Messy Maths: A playful, outdoor approach for early years

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Maths and outdoor learning really go hand in hand for so many reasons. Juliet Robertson's book holds practitioners' hands in taking maths outdoors with advice and ideas.Our journey in outdoor learning is in it's infancy, but the small investment in several Messy Mathsbooks is having a long reaching and sustained positive impact on our improvement journey. This book is a must!

Messy Maths by Juliet Robertson | Waterstones

The chapters that comprise the bulk of the book are headed with titles that any primary teacher will recognise yet the content itself is rooted in play. Messy Outdoor Maths– Blush – I’m caught on camera 🙂 – this is an example of my maths workshops. This is a primary aged one. It is all written out in the book step by step. Just keep it all playful. This is undoubtedly a valuable resource for teachers, I would say, teachers of primary ages not just preschool. Messy Maths is what it says it is ‘Messy’, and I know plenty of 9 year olds who would welcome that too. Many of these ideas and activities are also beautifully displayed in full-colour photographs throughout the book, making it even easier to jump straight into outstanding outdoor learning opportunities. Topics covered include: general advice; exploring numbers; number functions and fractions; money; measurement; time; pattern; shape and symmetry; position, direction and movement; data handling; routines; and the mathematical garden.

Go Teach Outdoors – KS1 and Go Teach Outdoors – KS2 Published 2017. These books provide a set of lessons in maths and English at each level. Messy Maths: A playful, outdoor approach for early years Published in 2017 – suitable for those who work with 3-6yr olds.For personal commentary about the book and hopefully any questions you may have are answered in this blog post. Many of the suggestions apply to all ages but it has been written with the early years as the target age range. 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. It is not a ‘how to’ guide, but rather an easy-to-use reference book replete with ready-to-use games and open-ended ideas designed to help children become confident and skilled in thinking about, using and exploring abstract mathematical concepts as they play outside. Many of these ideas and activities are also beautifully displayed in more than 140 full-colour photographs throughout the book, making it even easier to jump straight into outstanding outdoor learning opportunities.

Messy Maths Things To Do - Creative STAR Learning 50 Messy Maths Things To Do - Creative STAR Learning

Mathematics in the School Grounds Published in 1993 – suitable for all primary.This is a really dated book but in many ways the first one published about using maths outside. There’s lots of sensible advice and information and it would be brilliant if the publishers could do a 2nd edition that is up-to-date. To incorporate maths into it further why not try freezing some number counters into your own ice cubes? In September 2019, the early years inspection framework changed, putting an added emphasis on the Intent, Implementation and Impact (3 I’s) of all planned activities that early years practitioners provide in their settings. The Waldorf philosophy is of nurturing the child as a whole; the head, the hands and the heart. Also about respecting the growth of the child. Concepts are understood in different ways at different stages of childhood. Messy Maths is a wonderful resource! Aesthetically beautiful with its engaging photographs, it is easy and inspiring to read and offers meaningful and practical ideas for exploring maths outside of the classroom.Using a long piece or rope or string. If you put a mark at every metre or yard on the rope then it becomes a giant measuring tape. All around the world there are strategy games, which were developed using locally found materials on a board that can be drawn onto an outdoor surface. Games involve looking for patterns and knowing the cause and effect of moves undertaken in particular sequences. This usually involves playing the game lots of times and experimenting with different moves. Some basic points include: Garnetbank Primaryschool in Glasgow has been on a journey of maths improvement, supporting all of our children to understand maths through concrete materials, pictorial representation and moving into the abstract. We understand the power of learning through play and sought practical ideas to bring maths to life and get children outdoors. Our aims are to enable our children to connect their learning in the classroom to the world beyond, apply skills in new situations and to see that everyone needs maths in learning, life and work.

Messy Maths: A playful, outdoor approach for early years Messy Maths: A playful, outdoor approach for early years

Mud kitchen play can spark an interest in natural loose parts and can be the first step to introducing new textures to children and broadening vocabulary. Describing the textures, combining loose parts into mud pies and soups and using instant snow and real ice can lead imagination into lots of different areas. We focused on creating reindeer food as we discussed cold climate animals, but you could make snowman stew or conker chowder… weighing and measuring the loose parts with precision and describing the natural properties. Consider the EYFS framework Messy Maths by Juliet Robertson is built on a career of academic experience of teaching outside. It brings the recently new concept of forest schools and outdoor nurseries very much into the mainstream conversation. This is not an alternative choice. Robertson puts the outdoor very much at the front of maths learning for early years. It can help to make group estimates where there is a consensus. With older children, the skill of rounding up or down is a natural progression within estimation. Messy Maths follows these similar Waldorf ideas in a more academic and intellectualised way. Yet the same belief is at its core, to experience concepts in the body at an early age. Many of these ideas are expanded upon in her book: Messy Maths: An Outdoor and Playful Approach for Early Years. There are also more than 750 outdoor ideas and suggestions on her blog, I’m a Teacher Get Me OUTSIDE Here! www.creativestarlearning.co.uk/blogThese deceptively simple data-handling activities will add a creative element to wildlife surveys and pond-dipping, much more exciting than simply recording on a worksheet. Looking forward to the start of term and testing them out! Sink play can be a great way of encouraging Messy Maths, the same mathematic areas can be investigated, and children have a fun and engaging learning experience. It's a practical book aimed at those who work with children aged 3-6yrs. It covers standard maths expectations but also includes specific chapters on key issues such as "Where's the maths in that?" which considers how to take a child-centre approach to maths outdoors. Mud kitchens can be used to encourage group learning and social skills can be developed as children learn together in cooperative play.