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 & quantities of the outdoors & deepen children's understanding of maths through hands-on experience Juliet believes being outside makes maths real In the classroom environment maths can seem disconnected from everyday reality
- but real maths is really messy Lots of outdoor play & engaging activity along the way is a must as being outside enables connections to be made between the hands heart & head & lays the foundations for more complex work as children grow develop & learn 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 & open-ended ideas designed to help children become confident & skilled in thinking about using & exploring abstract mathematical concepts as they play outside Many of these ideas & 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 & fractions; money; measurement; time; pattern; shape & symmetry; position direction & movement; data handling; routines; & the mathematical garden Each chapter features a section on topic-specific vocabulary & 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 & flexible approaches to everyday situations Messy Maths is suitable for early years educators (of ages 3-6) who want to shake up their usual classroom practice & 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