Children are naturally mathematical in their play. They play with mathematics.
Early years’ practitioners often struggle to make mathematics relevant and engaging for their young learners. In their play, children are naturally mathematical yet practitioners are often unsure about how to build on this or how this observed play ‘fits’ in with the mathematics they teach.
This book:
*Empowers early years teachers to see the learning in this play and to remain committed to play based practice
*Outlines recent research on how children best learn mathematics
*Supports early years practitioners to know why preparation works better than planning and why 'thinking space' matters more than you think
Empowering early years teachers to see the learning potential of playful mathematics
| About the author |
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vii | |
| Acknowledgements |
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ix | |
| Preface |
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xi | |
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1 Why playful mathematics? |
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1 | (18) |
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2 Fostering mathematical reasoning |
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19 | (38) |
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3 Preparation rather than planning |
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57 | (56) |
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4 Adults -- What do we do? |
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113 | (48) |
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5 Some concluding remarks on being mathematically playful |
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161 | (5) |
| Useful resources |
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166 | (2) |
| References |
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168 | (7) |
| Photo and table credits |
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175 | (3) |
| Index |
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178 | |
Dr Helen J Williams began her career in education as a Reception and Y1 teacher. Helen is now an independent educational consultant based in the South West specialising in the teaching and learning of early mathematics.
Helens expertise is in Early Years, KS1 and early KS2 with a special interest in developing effective, playful opportunities for learning mathematics. Currently, as well as writing and contributing to conferences, Helen runs early years work groups through the CODE Maths Hub.
