Today’s activities provide opportunities to practice core math facts and skills in the context of games. Think of them as ‘thoughtful practice’. Sums of Ten and The Itsy Bitsy Spider are games that promote numerical fluency in an engaging way and can be played again and again. ************************************ THE ITSY BITSY SPIDER A DICE GAME… Read More
Important discoveries about triangles can be made through creating these 3-sided shapes. Children will discover how rigid triangles are, and that three fixed lengths can only be arranged in one way, unlike other polygons such as quadrilaterals where the angles can be changed. *************************** LET’S INVESTIGATE TRIANGLES Age 5 to 7 Charlie and Addy are making… Read More
This dear book is a great way to introduce shapes to our youngest children. Every page includes a few basic facts about shapes which, because of the rhyme scheme, fit naturally into the story. There are real world applications for the shapes too, such as balls and triangular mountains. ************************************* BEARS LOVE SQUARES CARYL HART –… Read More
These problems are excellent for helping to reinforce the properties of squares and in particular for highlighting the fact that a square is a square no matter the orientation. ****************************** THREE SQUARES Age 5 to 11 What is the greatest number of squares you can make by overlapping three squares of the same size? What do… Read More
Our children need to learn to share so they can make and keep friends, play cooperatively, take turns, negotiate and cope with disappointment. Sharing teaches children about compromise and fairness. They learn that if we give a little to others, we can get some of what we want, too. Fair Shares makes an important distinction between… Read More
Mathematics is certainly a creative subject. It involves spotting patterns, making connections, finding new ways of looking at things and using what you already know in new contexts. Creative mathematicians play around with examples, draw pictures, have the courage to experiment and ask good questions. Have some fun! *********************************** CIRCLES, CIRCLES…… Here are some circles… Read More
Dominoes! We can build on our children’s knowledge of counting and patterns by setting up sequences of dominoes to continue. We can challenge children to arrange certain dominoes in particular ways or sort the dominoes into groups. The opportunities for our children to recognize, interpret, describe and extend number sequences are endless. *************************** THE NEXT DOMINO… Read More
Our children’s brains grow and change. Don’t lose sight of the fact that experiencing both mistakes and challenges are important for brain growth. Mathematics is about depth not speed. Engaging with mathematics – visually, in words, numbers, algorithms, tables, graphs and other forms encourages brain connections and brain growth. ***************************** Leo the Rabbit wants… Read More
If learning mathematics is going to be an exciting adventure for our young learners, then we need to ensure that they experience sufficient opportunities to enjoy working flexibly across the mathematics curriculum. Being flexible enables them to appreciate that problems may have more than one possible answer and become more willing to consider alternative strategies when… Read More
This delightful picture book is about sharing and being a good friend. The enduring lesson is that sharing is a type of generosity that shows you care. Learning to share can be a challenge for our young children, but sharing is a skill they need for play and learning throughout childhood. *********************************** DOZENS of DOUGHNUTS Carrie… Read More
