**4. Nurturing self-efficacy of young children**

Self-efficacy means independence and self-driven individual. Feza [15] synthesized a number of strategies to nurture mathematics stimulation of young children form the literature on early childhood mathematics. These strategies align in allowing children to use their intuitions to guide learning and instruction, hence they nurture self-driven learning. The strategies are as follows:

#### **4.1 Purposeful play for mathematics development**

Play on its own draws on young children's interests, curiosity and intuitions leading to full voluntary participation. The power of play resonates with peer interaction, development of vocabulary through interaction, development of social skills through behaviour and development of team work attributes [16, 17]. Hence, in mathematics block building nurtures spatial relationships and problem solving. It is during this play an educator can tap through observation into children's interests with the aim of extending them for further development.
