Enabling Environments: Making spaces... Mathematics

We've noticed the children in our reception unit don't choose to interact much with our maths resources other than in adult-led activities. Their achievements in calculating and numbers were also lower than expected. How can we make our environment more enabling and increase the desirability of our maths resources? We want to encourage the children to use them in their play to aid their development as well as providing evidence of their mathematical thinking.

Making the link between children's play and their mathematical thinking is a good place to start. Calculating and number play doesn't only happen with mathematical resources but well-placed, appropriate resources can trigger ideas and stimulate thinking. They encourage children's curiosity and their urge to investigate.

MATHS AREA

To heighten children's awareness make the most of your maths area:

Position: Think about putting your maths area in the centre of the room.

Displays: Create a multi-level interactive display that incorporates storage as well as display space. Use low-level boxes or tables at different heights to make it easier to play with the interactive displays.

Storage: Make sure children can see and access resources easily. Shelving with baskets makes the perfect storage. It's easy to see what's inside and baskets can be easily transported around the setting. If you have shelving units with trays, think about removing every other one, so that it is easier to see inside the tray.

Mark-making: Provide paper, pens and clipboards. Mark-making in the maths area has lots of possibilities. Squared paper as well as blank is useful, and look out for interesting junk mail with forms and 'boxes' for filling in with numbers. Small whiteboards and markers are useful as well as easels for big number writing.

Rugs and cushions: Include a rug and a few cushions for comfort and bring the resources down to the floor as well as at different levels. Look out for cushion covers with numerals printed or stitched onto them and buttons in clusters for counting.

Books: Incorporate number books and stories with lots of good illustrations that stimulate counting activity.

AROUND THE NURSERY

Encourage children to see the links with maths and other areas of the nursery, including the outdoors. For example, blocks encourage - and provoke - mathematical thinking as children explore their properties. Observe children at their block play and take note of their comments and non-verbal problem solving.

Look out for numbers in the environment, for example, till receipts, bus tickets, price tags as well as photos of signs and displays incorporating numbers. Children's clothing often incorporates numbers of all sizes and colours - encourage children to notice these and photograph them to create books and displays.

Use these books and displays to decorate your central display or run them along the walls at a low level where children will see them. Think about the areas where children congregate and then create interesting number lines at their eye level.

Use photos of the children themselves as much as possible, as well as things and places that are familiar to them. Encourage the children to add their own number lines to the space.

Don't forget the toilets and the cloakroom for number displays. The numbers four and five are especially important to children in a reception class. Make the most of this connection and gather as many different examples of them as you can.

Take note of what the children say about the number displays and write captions to go with them. Look for children pointing along a number line or tracing them with their fingers. If the display is still looking pristine after a week or so, then change it - it obviously isn't inspiring.

Include numbers and numerals from a range of languages. Start with the languages reflected in your class group. Make cards with numerals 0-5 as well as the number words and provide practitioners with tips for correct pronunciation. Post them where they can be seen at group times.

ADULT ROLE

Using equipment: You can demonstrate how to use the maths resources by getting them out yourself and playing with them. Explain what you are doing and why you enjoy playing with them. Ask for ideas about different ways of using the resources.

Introducing resources: Incorporate new equipment in your adult-led tasks and then make them available to be played with freely. If the adult-led task was stimulating, then the children will be motivated to use the resources for themselves.

Playing games: Note how the children devise their own rules for maths and counting games, that may differ widely from the 'correct' way. Very often, children need this exploratory stage before they are ready to play the game in the usual manner. It frees them of the frustration of something that may still be too hard for them.

Trading places: A particularly successful way of engaging children with maths resources is to be the 'child' and allow them to be the 'teacher'. This allows you to get it 'wrong' and gives the child the chance to explain where you have gone wrong and what you need to do to get it right. This provides evidence of the child's thinking and understanding as well as boosting their self-esteem and sense of themselves as a 'mathematician'.

Thanks to Caroline Luck, early years adviser, Hertfordshire County Council for some of the suggestions

COMMUNITY PLAYTHINGS: COUNT ON IT

Top-quality display and storage units are essential if a maths area is to encourage children to explore. Display and storage solutions of varying shapes and sizes are available from Community Playthings, whose products include a 94cm Display Unit featuring a display board and nine deep baskets or transparent totes underneath (£491) and styled to ensure that resources are both easy to see and to access.

Unit and Hollow Blocks come in sets of various sizes. Mini unit blocks, ideal for table-top play, are available in single (91 pieces, £80) and double (182 pieces, £160) sets.

Planning advice is available in articles such as 'Transforming spaces: Rethinking the possibilities' and 'Creating indoor environments for young children'. And for promoting numeracy across your setting, see 'Block play, math and literacy' and 'Making the most of water play'.

This feature is sponsored by Community Playthings

www.communityplaythings.co.uk