Family Maths Evening: Building Maths Confidence Through Play at Bialik College

What if some of the most valuable maths learning at home started with a deck of cards or a pair of dice?

At Bialik College, our annual Prep and Year 1 Family Maths Evening gives families the opportunity to experience mathematics through their children’s eyes. It is an evening built around play, curiosity, conversation and the simple idea that maths can be enjoyed together.

What is Bialik College’s Family Maths Evening?

The Family Maths Evening brings Prep and Year 1 students, families and teachers together for hands-on mathematical learning.

Using simple games with dice and playing cards, students practise important addition and subtraction strategies while developing their mathematical thinking and problem-solving skills.

For families, the evening offers something equally valuable: practical ways to support maths learning at home.

Rather than focusing only on whether an answer is correct, families are encouraged to ask questions that help children explain their thinking, test different approaches and build confidence as learners.

Questions such as “How did you work that out?” or “Is there another way you could solve it?” can turn a simple game into a rich mathematical conversation.

Why is learning maths through games valuable?

For young children, mathematics is not only about numbers on a page.

Games create opportunities to count, compare, calculate, predict, recognise patterns and make decisions. They also allow children to practise skills repeatedly in an engaging and meaningful context.

Importantly, games can help children experience mathematics as something enjoyable.

At Bialik College in Melbourne, we want students to develop strong mathematical foundations while also building the confidence to experiment, make mistakes, explain their reasoning and persist when a problem feels challenging.

These habits matter well beyond the early years of school.

How can parents support maths learning at home?

Supporting your child’s mathematical development does not need to mean recreating the classroom at the kitchen table.

Everyday activities can provide opportunities for mathematical thinking, particularly when children are encouraged to talk about how they reached an answer.

A game with dice can involve counting, addition, subtraction and probability. Playing cards can help children recognise numbers, compare values and develop mental computation strategies.

The role of the adult is not always to provide the answer. Asking thoughtful questions and giving children time to explain their reasoning can be just as valuable.

Our Family Maths Evening helps parents and carers see these strategies in action, so they can continue encouraging mathematical thinking naturally at home.

What does maths learning look like at Bialik College?

The Family Maths Evening reflects Bialik College’s broader approach to primary education: strong academic foundations supported by curiosity, confidence and meaningful relationships between students, teachers and families.

Mathematical learning begins well before VCE. The ways young children learn to approach a problem, communicate their reasoning and persevere when an answer is not immediately obvious help establish important foundations for future learning.

Family involvement is also an important part of the experience. When children see the adults in their lives engaging positively with mathematics, learning can become something shared rather than something confined to the classroom.