Untitled Slide

Math in Physical Play

Math in Games with Rules

• Ordinals (1st, 2nd,3rd)
• Counting (cards, spaces moved on the board)
• Number symbol recognition
• Subitizing

Play with objects - ask playing children questions that scaffold mathematical thinking like,
"Do you want the 4x2 or the 2x2 brick?"

Guiding play with Math Concepts

• "How did you make the roof angled like that?"
• "Pass me the shortest block"
• What shape will fit there?

". . . interactive object play also builds children’s social, emotional, and regulatory skills as they learn to cooperate with one another and regulate their own behaviors in order to jointly plan play activities."

"Free play provides rich opportunities for children to experiment with mathematical concepts. Ginsburg, Pappas and Seo (2001; see also Sarama & Clements, 2009) found evidence of mathematical activity during almost half of their observations of preschoolers’ play."

"Specifically, they noted that children spent 25% of their time exploring patterns and shapes, 13% comparing the magnitude of objects, 12% on enumeration, 6% exploring transformation, 5% on spatial relations such as direction and distance, and finally 2% on the classification of objects into groups. Even without specific adult guidance in the moment, children’s free play is rich with STEAM lessons."

Math in Free Play

Dramatic/Pretence play.

"How many snakes are on this plane?"

The “6Cs” – Collaboration, strong Communication, knowledge of Content, Critical thinking, Creative innovation, and Confidence to fail and try again – will be essential to our children’s future success.