From the Early Learning Centre

Numeracy at play

The first statement of our ELC philosophy is ‘Educators hold a strong image of each child, believing they are capable, competent, curious and full of potential. When designing our flexible, collaborative and inquiry-based learning programs, we recognise and appreciate each child’s level of creativity, as well as their uniqueness and individual capabilities.’ There are many benefits of students engaging in hands-on learning in the early years. It is essential for children to have opportunities to engage in kinaesthetic learning where they can absorb themselves in activities and gain a comprehensive understanding of concepts. When teachers facilitate such activities, they are creating engaging and exciting ways for children to master concepts and develop deeper understandings.

Within the ELC there are many opportunities with open-ended materials that encourage counting and exploring mathematical concepts, including sorting trays, numerals, counters and large black markers. With these open-ended experiences children are learning and developing concepts of sorting, classifying, estimating , more and less discussions, labelling, counting and pointing, counting in groups of 10 and 2s, finding totals, and one to one correspondence

Numeracy goes beyond counting and arithmetic to encompass the capacity to use mathematical understanding and skills to solve problems in the complex social settings we encounter daily in life. Numeracy has to do with spatial sense, making sense of data, understanding patterns and sequences, and seeing where mathematics can be applied to solve a problem.

Educators act alongside the children to embed mathematical concepts and understandings authentically within the program. We used measurement as a tool after planting our vegetable garden, and one of our students created a painting of ‘the largest carrot’. The students then asked the question ‘What is the size of the largest carrot in the world?’ Inspired by our conversation and inquiry into finding the length of the largest carrot recorded, the children measured with steps, rulers, tape measures and 1m wheels to see how long the carrot was. These concepts were quickly incorporated into our outdoor session and so many numerals were discussed and measured. The biggest carrot recorded was 6.4 metres! That’s longer than our slide, taller than our trampoline and it is now recorded with masking tape in our playground.

'It is not an imposition on children or an artificial exercise to work with numbers, quantity, classification, dimensions, forms, measurement, transformation, orientation, conservation, and change, or speed and space, because these explorations belong spontaneously to the everyday experiences of living, playing, negotiating, thinking and speaking by children.’ – Loris Malaguzzi, founder of Reggio Emilia’s educational philosophy

We also used the concept of data handling as a tool to gather and interpret data. We did this by voting for books to read, games to play or for our favourite football team. We also tallied up how much money was raised for the Reconciliation Week fundraiser we held in the ELC.

Mathematics and language are tools for inquiry, communication and reasoning, and the understanding of each informs the other. Children naturally use both of them as they learn to ‘decode’ the environment around them and make sense of their experience with their teachers and peers.

Naomi Wright

Director of the Early Learning Centre