Inspire Me! Nailing basic Numeracy
Code: X-5203
We don’t just play with younger learners!
The fundamental basics of mathematics are hopefully learnt when children are just starting their education and sometimes children enter nursery, pre-school or the first class of school-based education knowing numbers to 10 or more!
And sometimes they start their learning from zero.
Working with children with a minimal knowledge of number, an academy has been taking big leaps in securing basic number skills. Mrs Johns – Early Years lead explained.
Our children always enjoy mark making whether in the creative zone, with whiteboards, in sand trays or on paper and this has always focused on moving towards letter formation and early writing. Our maths lead suggested a chalk panel counting line which we happily mounted on the wall outside. During observations we noted children leaping along the line with chalks, happily counting in 1s both forwards and backwards, giggling at going in reverse like it was something slightly naughty!
Jumping on their interest, we added challenges such as not starting at 1 and counting forwards or backwards from a given number. Very soon, this became a group teaching activity too with staff playing basic addition and subtraction games we well as even counting in 2s.
The child with the chalk happily drew jumps for the frogs on the number line but we also noted children nodding their heads as they visually made the jumps.
Mrs Williams (Early Years Teaching Assistant) I’ve worked with many groups on the jumping chalkboard and was stunned to see Bobby playing with the cars and the garage shortly after. Nothing unusual in that, obviously, but he had lined up his cars and then counted as his favourite car jumped over each one in turn. He came into Nursery knowing no numbers at all. As he played, he turned and asked me if there were any more cars he could jump over. He’d run out and wanted to get to 20!
Since the Jumping Frogs number line was installed, we have more children able to:
Count to 10 AND 20,
Recognise numbers out of sequence
Feel confident in using numbers in many different aspects of play.
