The realisation that mathematical knowledge is something that has grown out of human effort - effort that has an inevitable cultural dimension - is central to any proper understanding of the subject in later education. The very first bases of these can be established in the ways that mathematical learning is fostered at the Foundation Stage.
* Give the children some picture of the contribution made by many different cultures to our mathematical knowledge, and how Chinese, Indian and Arab thinkers did so much for us.
* Counting rhymes and songs are important foundations stones of arithmetic.
Avoid using ones from Britain alone. Look for alternatives, such as those from the Caribbean, that are already in English.
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