Each chapter features a section on topic-specific vocabulary and expressions to help you integrate terminology into each area of study, while suggestions for embedding maths into routines are also provided to assist in the development of creative, progressive and flexible approaches to everyday situations. Grounds for Learning – the Scottish school grounds charity held it’s national networking event last week. We have forgotten this, with the dulling and tailored approach to the subject area, and this resource is a breath of fresh air and a reminder that Maths is fun! Mud kitchens can be used to encourage group learning and social skills can be developed as children learn together in cooperative play.

Messy Maths - Juliet Robertson | Muddy Faces

The chapters are easy to use and the activities could be easily adapted for a range of ages and preferences of children. This is a clever skill of the author, making the book come alive, challenging the best educators to expand learning opportunities within their environment. Links with understanding the world, mathematics, and expressive art and design are especially focused upon, however. Maths can be included very easily in a mud kitchen, here we used number trays and natural loose parts to give children opportunities to recognise numbers and quantities. Following on from the success of Dirty Teaching(ISBN 978-178135107-9), Messy Maths reimagines the outdoor space through a mathematical lens – providing a treasure trove of suggestions that will empower you to blend outdoor learning into your teaching practice.

What has arisen recently are college age students who have little experience of the basic concepts because of a lack of play in nature at a younger age. It stands alone in its own right, however, giving teachers, child-minders and all educators (including parents) the confidence to see the mathematics all around us and to help children draw out the concepts they are exploring in their play. Providing a messy, relevant and fun experience at a young age should provide them with the tools to go forward confidently. Pictures illustrate not only the activities described, but also how a range of different outdoor environments enhances children's learning. She uses her secure knowledge of child development to plan a curriculum that ignites children’s interests and challenges their curiosity.

Messy Maths - Crown House Publishing

There is a wonderful resources list at the beginning which will help staff see how they can always be prepared for a sudden maths activity. We will discuss the adult role in supporting children’s mathematical knowledge and understanding effectively in an outdoor environment. For example, you may need to check you have the exact change for a bus or wonder if you can still fit into your trousers after several days of a festive celebration. Either one (book or training session), will offer the attendee (or reader), a bounty of great experiences, in which they are then able to share with their Children, Staff and Families. In Messy Maths: A Playful, Outdoor Approach for Early Years, Juliet Robertson offers a rich resource of ideas that will inspire you to tap into the endless supply of patterns, textures, colours and quantities of the outdoors and deepen children's understanding of maths through hands-on experience.The book plants a seed and then encourages you to grow it using effective and thought provoking questioning.

Messy Maths by Juliet Robertson | Waterstones

Messy Maths will really support teachers to recognise and plan for the distinct Characteristics of Effective Learning that they see in their children. That holds true for every aspect of the curriculum and indeed for life - but doubly, trebly so for learning the foundations of mathematics at an early age. Messy Maths is suitable for early years educators (of ages 3 to 6) who want to shake up their usual classroom practice and make the most of any outdoor space - whether this be a nursery, playgroup, child-minder's back garden or a nature kindergarten as a context for maths. It works well for classes who need to reinforce concepts and skills learnt indoors in a practical context outdoors. Please note – this blog post is for information and awareness-raising so that you know what is out there to support your outdoor maths work.So it's more important than ever that schools take learning outdoors, allowing children to build their foundation of concepts and language naturally and confidently. Many of the suggestions apply to all ages but it has been written with the early years as the target age range. This is not just a book about maths, it is an inspiring look at how we can encourage exploration of the natural world and how to take the time to view it a little differently.