Muddy Maths!
Maths is everywhere. Young children have lots of mathematical experiences
everyday and there are many ways to help them begin to develop their skills.
Children at the age of two to three years of age are beginning to notice things in
their world. How can we make maths fun for our younger children?
MUD!
Mud for children is intriguing, especially earth and water and how they interact.
Most of us might remember making mud pies and thoroughly enjoying it!
Mud is a material which stimulates creativity and imagination as it facilitates openended play, communication, collaboration and physical activity. Mud play in
particular allows children to connect and interact with the natural world around
them.
Engaging in mud play at your childcare setting does not need to be expensive: it
does not require any costly resources.
Making a mud kitchen.
Choose a place, if possible a corner area, outside, with walls or fencing to create
a cosy and safe area to explore. Using a variety of kitchen and other equipment
including pots and pan, utensils, pouring pots and most importantly mud and
water.
Jan White has published a booklet about the process of making a mud kitchen:
www.muddyfaces.co.uk
Mud can support children’s mathematical learning journey, and help children to
recognise numbers and learn about spaces, shapes and measurements.
When children play in the mud kitchen, mixing water and mud, they will start
making comparisons between quantities, particularly if supported by an adult.
Provide plenty of different bowls, jugs, cups and other containers.
Mathematical Links
EYFS
22-36 Numbers
Selects a small number of objects from group when asked “please give me
two spoons”
Recites some number in sequence
Begins to make comparisons between quantities.
Uses some language of quantises, such as more and a lot.
Knows that a group of things changes in quantity when something is added
or taken away.
Learning goal
Children count reliably with numbers up to 20, place them in order and say
which number is one more or less than a given number. Using quantities
and objects, they add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on
or back to find the answer. They solve problems, including doubling,
halving and sharing.
The adult can support the child’s play with counting by simply saying the numbers
for each object and encouraging the child to count with you voluntarily when filling
up the pots with mud.
Describing with the children about the utensils, what they are doing using the
language of comparison, bigger, smaller, taller, shorter, wider and narrower.
Shape, Space and Measure.
22-36
Notices simple shapes and patterns.
Beginning to categorise objects according to properties, such as shape and
size.
Use the language of size.
Early Learning Goal.
Children use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity,
position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and
solve problems. They recognise, create and describe patterns. They explore
characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical
language to describe them.
Opportunity for children to weigh, measure, compare, count, sort and share with
the use of containers, jugs, scales, stones, leaves, sticks. Using words to
describe and mathematical words to describe utensils or what they have made
e.g. “I want a round jar”!
Using everyday words to describe position e.g. “The pot’s behind all the spoons”.
Using everyday words to describe capacity and ordering items according to
capacity.