Numeracy through Play in Infant Classes
How Play Helps Numeracy Development?
Patsy Stafford
Froebel College of Education
Young children are exposed to a wide range of mathematical concepts and skills in their
day to day lives. They are told that something is too heavy to lift, that their hair is
too
long
or
their
trousers
too
short.
They
observe
adults
measuring
length
with
a
measuring tape and measuring liquid with a measuring jug, telling time and spending
money. They see numbers all around them on cars, buses, phones, birthday cards, book
pages and clocks. They learn from an early age how to share sweets and toys and to ask
for ‘more’. Mathematics is all around us and children engage with mathematical ideas from
a very young age.
The importance of the mathematical learning that takes place in the early years before
children
enter
primary
schools has
been
acknowledged
in
the
Draft
National
Plan to
Improve Numeracy and Literacy in Schools which calls for actions to improve numeracy.
Most children come to primary school with rich mathematical understanding and knowledge
which teachers can help to build on and develop. In this recently published plan, the
Department of Education and Skills defines Numeracy as “the capacity, confidence and
disposition to use mathematics to meet the demands of learning, school, home, work,
community and civic life.” (D.E.S. 2010, p.9) Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum
Framework defines numeracy as ‘developing an understanding of numbers and mathematical
concepts.’(NCCA 2009, p56).
Aistear gives 6 principles of how children learn and develop:
‘holistic
relevant
learning
and
and
meaningful
development,
experiences,
active
learning,
communication
play
and
and
hands-on
language,
and
experiences,
the
learning
environment’ (NCCA 2009, p7) and regards play ‘as a key process underpinning the learning
of young children and as a methodology for facilitating learning’ (NCCA 2009, p27).
Síolta: The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education also highlights the
importance of play in young children’s learning ‘Play is an important medium through
which the child interacts with, explores and makes sense of the world around her/him….It
provides an important context and opportunity to enhance and optimise quality early
childhood
experiences.’(CECDE
2006).
The
Constructivism
and
Guided
Discovery
methods
advocated in the Primary School Mathematics curriculum support these principles (DES
1999).
Mathematical learning does not only occur at a given time of the day or in one area of an
infant classroom. It can occur at any time during the day and in any area of the indoor
or outdoor environment from everyday routines to rhymes and songs, to play centres and
the school yard. Infant classrooms that include play centres provide rich mathematical
contexts that mirror the real-life situations that children experience in their everyday
life.
The
National
Association for
the
Education
of
Young Children
states in their
position paper on Early Childhood Mathematics:
’Play does not guarantee mathematical development, but it offers rich possibilities.
Significant benefits are more likely when teachers follow up by engaging children in
reflecting on and representing the mathematical ideas that have emerged in their play.
Teachers enhance children’s mathematics learning when they ask questions that provoke
clarifications, extensions, and development of new understandings’. (NAEYC 2002, p8)
Opportunities for Developing Numeracy through Play
So what are the opportunities for developing numeracy through play in infant classrooms?
Opportunities
for
children
to
develop
mathematical
understanding
exist
in
all
play
centres and in the routines and experiences children encounter every day in the infant
classroom.
Mathematical
learning
doesn’t
just
happen
in
the
classroom,
outdoor
environments are also rich in mathematical experiences. Here are a some examples of
opportunities for numeracy through play:
Type of Play
Strand/
Strand
unit
Pretend/Sociodramatic Play
Early
Mathematical
Activity
Matching
One to one
correspondence
Matching
One to one
correspondence
Pretend/Sociodramatic Play
Pretend/Sociodramatic Play
Activity
Buttoning dress-up or doll’s
clothes
Putting away resources at
tidy up time
Number
Number
recognition
Using telephone/calculator/
cash register
As Above
Writing numbers
Make sign to indicate
opening time for
shop/doctor’s office
Sharing
Sharing out resources
Counting
Do we have enough? How many
do we have? How many do we
need?
Calling out telephone
numbers
Do we have enough? How
many do we have? How
many do we need?
As Above
Measuring with tape measure
‘It’s 3 long’
Pricing goods in shop
Money
Paying for goods
‘How much?’
Serving in shop
‘5 cent, please’
Time
Resources
Furniture and equipment that
reflect home, shop, doctor’s
office, large hollow blocks
for children to create props
for their play e.g.
Spaceship, airplane, etc.
Old clothes for dress-up,
dolls and clothes, buggy,
tape measures, telephones,
clocks, calculators, etc.
Setting table - one cup to
one saucer at each chair
Classifying
Measures
Length/Height/
Width
Language
Make sign to indicate
opening time for
shop/doctor’s office
Five o’clock
Morning
Days of the week
Pretend/Sociodramatic Play
Algebra
Patterns
Pretend/Sociodramatic Play
Shape and Space
Spatial
Awareness
Block Play
Art Centre
As Above
Routines of everyday homelife
As Above
Moving the buggy around the
area
Putting the cake in the
oven, etc.
