Developing Children's Literacy and Numeracy Skills



Speaking, reading, writing and numeracy are among the most important skills children learn. Reading, either independently or through shared reading, helps children to develop their imagination, enhance creativity, strengthen oral language development and communicate more effectively.   Numeracy skills facilitate children’s understanding of mathematical information and allow them to solve problems in everyday life.

A child’s development in talking, reading, writing and using numbers begins long before they start school. Children acquire many important skills from their parents.

 


Developing Reading Skills

When children come across the same words in many different places and contexts, they develop a stronger understanding of their meaning and use. If a child hears new words through conversation and also when read to them in a story, they have a firmer basis for making associations between words, allowing them to more easily learn and recall the word. New information is stored in our memories by linking it to a similar category of information that already exists in our minds; for example, similar sounds or words with similar meaning are categorised together.
 

Developing Maths Skills

There are lots of simple maths to do with children in the home each day such as counting, matching, sorting, ordering or finding patterns. When a child gets used to recognising numbers or identifying shapes while doing everyday tasks with their family, they are much more confident when introduced to maths in a more structured context at school.


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