“It’s helping your child experience the world.” How parents can use everyday activities to engage their children in mathematical learning

This paper presents the content and preliminary findings of the Everyday Maths project workshops for parents. Research suggests that support from parents and/or carers can have a significant impact on children’s mathematics learning. While parents are motivated to help their children learn, they often have little confidence engaging with mathematics as presented in the school curriculum. The Everyday Maths workshops were designed to help parents reflect upon and find the mathematics in their everyday lives, and support parents in developing conversations with their children around everyday mathematics. Workshops were run once a month in four primary schools in the Southwest of England, from November 2013 to February 2014. Preliminary findings suggest that through the workshops some parents were afforded opportunities to develop a ‘mathematical lens’ which led them to identify the mathematical reasoning underpinning decisions and actions in everyday life. This inspired parents to initiate conversations with their children about mathematics and construct activities which engaged children in mathematical thinking.