1 'Applying maths' means using it in practical activities that take place in the early years setting on a routine basis.
* Opportunities for children to count range from playing hopscotch, a game of snakes and ladders and counting beakers for snack time, to playing with specific educational maths equipment. Your assessor will see these activities on various occasions.
2 Use everyday equipment to develop children's mathematical skills.
* Cooking provides opportunities for weighing, measuring and counting and exploring shape, mass, capacity and time. Plan a cookery session, clearly identifying where mathematical learning can take place. Put the plan for the session in your portfolio.
* Use sand and salt trays, and finger painting, to trace out the shape of a numeral.
3 Language development comes into every activity, and mathematics is no exception.
* During a physical activity session, use words that will describe position, direction and movement, such as first in the circle, last in the line, before the girls, behind the bench, stretch to the moon, walk backwards.
* Sing number rhymes such as 'One, two, three, four, five, Once I caught a fish alive', 'Five little specked frogs', 'Five currant buns', 'Two, four, six, eight, Mary at the cottage gate', and 'Ten green bottles'.
4 Numbers are an integral part of all our lives. Encourage children to use number in everything that they do.
* Make a list of 20 opportunities for children to count, such as counting the number of children in a queue, the number of eggs in a box, and pairs of socks.
* Count on regular occasions - for example, count the stairs each time you climb them, and count how many dogs you see on a walk. Make a note of these occasions in your log book.
5 Make the most of every opportunity to explore mathematical concepts.
* Explore classification while tidying away at the end of the session, fractions while sharing out a pizza, three-dimensional shapes while looking at different food boxes. Set the clock to time children on the playground bikes before changing riders.
6 Think in the widest sense when it comes to maths and problem solving and computation.
* Demonstrate how you introduce the children to mathematical problems through questions such as 'How many more cups do we need?'or 'Are there enough chairs for everyone to sit down?'
* Make playdough and encourage the children to explore number shapes and concepts such as division and weight while playing with the dough.
* Make a jigsaw puzzle from an old birthday card. Observe the children reassembling it and write down your observations for your portfolio.
Cross-reference the observation to C16.
7 Children learn through practical activities, and their understanding of mathematical concepts will develop through seeing, touching and manipulating real objects.
* Provide junk modelling activities, use two-dimensional shapes to glue to card, build a block tower, estimate volume and capacity in water play.
8 Mathematical learning comes in many forms. It should not be seen as just a paper exercise.
* Design a spider chart with 'maths' in the centre. On each leg, write a different way through which children can develop their mathematical skills and understanding.
9 Geometrical shapes are all around the setting and in the environment.
* Identify shapes such as squares, circles, rectangles, and triangles around the setting. Give out cards of these shapes and ask the children to find a something of a matching shape. Write a reflective account of your experiences.
10 Top tip! Barbara Hayes, NVQ course leader at Brooksby Melton College, advises, 'Look to your washing basket as a valuable source of maths activities -it provides plenty of opportunities for investigating pairs, patterns, size and shape.'
