How unusual is this maths ability in a 3 year old

[WhyNotMe40]

And what should I do about it (if anything)?
So I knew he could count well - not just reciting numbers but accurately count objects up to about 40 - after which he gets bored.
But we've recently discovered her can do simple sums in his head. He could work out simple addition of single digit numbers with barely a seconds hesitation. He has also replicated this at the childminder's so it's not us subconsciously prompting somehow.
The childminder has also discovered he can say how many tens in twenty, thirty, forty etc.
I don't have much experience with small children but it seems unusual to me. I certainly haven't done any maths work with him or even mathematical games - just the usual Lego, play dough, etc
If I encourage this will it upset his reception teachers in September? Or should I find some maths games? He has always loved numbers and shapes and patterns, but I just thought he could count and that was it!
Any advice?

Mine is similar, but better at ‘english’ than maths. He turned four in June, around then he could read simple books independently (Mog books and books of a similar level) while having fairly decent reading comprehension.

He can add (finds subtracting harder) and can do basic multiplication if I ask him and can solve simple real life problems e.g we all need three biscuits, if there are three or us how many biscuits do I need to buy.

He started school in September, to put it bluntly his teacher was crap, he wasn’t given any differentiated tasks. He was crying everyday on the way to school, often enough to make himself feel sick. It also became apparent that he was being told off for being able to do things quickly and generally bored. He has now moved to the other reception class and it’s completely different, differentiated tasks, praise for trying etc.

The only teacher who can’t cope with a different ability child, whether that’s a slightly brighter one or one with LDs is an inadequate one.

I hate to say it - but I was pegged as ‘maths whizz’ in primary one when I was 3.

School didn’t really do anything about it (well they made me sit in the library corner by myself with a maths book - but hey, I was 3 so I read all the joke books!)

Sadly it turned out that whereas I was ‘very good as arithmetic’ I was spectacularly terrible (and very disinterested) at maths.

I’m still good at arithmetic but maths gives me the cold sweats.

My DS always had a fascination with numbers from a very young age too.Aged 2 yrs 6 months he could recognise numbers 1-10 and and put them in order.He was counting to 100 and beyond aged 3 and could do simple addition / subtraction in his head. For example if you asked him what 92 take away 3 was he could tell you straight away.We just let him do things at his own pace and didn’t give him extras like maths or counting games.Like a previous posters son ,he had to be encouraged to write down his workings out when he was at school instead of just writing down the answer.He is now in his 20s and a qualified accountant(no surprises there).

Do you know how to play backgammon? It's a great numbers and strategy game, and if he has a good understanding of numbers he may be able to learn it and enjoy it.

Card games like Uno, rummy and whist are also relatively easy to learn, and useful for number skills. Physically holding the cards in small hands is challenging, but you can easily get card holders on amazon.

Pattern games, like bead-threading and jigsaws, spot-the-difference and Where's Wally, exercise other mathematical skills (and FMS, too!)

I spotted this thread as I have another maths loving three year old. In truth I think your child would be ahead with maths, if you take eyfs as your benchmark . I think addition etc would be used to stretch a child in reception. However in our case I can fully attribute my sons “genius” to Numberblocks! He knows his square numbers, arrays etc and everything he knows he knows from that and certainly not me. I think the programme is genius but also that the child needs to be able to enjoy it to engage and perhaps , just perhaps they are budding mathematicians :)

My son was very similar. Considered exceptionally bright when he started school. His teacher was astounded at how well he could count, spell and read. It was her first teaching job so she may have been easily pleased. As he went through primary and into high school he levelled off to above average.

Ah number blocks! Of course! He must have got it from there - and there was me thinking he'd worked it out for himself

I expect there will be an awful lot of preschoolers ahead of the game in maths due to that program

My 4 year old loves maths. I’m not entirely sure how much is maths ability or that he has a good memory. His 8 year old sister loves maths and does lots of mental maths around him. He can recite most times tables but I think apart from 2s, 10s and maybe 5s the others are just repetition. I know he understands 2s and 10s as he recreates them with Lego bricks. He is good at number bonds too - both adding and subtracting numbers up to 20.

Some things my DS loves are Geo Mags making 3D shapes and lots of Lego. Plus jigsaws and drawing. We have a book that shows you have to draw things using shapes. He loves working out how to draw things like a giraffe.

It sounds like your ds is a bright little thing!

His other TV obsession bus Maddie's Do you know. Hence his tendency to take things apart (or break them) so he can see inside and see how they work.... That cbeebies program owes us a new radiator, computer keyboard, dvd player, battery operated bubble machine, and toilet cistern cover...

Just tested him on his 2x tables - he's pretty good up to 20 and not bad although a few mistakes up to 30

Ah yes jigsaws - we all love jigsaws here

Board games! Anything with dice, or lots of the 'older' Orchard Toys games, are fab for those who love numbers.

There are numbers everywhere - at one point both DS and I knew the code numbers of every telegraph pole between home and preschool - and they are fun to spot, along with patterns (e.g. even and odd on different sides of the road).

Measuring, weighing, cooking, physical graphs - all good for 'real life maths'.

