Te Whāriki includes a lot of explicit maths. While this is woven through all the strands, it is particularly visible within the Mana reo | Communication and Mana aotūroa | Exploration strands.

Mana reo | Communication begins by recognising:

“The languages and symbols of children’s own and other cultures are promoted and protected" (Te Whāriki, p. 42).

This immediately sets the context for exploring different cultural symbols and languages related to maths, and those of the children in the setting. Exploration can be through conversations, songs, rhymes, books, games, images, resources, and experiences.

When thinking about environments and practices to support children's learning, kaiako can use each of the Mana reo | Communication goals to include maths. For example, the goals for developing non-verbal and verbal communication for a range of purposes can have maths as one of those purposes.  The Mana reo | Communication goal of “experience the stories and symbols of their own and other cultures” also has this specific maths learning outcome: “Recognising mathematical symbols and concepts and using them with enjoyment, meaning and purpose” (Te Whāriki, p. 42)

The Mana Reo | Communication strands offers lots of examples of evidence of math learning, including children demonstrating over time:

• “An understanding that symbols can be ‘read’ by others and that thoughts, experiences and ideas can be represented as words, pictures, numbers, sounds, shapes, models and photographs in print and digital formats.
• Familiarity with numbers and their uses by exploring and observing their use in activities that have meaning and purpose.
• Ability to explore, enjoy and describe patterns and relationships related to quantity, number, measurement, shape and space.
• Recognition that numbers can amuse, delight, comfort, illuminate, inform and excite” (Te Whāriki, p 42).

Mana aotūroa | Exploration is based on children learning through active exploration of the environment.  It includes children learning strategies for active exploration, thinking, reasoning and developing working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical and material worlds that are particularly relevant to maths. Some examples of evidence of maths learning for this strand include children demonstrating over time:

• “[An] ability and inclination to cope with uncertainty, imagine alternatives, make decisions, choose materials and devise their own problems.
• Confidence in exploring, puzzling over and making sense of the world, using such strategies as setting and solving problems, looking for patterns, classifying, guessing, using trial and error, observing, planning, comparing, explaining, engaging in reflective discussion and listening to stories.
• Control over their bodies, including locomotor and movement skills, agility and balance, and the ability, coordination and confidence to use their bodies to take risks and physical challenges
• Recognition of different domains of knowledge and how they relate to understanding people, places and things
• [An] ability to represent discoveries using creative and expressive media, including digital media.
• Curiosity and the ability to inquire into, research, explore, generate and modify working theories about the natural, social, physical, spiritual and human-made worlds” (Te Whāriki, 2017, p. 47).

While there are areas of the early childhood curriculum where maths is explicit, there is potential maths implicit in all the strands.  For example. maths learning can relate to:

• understanding how to keep healthy, personal care routines, food preparation (Mana atua | Wellbeing)
• negotiating fairness, understanding routines, planning and predicting (Mana whenua | Belonging)
• perspective taking, linking past, present and future, positive learner identity (Mana tangata | contribution).

It is exciting to place a maths lens on experiences and look for the possibilities!