3-D Shape
Making food for shop/home
from play dough
2-D shape
3-D shape
Spatial
Awareness
Size,
Length and
height
Fractions
Symmetry
Tessellations
Counting
Creating buildings, towns,
environments
Using creations for pretend
play
Classification/S
orting/matching
One to one
correspondence
Putting away blocks
Matching to shape on shelf
One brush for each paint pot
Area
3-D shapes
Spatial
Awareness
2-D shapes
‘It’s morning time we
need to get up and get
dressed and get our
breakfast’
Covering table with sheets
of newspaper
Clay/Play dough
3-D construction with junk
Discussion of construction
On the shelf, under
the table, beside the
cupboard
Tall, taller, tallest
Long, longer, longest
On top of, beside,
over, under
More
Cylinder, cuboid
‘We need two more of
the long ones.’
Wooden unit blocks and
hollow blocks, vehicles, toy
animals and people, fabric
or bits of carpet to
represent rivers, fields,
etc.
More, less
Art materials and junk for
painting, drawing, 3-D
construction, collage
How many do we need to
cover the table?
Do we have enough?
Cylinder, cube,
cuboid, sphere
Drawing, Painting, collage
On top of, beside,
over, under
Manipulatives Play
Games
Small World Play
Water and Sand Play
Patterns
Threading beads in patterns
Building patterns with
pattern blocks
Red, blue, red, blue
Combine and
tessellate
shapes
Fractions
Using pattern block shapes
to create other
shapes/fractional parts
‘A red block is half a
yellow block’
2-D shapes
Sorting
Matching
Counting
Counting
One to one
correspondence
Number
recognition
Subitising
Classifying pattern blocks
and collections and counting
and matching sets
‘The square belongs in
this set because it
has 4 sides.’
Playing board games and card
games
Numbers
Addition
Counting all,
counting on
Use two dice for board games
Comparing
Ordering
Putting animals in order
from biggest to smallest
Length and
Height
Putting animals beside each
other to compare size
Capacity
Filling one container with
another
Time and speed
How long will it take for
each container to empty?
Counting
How many cups will fill the
bowl?
‘Five cups fill this
bowl’
Classifying and
ordering
Conservation
This bottle holds more than
that one.
Holds more than ,
holds less than
Pattern Blocks, Beads and
String, unifix cubes, button
collections, junk
collections,etc.
Board games and card games
‘I have to get two
more’
number sequence
One spoon in each cup
‘3+ 2, three, four,
five’
Big, bigger
Tall, taller, tallest
Long, longer, longest
Full, empty
Dinosaurs, farm animals,
Dolls house, etc.
Water/Sand Table or large
tub, beach toys, funnels,
colander, tubing, pipes,
plastic bottles and
containers, spoons, scoops,
etc.
Outdoor Play
Counting
One to one
correspondence
Counting each spoon as it is
poured
Street games, skipping, ball
games
Skipping rhymes,
number sequence
Small balls, skipping ropes,
hoola hoops, natural
materials
Numeral writing
Chalk
Sorting,
Counting,
Ordering
Natural materials-leaves,
stones, seeds
Role of the Adult in Developing Numeracy through Play
So what is the role of the adult in developing numeracy through play?
1. Create a play environment (indoor and outdoor) rich in mathematical experiences.
2. Build on and encourage children’s natural interest in mathematics.
3. Build on children’s prior knowledge and experience of mathematics.
4. Be aware of the opportunities for children to develop mathematical concepts through
their play.
5. Make connections between real-life mathematics and classroom mathematics.
6. Model the use of mathematical language and discussion of mathematical ideas.
7. Encourage children to use mathematical language and to discuss their ideas.
8. Observe record, reflect on and use information about children’s mathematical
understanding to plan future play experiences.
9. Communicate with parents and families about children’s mathematical development through
play.
10.
Engage with children in play to extend the opportunities for developing numeracy.
From this article it is evident that play provides ample, valuable opportunities for
children to investigate mathematical concepts, use mathematical language and reinforce
existing knowledge. Engaging with mathematical concepts through play helps children to
develop a positive attitude to mathematics which is the first aim of the Mathematics
Primary School Curriculum (DES 1999) and has been recognised in The 2009 National
Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading research as one of the characteristics of
children who succeed at mathematics (Eivers et al. 2010). Teachers engaged in infant
education should maximise the potential play offers for mathematical development.
References
Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE) (2006), Síolta, the National
Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education. Dublin: CECDE.
Department of Education and Science (1999), Primary School Curriculum –Mathematics.
Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Mathematics and English Reading
Department of Education and Skills (DES)(2010), Better Literacy and Numeracy for Children
and Young People, A Draft National Plan to improve Literacy and Numeracy in Schools.
Dublin: DES.
Eivers,E., Close,S., Shiel,G., Millar,D., Clerkin,A., Gilleece,L., & Kiniry, J. (2010),
The 2009 National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading. Dublin: Educational
Research Centre.of
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)/National Council of
Teachers of Mathematics(NCTM) (2010), Joint Position Paper on Early Childhood
Mathematics: Promoting Good Beginnings. Washington D.C.: NAEYC/NCTM.
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)(2009), Aistear: The Early Childhood
Curriculum Framework. Dublin: NCCA.