but how can you support it? Nicole Weinstein offers some
suggestions.
Children need to develop an understanding of size and opposites in order to make sense of the world around them. Practitioners can support this area of mathematical development, which fits into 'shape, space and measure' within the Early Years Foundation Stage (2012), by providing plenty of opportunities to talk about and compare the size of objects or people around them. This can be done through books or hands-on exploration of resources such as Russian dolls, stacking boxes or collections of animals, eggs and spoons or shells.
Linda Pound, freelance early years curriculum consultant, says, 'Big and little is the first comparison that children make, followed by boy and girl. Opposites are about defining territory, where the child is asking, "What are we dealing with here?" It's an early form of categorisation. Comparing is a fundamental part of mathematical thinking.'
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