There is no need to go down the 'sums' route, or even memorising things like tables or number bonds, but just being interested in maths and underlying concepts is good. Temperature is fun - 'I can do the blue numbers too', announced my 4 year old, as he counted and calculated with negative numbers....

(Bus Stop - particularly - and Pop to the Shops are good Orchard Toys games for this kind of stage)

I would encourage it. But not by formally sitting him down to do material from the EY curriculum.

An abacus, tangram puzzles, izzi tiles, cuisinaire rods, wooden building blocks, Lego and duplo, little sets of lego-like bits that he can put together would all be nice for him.

You could make little cards with arrangements of Lego blocks drawn on them that he can copy using the blocks. I've seen some ideas online that I can link later.

If you want to encourage writing, get a chalkboard easel and plenty of chalk. It's a wonderful sensory experience that requires hand eye coordination and fine motor skills. For writing on paper, use coloured pencils and crayons instead of markers. Again, better sensory experience, and you have to push the crayon or pencil harder.

Also Play-Doh or modelling clay.

Another good writing aid is a megasketcher or other sturdy erasable slate.

A sand table is great too for making letters, trails.

Look up Montessori writing and fine motor skills development ideas.

Pirate Snakes and Ladders / Ludo also good.

My DS has just turned 3 and can count to 50, recognise written digits to 30 and do single digit addition. He loves numbers. He also knows all his letter sounds and names but can’t quite blend them to read words yet.

Be aware that even if you go sideways, he might well still be miles ahead. I even tried to withhold information with Dc1.

If I was doing it all again, I would satisfy his need to learn maths in small quantities and spent a lot of time on the things he isn’t as keen on (art and craft, using his imagination, making up stories, reading ....)

Btw yes it IS exceptional and yes I would gear myself to many years of him ‘not writing down’ his working out. Dc1 is still like this at 16yo!

Oh come on....to all the people brushing this off as totally normal. What a load of bollocks. OP your son is very very intelligent (in maths), far superior to any 3 year olds I have ever known before. I would definitely encourage it in any way that I could. Just like I would if he had exceptional talent at football or gymnastics! And anyone who says different is 🤥

My dd just turned 3 a couple of months ago and can count up to 30 and recognise numbers. She can also spell about 6 words (not able to write them but can spell them out loud). There are a few stories we read quite often and she can recite them nearly word for word from memory when she sees the pictures on the pages which really amazes me!

I think she's a bit more advanced in that respect that some of her peers, but that might not always be the case. I think it's great that she enjoys numbers and letters and just try to encourage it through play and keep it fun.

Potty training has been a completely different story though, but I think we have finally cracked it in the last week or so, keeping fingers crossed that continues!

Thanks for all the ideas everyone

Mathanxiety - I'm afraid I have no idea what these are: tangram puzzles, izzi tiles, cuisinaire rods?

We used to have an etcha sketcher thing. He broke it.
We have been avoiding board games as his behaviour was awful and he was just wrecking them - but that was a good few months ago so worth trying again. We have several of the orchard toys ones already.
He's really not keen on mark marking at all - we have loads of crayons and pens and a sand tray (when dry outside) and a permanent chalk board - but he is not interested. He loves Duplo and proper Lego although he mainly builds towers in patterns or fills in a base plate like Tetris.

Another thing he loves is the game roadblock where you have to move cars to get the ice cream van to escape - a logic puzzle thing.
I haven't attempted anything like teaching him letter sounds but we read books a lot. But then I have never sat down and taught him maths either! I've got no idea if he can read anything but he does know lots of our books off by heart
Thanks again for all the suggestions. He is very much a handful, and I have often run out of patience with him - but I think it's partly because I just can't find the right activities for him. He's stubborn and determined, and wilful, and just so so full on ALL THE TIME. You can't ever turn your back in him and it's exhausting. So all these ideas that might get his numbers interested brain occupied are brilliant. Thanks

My DS was like this, doing addition and subtraction at 2.5 yo. He got a 6 in his KS2 maths, a 9 at GCSE, then cruised for 2 years and got a C at A level - literally no revision. He is now first year uni, engineering degree and still getting into trouble for not showing his workings.

Tanagrams are shaped pieces to make larger shapes with. Have a look on Amazon, a picture will be much clearer.

If he likes Rush hour, have a look at "Smart Games" there may well be things in there that get him thinking too.

If he is past putting things in his mouth, geomag is good. As are a set of things like these but I cant find the brand that have done us really well.

His maths is ahead. Keep an eye on the pens/mark making side of it. We let DS get on with ignoring pencils, and its come back to bite us now

One thing I will suggest OP, is to have a Google around hypernumeracy. People will probably flame me for armchair diagnosing too, but it tends to go hand in hand with autism (what we used to call Aspergers but isn’t a standalone diagnosis anymore). A lot of what you describe rings bells with me - the giftedness, late to potty train, generally exhausting behaviour - makes me wonder whether that’s a possibility for your boy.

Disclaimer: I’m biased because my son is hyperlexic (taught himself to read aged 3) and is pretty exceptional with numbers but not at your boy’s level. He’s almost certainly autistic too. I have a tendency to see autism everywhere because that’s where my head is right now. You might feel like I’m way off the mark and that’s fine - I just wanted to put it out there.

Reminds me a bit of DD who became a mathematician.