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When you travel by bus there are many decisions to be made. Where will you catch the bus? How close is the bus stop to your house? If you don’t know what number bus to catch or where to catch the bus from, how will you find out? How will you know when to get off? Do you know the bus stop number or will you look for a landmark?

When you are out shopping with your child talk about the cost of items, explaining that you need to pay for them before you can take it home. Talk to your child about the different ways that you can pay for something. You might pay using cash or by EFTPOS or credit card. Talk about why you have chosen to pay that way.

There are shadows all around us - some are inside and some are outside. On a sunny day show your child their shadow on the ground. What happens to the shadow when you move? Can you run away from your shadow? How do you know it is your shadow? Talk with your child about how shadows are formed. Does the shadow change with the sky?

Have you ever noticed how many numbers there are around you? Next time you and your child are out walking take a look and see how many you can find. You might find numbers in surprising places. Remember to look up high and down low. Look on letterboxes and doors, gates and fences.

Stripes, spots, squares and checks - patterns are all around us. Next time you are out walking with your child look for the patterns around you. A pattern is s ordered and predictable, but it might not be even. It could be bricks in a wall or crooked paving stones.

Next time you get a bill, talk about it with your child. What is it for? It might be for work you had done, something you ordered online or from when you last ate out as a family. Explain that the purchase or service received will be described using words, symbols and numbers.

Before leaving the house to travel somewhere find your location on a map and identify where you want to go. Plot the best route to travel to that location. Will the route you take change if you are walking or travelling in a car or a bus? Talk about the number of streets you may need to cross and if the streets are long or short.

Shadows on the wall, shadows on the ceiling …you can make shadows too. Sit with your child and use a torch or a lamp to make shadows on the wall or ceiling. Can you make a shadow with your hand? What about your feet? Talk about the way shadows are made. Your hand blocks the light from reaching the wall. That's how it makes a shadow.

Getting your child to help you with the shopping involves a little planning. What you would normally do on your own quickly will take more time when you work together. Make a list together before you go. You could use the junk mail. As you make the list talk about what items will be found. We need to get milk, cheese and yogurt. They’ll be in the cold section in the last row.

There are many different ways that you can travel. You can walk, go by car, bus, train or even by plane. You might walk to a place because it is close and you have enough time to get there. Other times you would travel by transport because it would take too long or is too far to walk.