13 Feb 2018 Whittlesea Review, Whittlesea (General News) TWO Wallan pre-school facilities have received support to help their children improve their maths skills through a new early years program. The Dudley Street Childcare and Kindergarten and Quality Kids Kindergarten will participate in Lets Count training, where the pre-schoolers will learn practical tips and get access to best-practice resources to help them develop childrens maths skills. Lets 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. Member for Northern Victoria, Jaclyn Symes, said that early childhood educators at the Wallan centres will participate in the program over three years. Lets Count gives early childhood educators and parents simple and effective ways to make maths more interesting and fun for kids, Ms Symes said. Thousands of families living in country Victoria will benefit from this vital program that gives our kids the best start in life. Maths is one of the foundations of essential learning and to make it fun, for Northern Victoria kids is a great step in making kids ready for school. It is great to see the introduction of Lets Count in our local kinders to encourage parents, carers and pre-school educators to help kids see that learning is fun and engaging, Ms Symes said. Lets 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. In 2015, evaluation of the Lets Count program showed it dramatically improved childrens maths skills, with children who participated in the program performing better across a range of mathematical tasks than children not involved in the program.Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.