A maths friendly outside area provides the opportunity to develop mathematical concepts in different contexts as well as making active learning exciting. So much can be created using the best of the outside space .
Consider:
- Number collars for cones
- Movable and weatherproof number washing line
- Stepping-stones with ordinal number and some with different shapes
- Ride on toys with number plates and numbered parking bays (wheelie bin numbers work well)
- Large scale block play
- Various different types of bricks (crates, blocks etc) to build with, make patterns, count and order.
- Include different levels where possible and encourage children to create different levels
- Tracks for opportunities to make routes around the area
- A range of painted on wall markings
- Giant versions of indoor materials
- Mud kitchen with opportunities to count and measure (cardinal and ordinal number)
- Squeezy bottles to mark-make with water.
- Hoops and hop-scotch
- Bean bags (but not the ones with real beans as they sprout)
- Large physical play equipment to explore
For more about spatial learning in outside areas, see our Spatial reasoning toolkit.