I created this because I kept seeing the same thing…

Educators know maths matters, but feel unsure about the how.

How do you teach maths in a play-based room? How do you document it using EYLF language? How do you move beyond counting to real understanding?

So I put everything I know into one guide.



Maths With Intention

Early Years Maths Through Active Learning

Ages 3–5 | EYLF 2.0 aligned | 67-page PDF | Play-based

The play-based maths guide Australian early childhood educators have been asking for.

Most educators working under the EYLF know that mathematics belongs in their program. What they struggle with is the how. How do you move beyond rote counting? How do you document mathematical thinking in play? How do you talk about subitising or spatial reasoning in a learning story? Maths With Intention answers exactly those questions — practically, beautifully, and without a single worksheet in sight.

This is a 67-page guide for early childhood educators, kindergarten teachers, and ECT students who want to teach maths the way the Early Years Learning Framework actually intends: through play, movement, language, and intentional teaching moments that turn everyday play into powerful mathematical learning.

What's inside

•        My story — how I taught my son to count to 1000 using Montessori and Zaitsev methods, and what it taught me about how children really build number sense

•        What is early numeracy? — number sense, pattern, measurement, spatial reasoning, data sense and mathematical language explained in plain English

•        Early maths and the EYLF 2.0 — exactly how mathematical thinking maps onto Outcome 4 (Confident and Involved Learners) and Outcome 5 (Effective Communicators), with sentence starters for your observations and learning stories

•        Theoretical background — Dienes, Vygotsky, Piaget, Howard Gardner and Zaitsev, made practical for the play-based room

•        Counting songs at circle time — my three go-to songs and the movement strategies that make them stick

•        Go-to room resources — how to use the number line and 100-chart as active teaching tools, every day

•        My favourite group activities — 12 ready-to-run games for circle time and small groups

•        First Nations Mathematics — embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in early maths, drawing on the QCAA Mathematics Storytelling resource and the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning framework

•        Quick reference: writing a maths observation — sentence starters you can use the very next time you sit down to document

•        Language Guide: What to Say When — questions and prompts for counting, comparing, building, problem-solving and extending the confident young mathematician

Who this is for

•        Early childhood educators working under the EYLF 2.0 (Belonging, Being and Becoming)

•        Kindergarten and preschool teachers in Australia, New Zealand, and any play-based setting

•        Educators studying for or holding a Bachelor's or Master's of Early Childhood Education

•        Educational leaders building pedagogical practice across a centre

•        Relief ECTs, nannies, and family day care educators who want to teach maths confidently in any room

•        University students on Teaching Practice (TP) placements

Why this guide is different

Australian early childhood education is strongly anti-worksheet, but most educators have never seen what intentional maths teaching actually looks like in a play-based room. This guide shows you — with real classroom photos, real children, real language, and the EYLF-aligned wording you can lift straight into your documentation.

It's grounded in 18+ years of teaching experience, a Bachelor's and Master's of Early Childhood Education, and certified Zaitsev teacher training. It's designed to be read once, then opened weekly for the rest of your career.



Format: 67-page A4 PDF. Print, laminate, or read on screen. Yours to keep forever.

About Storykate

I'm Kate — early childhood teacher, university educator, certified Zaitsev teacher since 2003, and the educator behind Storykate. I'm passionate about giving Australian educators practical, evidence-based, beautifully designed resources that make the EYLF feel achievable on a Tuesday afternoon.

You can find me on YouTube at @Storykate.