From an early age children show lots of interest in measuring. They often use tools such as tape measures, scales and timers in role play without fully realising their purpose. During the Foundation Stage, early years practitioners need to build on this early awareness to develop children's understanding of the main measures that they will learn about in school and use later in life, namely weight (or mass), length, volume and capacity, and time (see box).
A wide range of experiences is crucial for children to develop their ideas of measurement. Children do not, of course, differentiate between the learning of different areas of mathematics or even different curriculum areas. Many of their most valuable measurement experiences, therefore, will come from activities planned as part of the curriculum framework other than mathematics,or from incidental or child-initiated activities.
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