One of the most important factors for me to have children engage with mathematics at a level that they want to learn and more important understand what they are learning is to make sure they enjoy what they are learning. In order for this to happen it is up to us, as teachers, parents and careers to make mathematics enjoyable and allow them to see that maths can be used whilst playing.

As an adult being able to play during a maths input put a smile on my face. I loved it. Being able to physically get to grips with what we were learning through the use of building blocks, games and other various maths resources that can typically be found in an everyday classroom and most home environments was so much more refreshing than a boring PowerPoint.

Allowing children to play is an extremely central factor in their overall holistic development. It allows them to make connections to their learning, especially when they are in a relaxed environment. It empowers them to experiment and encourages creative and flexible thinking.

The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child recognises that child development is the key to the future success of a society.  They define the core concepts of development as including “cognitive skills, emotional well-being, social competence, and sound physical and mental health” They also stress that if these areas of development are nurtured in the early years through quality learning environments, positive relationships, and engaging social interactions, a foundation will be laid for future successes that everyone wants for every individual child. Some of these successes that the NSCDC describe as things such as; positive school achievement, future economic productivity, as well as responsible citizenship.

A simple thing such as the building blocks we used within our input are small but so effective. They can help a child start there numerical experiences by counting one by one, moving onto addition and subtraction and then can be used further up the school for more challenging lessons such as cubic centimetres. We take for granted as adults how easy counting actually is. We do not remember the stress and anxiety that we had to go through when learning the simplest fundamentals of mathematics. This step is one that has to happen though; Liping Ma states that we have to be aware of the basic concepts of maths and these concepts have to be reinforced and revisited before children have the foundation to deal with future concepts and can then move onto more complex mathematical problems.

My initial concept of maths has completely changed in the few weeks that I have being doing the Discovering Mathematics elective and I feel this is due to the fun that has been incorporated into lessons and inputs. By being able to work with friends to solve problems or to play maths based games brings out feelings towards maths that I never knew I had. As a student teacher, this is one of my main goals when teaching maths to my pupils. I personally feel that I will move away from the old games and resources, as good as they were, I used them 17 years ago so they are a bit outdated. But with all the technology we have now a days and how easy it is to access different resources I hope to let all my pupils know that maths does not need to be hard, stressful or boring… Maths can be fun.

Haylock, D. (2010) Mathematics explained for primary teachers. 4th edn. London: SAGE Publications

Ma, L. (2010) Knowing and teaching mathematics: Teacher’s understanding of fundamental mathematics in China and the United States. 2nd edn. New York: Taylor & Francis