Literacy levels are the focus of the first three years of a child’s school life. The rest of their education hinges on the strength of the foundation created during this time.
Foundation Phase Literacy
As discussed in my article ‘What is Literacy?’, there are many different types of literacy. In the foundation phase the main focus is on LANGUAGE literacy and NUMERACY (also known as MATH literacy). By the end of Grade 3, children need to have a solid foundation in both of these literacies in order to cope effectively in the inter-sen or senior phase. When a solid foundation has not been laid, teachers often see a dramatic drop in marks from Grade 4 onwards.
Children who were doing very well in math in grade 1-3 might see a dip in marks in grade 4-5 because of their inability to read effectively. There is a link between language literacy and a child’s math marks later in school. As children move up through the grades, Math becomes more and more language based. To complete story sums and exam questions, children need to be able to read accurately, quickly and must understand what is being asked of them in order to answer the questions correctly.
Lockdown goodness
Despite how difficult the last year or so has been, many great things came out of lockdown and one of them is the fact that I came across the Play! Math website. I immediately ordered two Play! Math bundles for my nephews. I was astounded when delivery took place the following day. I love quick and efficient service and theirs is impeccable. They follow up swiftly with queries and seem very proactive and professional. As promised, the material I ordered was solid, old fashioned, perfectly laid out practice material, free of fancy fluff and bubble window dressing to make it look good.
Play!Math
Play! Math is owned and run by Anna Bezuidenhout who is the founder, author and content developer of their materials. I’ve never met Anna but it is evident that she is passionate about what she is doing. Her company provides CAPS aligned math worksheets, assessments, quizzes and exams papers for grades 1-7. Her goal is to “reach and assist as many learners across South Africa as possible”.
Content
The bundles per grade consist of the following:
- Learner book & Answer book
- Printable Assessments & Memo
- Printable Exams & Memo
- Printabe Timestables sheets
- Free shipping
For a preview of their materials CLICK HERE.
Cost
Her prices are very affordable at the ridiculous low rate of R280 per bundle. Materials are grade specific and come in English or Afrikaans. Her product bundles are perfect for extra support for the home-schooling community as well as children in mainstream schooling. In fact these bundles are aimed at any parent that would like to give their child more opportunity to practice math in order to hone their skills and further develop their math literacy.
Conclusion
Play!Math has provided South Africa with a Math practice product that is comprehensive, simple to use and value for money.
Links
Additional Reading
Number Sense
https://mathsnoproblem.com/blog/teaching-practice/number-sense/
What is number sense
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-learning-disabilities/math-issues/number-sense-what-you-need-to-know
Why is numeracy so important?
https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/about/what-numeracy/why-numeracy-important
Why you can’t skip reading to your child for 20 minutes per day
https://lbliteracy.co.za/why-you-cant-skip-reading-to-your-child-for-20-minutes-per-day/
What is Literacy?
https://lbliteracy.co.za/what-is-literacy/
To explore working with Lianne in Randburg / Sandton and other areas in Johannesburg, contact her for a consultation to discuss how she can assist you.