Happy New Year!

What a strange year it has been but we have all been resilient in some way. There has been many downs but it is important for us to remember the positives too.

I am wishing all of the blogging community a happy new year, full of hope and more happiness than ever.

2020 has certainly reminded me to be grateful for all that I have, all that I have achieved and to enjoy being with such loving family and friends.

I always set out new goals for a new year. This year I am eager to accomplish some very exciting personal and career linked goals.

I will continue to blog but expand by creating a Youtube channel. I aim to share activities, virtual lessons and information for parents and teachers too. I also aim to share the knowledge I have gained for Maths Mastery further and share resources I have created. Please keep a look out for future blog posts and links for Youtube!

I Wish you all the best for 2021.

#MissPinnock

Developing young mathematicians

I love teaching mathematics in the early years. It’s hands on, consisting of lots of exploration of mathematical concepts through play, as well as teaching the foundation skills of maths too. I teach maths in 3 parts. This blog post will outline each part and the reasons why.

Teaching maths as part of a routine

Children learn concepts through repeition, this also helps them to develop a deeper understanding of a concept. This is why I have linked maths into our daily routines. The concepts of comparing amounts, counting and developoing childrens early number sense is all part of our classroom routine.

Heres how!

On a daily basis children vote for a story by placing one pebble next to the book they would like to read that day. Throughout the day the children have the opportunity to compare the amount and give reasons to how they know a certain book is the winning book for the day. This is so early to set up and a fun way to decide on a story too! It also introduces children to having a voice, the importance of a vote.

My class vote for a story station.

When doing the register we also discuss how many children are here today. We use 3 10 frames to draw the children’s faces and count. For instance, if a child is absent we discuss one less and if a child comes back from an appointment, for example we discuss the concept of one more. This is a great way of children grasping the counting principles and realising the last number of the set is the amount.

I also place children’s names on this table for name recognition every morning. For Spring term I will write a word / number on for children to read before placing their name in the basket.

Teaching short maths inputs

In order for children gain further mathematical skills I plan daily, active, whole class maths sessions. These sessions consist of practising concepts such as counting using objects or cubes, rote counting or developing number sense in other ways, as well as focusing on a specific skill for the day. For example, children may learn the names of shapes. The short input allows all children to learn these skills before exploring them through play in more depth. This works well alongside effective teaching through play too.

Taken from this website. Take a look for more fun EYFS activities! Outdoor Maths Activities EYFS – Outdoor Maths Ideas – Play of the Wild

Children learning to count accurately by developing all of the counting principles is essential in the early years. To ensure that all children are achieving this, early intervention is key. I ensure that all children have opportunities to count during our input and children are informally assessed based on the counting principles they have achieved. Most children can confidently count correctly at the time of year, however there is a small group of children that still need to concur this. I set up daily interventions for these children but counting is developed through fun games such as rolling a dice and stacking cubes to make a tower. The children love this game and are really competitive with their peers as the longest tower is the winner!

I follow the white rose maths planning as this has broken down the steps into simple, important steps in order for children to develop a deeper mathematical understanding. You can view the documents for free here and find out more too.

Reception SOL | White Rose Maths | Free Teaching Resources

Teaching maths through PLAY!

Lets save the best until last! I believe that this is the most important way of teaching maths in EYFS and even KS1 too. Children are actively exploring, predicting and asking questions linked to bigger mathematical concepts. Effective questioning, subject knowledge and playing alongside children can expand children’s understanding leading them to learning new concepts.

The construction area lenses itself to so many mathematical opportunities. Shape, space and measure opportunities can occur whilst children build and creatively make different models. I have used measurement with a ruler whilst creating a train track with a child using large pieces of paper. Whilst children are outside we have created obstacle courses and used positional language such as under and over. Making play dough consisted of children counting out cups of flour and salt and measuring amounts in order to follow the instructions. The children may choose to play fun games using a dice which helps them to subitise by instantly recogonsing the numbers on a dice.

I ensure that there are lots of open ended resources available which can be freely used in any area of provisions so that all children are given the opportunity to understand maths in different ways. I wouldn’t worry about recognising numbers at the beginning of the year, but as the year goes on these skills can be planned into the teacher inputs. The pre-skills are key and with these in place children will build great foundations.

Displays and working walls

I like to start the year with a blank canvas so that children can take ownership of displays as I think they are more meaningful than just covering the walls with information.

This year I have created a learning journey. I have previously done this and it contributed to documenting the children’s progress throughout the year.

Every half term the children had a go at drawing themselves and writing their name or a caption. It’s amazing to see that the first page will be full of symbols and mark making and by the last page children are writing captions and drawing with more detail.

Here is my learning journey (its still in progress):

You can download the learning journey bunting here:

our learning journey

And the natural style name template can be downloaded for free here:

natural name template

“Let children be pilots in their own play..”

This year I have embedded loose parts in most areas of my Reception class. I really believe that creativity is key for children’s future success.

