an effect on a child’s cognitive ability. Baumrind’s (1978) four parenting styles are widely recognised and each have a different effect on the outcomes of children (Iowa State University, 2021). Authorative parenting has been proven to be the most effective with higher levels of social competence, and lower levels of problematic behaviour, whereas uninvolved parenting styles are more likely to raise children that engage in high-risk behaviour, and not person as well at school (Beckett & Taylor, 2019, p. 128)

Figure 3:
Parenting styles

According to Meggitt, from the age of 5 children can make drawings with good detail, ask about abstract words, give their full name and details about themselves and are interested in reading and writing (Meggitt, 2012, p. 95). Piaget believed that at age 5 children were in the pre-Operational stage of cognitive development where they learn to use symbols e.g., language, numbers and pictures to show their world, they also use pretend play for this. At this stage, thinking is egocentric and they will classify objects by a single feature such as colour (Conkbayir, 2014, p. 67).

Some evidence has shown an association between motor and cognitive development while researching impaired motor function, as these have been linked to problems later with attention and language acquisition. For example, studies into ADHD and dyslexia suggested these links could be mediated by attention (Doherty & Hughes, 2014, p. 201). Therefore, it is important that adults in the child’s setting and home recognise how the average child will develop cognitively and facilitate this by providing age-appropriate resources that relate to the current interests of the child (Conkbayir, 2014, p. 16).

Figure 2:
Cognitive development

From Skoolzy, By Jacobs, 2020, (https://skoolzy.com/blogs/news/early-childhood-development-cognitive-development).