[Kiwi81]

1.1
I am a little stuck on this one myself so spoke to the group and I came up with this:
Mathematics introduces concepts, skills and strategic thinking to children. These skills are essential to everyday life and support other areas of development. Mathematical knowledge can help children make sense of patterns, shapes and numbers they will see in the world around them. Eventually they will be able to handle data and make a positive contribution in terms of their development.

1.2
Areas of learning are interdependant. This means that no matter which area of development an activity is targeting, that several others will also be developed as well.
For example, cookery could be used to support mathematics- shape, space and measurement- cutting the cookies using shapes, and spacing them evenly on trays, and of course measuring ingredients. In this activity other areas are also supported. Communication and language- children will listen to instruction and discuss what they are doing, it also provides an opportunity to extend vocabulary, whilst ensuring you are using language that children understand. There is also opportunity to encourage children to think critically about what they are doing and how they can improve. Physical development- fine and gross motor skills- is also supported, such as gripping or pinching, and stirring and pouring. This activity could also be used to support understanding the world using foods from different cultures and explaining the dangers of hot food etc. Personal, social and emotional development is supported as well as cooking is generally done in groups and children will have to work together, taking turns. Children will also gain a sense of achievement when seeing the end product developing self-esteem and self-confidence. They will also learn about self-care and choices.
2.1
It is important to assess children when supporting any area of their development. Assessment enables practitioners to find out many things about about children including, their interests, their disposition, what they understand, how they think and what they are able to do. This information allows practitioners to build a "picture" of the children to further support learning and development.
The practitioners use these assessment's information to give feedback, which is ongoing, to children and their families. This feedback enables children and their families to learn how they are getting on, where they are in their development, to help provide challenging and enjoyable experiences, to choose appropriate support and to celebrate, document and plan the next steps in their learning and development.

Hope this helps x