Without any prompts my nephew used crates and tyres to make his own car. He found a book about cars and sat inside trying to read it.

Let children be pilots in their own play 

 

Gathering loose parts can be easy and free. Here are some top tips:

• Ask family and friends! If anyone is having a clear out it’s worth asking them first.

• Email or ring companies – electrical companies and building sites always have bits of scrap they are willing to donate. From wooden reels to pallets – there’s no harm in asking.
• Check Facebook market place it is amazing for freebies that are often right on your doorstep.
• Visit your local charity shops. I have found some lovely loose parts and role play items from them.
• Visit a scrap store. I have a few amazing scrap stores near which offer services such as filling up a basket for £2! It is definitely worth a visit.
• Send an email around school. Work colleagues may also have some random items that are useful I have already collected lots of amazing things!

You can download my loose parts wish list here:

loose parts wish list

#MissPinnock

My new reception class in progress

After a strange year in year 1 I am back working in Reception! Although it’s an exciting journey, redesigning a classroom is hard work! I am so grateful for the hard work of both my amazing Mum and new teaching assistant! I had all of the images and ideas in my head but I knew without team work it would be almost impossible to get done in such little time. Just over 4 days of work on rainy days and  preparation and planning based on good Early Years practise has lead me to the stage I am at now with my classroom prep. It is not finished yet but I am feeling so much happier and I am excited to continue to build on the environment throughout the year.

So let’s start with the before photo….

I remember walking into the classroom not wanting to even think about it or look. How was I going to turn this into a classroom? What furniture do I have? Resources? It was all a bit of a blur but a good rest is definitely needed at the beginning of the holiday so that’s exactly what I did! Behind the scenes I relaxed and continued to read my favourite Early Years book, ‘Can I go and play now?’

The construction area!

Promoting open ended play is so important to me. Children are so creative, more creative than adults so why not encourage this through play? I aim to use recycled materials such as go kart tyres, reels and sticks to promote building and construction. I also found some amazing QR code posters linked to a range of books. I will be adding lots of freebies on my next blog this week so keep a look out!

The curiosity cube and small world area….

Curiosity cubes are a great way of children asking questions, promoting awe and wonder and developing communication and language skills. This cube will be changed weekly and I will allow children to draw and explain what they think is inside.

The small world area links so nicely into imagination. It is going to be filled with opened scrap resources and will encourage children to create their own stories and re-tell their favourite stories too. After sitting in this area I really thought –  I want to play in here! So fingers crossed the children like it too.

The message centre

This area is inspired by the author Gregg Bottrill. Meeting and chatting to Gregg certainly encouraged further ideas for the Early Years. The message centre promotes symbols and encourages children to freely write and draw. I have added  different size paper, booklets, post it notes, phase 1 logo sheets, sound mats and I will also be adding stamps a range of writing books. I will continue to blog the progress so watch this space!

Snack & Chat

Isn’t it lovely when you can catch up with your friend over a cup of tea and a snack? I wanted to promote children’s independence skills. I want this area to encourage children to decide when they are hungry and thirsty but also to have the confidence to ask their friends to join them too. I have placed the ‘take a look’ shelf which will be full of the children’s work near the snack area so they can also proudly discuss their work too.

Working walls…

Personally, having a million bits of text and displays is both a sensory overload and an additional layer of wallpaper! Before sticking something up I always ask why. Why am I placing it there? How will it benefit the children? If the answer is that it looks ‘nice’ or SLT will like it then I don’t stick it up! Working walls work so much better so I have decided to leave them blank until the children are in and they can take ownership of it.

Home corner/ Deconstructed role play area

This area is a work in progress. I am starting off with familiarity for the children. They will already be able to relate to a home corner and the kind of these I have provided. However, I am going to model how to use the deconstructed roleplay (inspired by ABC does) so that soon enough this area will be filled with open ended items and boxes for them to create their own adventure with. Watch this space for more information and progress.

Junk modelling and painting area

Children usually love this area and I am so excited to see what they produce. I have created space for their finished models too! I love the art display idea which I was inspired by groups online and I can’t wait to peg some of the children’s art work onto it.

I am hoping the B & Q paint shades will inspire children to mix colours and experiment. I really value promoting children to think critically and problem solve so fingers crossed this inspires them to do so.

 

Playdough / Malleable area

This area promotes fine motor skills although many activities that I can set up in provision will also promote fine motor skills. Children love play dough and I am willing to create individual pots of play dough to still allow every child to have the opportunity to use it still. The whiteboard roll is an amazing purchase and I will add some pens to also promote children’s writing skills.

 

Finishing touches!

 

I added some chalk board paint to the table to promote writing but also to cover up the awful, faded, red table too! I was a win win for the children and teacher! I will re edit this post as I am writing it at one in the morning so I apologise if I don’t make much sense!

My next blog will include FREE resources and more detail on specific areas too.

Feel free to comment or ask questions below and good luck for the next academic year.

#MissPinnock