ARARAT Early Learning Centre will be one of two preschool care providers in the region to be a part of a state government numeracy program.
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Early childhood educators at Ararat Early Learning Centre and Stawell’s Cooinda Preschool will participate in Let’s Count training, where they will learn practical tips and get access to best-practice resources to help them develop children’s maths skills.
Let’s Count helps early years’ educators engage families and their children in counting, measuring and identifying patterns.
The program also helps parents and carers to introduce maths to children in a fun, simple way that can be incorporated into everyday life.
Ararat Early Learning Centre director and kindergarten teacher Kerri Turner said she was excited to start training for the program.
“We get two training sessions. Module one is next week in Ballarat and module two is about a month later,” she said.
“The program is about exploring mathematical concepts in early childhood and we do that through reading books, working with blocks, doing puzzles and singing songs.
“Basically, everyday activities but with a real numeracy focus.”
Ms Turner said the program would last for the 12 months of the kindergarten year and was aimed at four-year-old children.
Let’s Count was developed by Charles Sturt University, Monash University and The Smith Family to help children develop skills and a positive attitude towards maths before they begin primary school.
An evaluation of the Let’s Count program showed it dramatically improved children’s maths skills, with children who participated in the program performing better across a range of mathematical tasks.
Member for Western Victoria Jaala Pulford said commencing in Semester 2, Let's Count will be rolled out across regional Victoria including Ararat and Stawell..
“It is great to see the introduction of Let’s Count at Ararat Early Learning Centre and Cooinda Preschool to encourage parents, carers and educators to help kids see that learning is fun and engaging,” she said.