Bringing Math to Life: Sparking Joy and Curiosity through Play

On April 16, 2025 I had the pleasure of presenting my workshop Bringing Math to Life: Sparking Joy and Curiosity through Play for Early Childhood Investigation Webinars! With over 3000 registrants it was my largest audience to date! I absolutely love inviting educators into my kindergarten classroom and sharing the rich math learning that children experience through play and inquiry! Connecting with others drives my practice and inspires me greatly! A big thank you to all who attended! A copy of the presentation slides are available and can be found at this link.

The presentation was recorded and is available for viewing if you are interested in revisiting the information I shared, or did not have a chance to view it live. You can access it here:

Fairy Tale Inspired STEAM Invitations in the Kindergarten Classroom

"I can help the goats escape that silly, old troll. All I need to do is just make a bridge that is so low to the water there is no room for the troll to hide below. That's the problem with the one in the story. There was enough room for the troll to hide. My bridge won't do that."

 

Young children are naturally curious about the world around them as they marvel and wonder about what they experience in their daily lives. According to Let's Talk Science this means that every moment has the potential for learning because children desire a deeper understanding of the world around them. STEAM learning in the early years is especially important because it helps prepare children with skills and knowledge for an unknown future. Let's Talk Science explains that STEAM activities can:

• Foster natural curiosity and creativity 
• Encourage independent and collaborative learning 
• Improve work habits and grades 
• Promote confidence in learning and ‘science identity’ 
• Promote language learning 
• Improve social-emotional skills 
• Build decision-making, problem-solving and critical thinking skills 
• Support inclusion and reduces gender disparity

In our classroom I have found that children are usually very motivated to help solve problems that appear in books we have read aloud and explored together as a class. In particular fairy tales that have likeable characters that need help evading a villain seem to elicit the most excitement and enthusiasm from kids. Sometimes STEAM invitations that are inspired by fairy tales naturally occur as a result of the children reading and discussing the text together in large or small groups. Other times I will invite children to engage in helping solve a problem by asking a question in our whole group meetings and inviting their ideas, or setting up an invitation for learning based upon the text.

One of the most popular invitations was based on the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. After reading the book I asked children to think about whether they could help the goats by building them a new bridge. On a table I created a quick playscape replicating the river by using green place mats for grass and blue paper for water. I offered baskets of different wooden loose parts for them to explore. I also added three toy goats and a troll that could be used as character props to help inspire children to retell the story after building the bridge.

    

During play time children worked collaboratively to build a number of interesting bridges. It was fascinating to discuss the attributes of each, and listen to the children's rationale for how the goats could evade the troll by using the bridge's features (e.g., close to the water, troll traps, fencing). 

      

  

  

Looking for some STEAM inspired invitations for other fairy tales? Here are some easy ideas to get you started:

The Gingerbread Man:

• build the Gingerbread Man a boat to use when crossing the river to avoid the fox
• design a fox-proof water suit the Gingerbread Man can wear when swimming across the river
• create a trap the bakers and animals can use to trick and capture the Gingerbread Man
  

Goldilocks and the Three Bears:

• build Baby Bear a new chair that will not break no matter how much weight is placed upon it
• design and draw a security system that will alert the three bears next time someone enters their house
• sketch a disguise for Goldilocks so the three bears will not recognize her
  

The Three Little Pigs:

• draw three new wolf-proof houses for the Little Pigs
• build a wind machine for the wolf that will work on a brick house
• build the setting of the story using various materials (e.g., wooden sticks, tape, play dough) that can be used to retell the story when toy pigs are added
  

Little Red Riding Hood:

• design an invisibility cloak for Little Red
• build a strong basket for Little Red that can hold many small objects without breaking (e.g., pennies, cubes, marbles)
  
• create a transportation system to move the basket of food from Little Red's to Grandmother's house
  

Jack and the Beanstalk: 

• build a beanstalk using tubes and card stock as tall as you can without it collapsing
• design, create and test a parachute that Jack can use to escape from the castle in the sky
• create a structure that the hen's golden egg can be dropped into that will keep it safe
  

Book Review

"Exploring trees outdoors is an enjoyable experience that children love to do! Swinging from a branch, exploring leaves and bark, and observing gnarled roots are all favourite activities that also integrate rich learning. Heading outside to explore the yard uses children's excitement and enthusiasm for sensory and nature experiences to inspire rich mathematical and scientific inquiries about what they are seeing and experiencing."

 

I was excited to see a review of my book Tree Math in the MAMT Spring Journal! You can access the review here!

Quick and Easy Resources for Littles to Help Explain and Explore the Solar Eclipse!

The solar eclipse of 2024 is an exciting event for children! Here are some resources I quickly put together to help educators and families explore the eclipse and use it to inspire a few activities!

Here is a great picture book to help explain what an eclipse is:

Here is a video that delves into the science behind the eclipse:

Here's a neat time lapsed video of an eclipse:

And here are three quick and easy math resources to use that capture children's excitement about the entire experience!

1. Roll, Subitize and Cover the Suns!

2. Which One Doesn't Belong?

3. See, Think and Wonder

Five Free Printables to Use with Tree Math

 "Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky."

-Khalil Gibran

During outdoor play children are drawn to the trees in the school yard. They love to feel bark with their hands and wrap their arms around the trunk. They collect artifacts for exploration including sticks and leaves and search for insects in the bark's crevices. Trees offer so many rich opportunities for wonder and discovery as children notice how they change with the weather and seasons.

To help supplement my book Tree Math (available from Amazon and Indigo) here are five easy, free printables that can be used to support children's work in nature!

1. My Favourite Tree

Encourage children to spend time in nature and observe the tree they like best. Ask them to consider what it is they appreciate about this tree? Children can then sketch the tree on this page and compare their tree with others.

2. My Tree and the Four Seasons

Over time children can observe the same tree and draw what they notice changing during the four seasons. This page can be kept over time and added to as the months change. Children can also draw on it at one sitting and hypothesize what the tree might look like in each season, especially after conducting research about how trees adapt to the weather.

3. Tree Circumference

Children can use a variety of materials to measure how big around a tree's trunk is (e.g., measuring tape, hand spans, links) and record it on this tracking page. Drawing a picture can help explain their math thinking.

4. Tree Bark Patterns

Exploring the texture of bark appeals to many children who enjoy sensory experiences. Children can use magnifying glasses to examine the patterns in bark up close, or place a paper on top of the bark and use crayons to create a rubbing. Children can then describe what they see and compare their rubbings to others. 

5. A Tree is a Home

Encourage children to explore many trees in the school yard and neighbourhood. Ask children to observe what living things they observe on and in the trees (e.g., birds, insects, mould) and record their observations on the tracking paper. They can hypothesize how the tree might be a home for many living things at the same time.

Virtual Bird Count

“There is an unreasonable joy to be had from the observation of small birds going about their bright, oblivious business.”
 Grant Hutchison

 

Colder weather and light snow this week have inspired new observations during outdoor play and exploration. The children have noticed birds hiding in the trees. It's been fun to watch them flit from branch to branch, observe their tracks in the snow and identify their different calls. I hoped to continue with these observations indoors. I introduced Cornell's live bird cam and invited children to spend time observing the animals that visited the different feeders. The children were enthralled with the quick, happy little birds as they flew in and out of the frame and gobbled up the seed.

The next day I asked children to predict which birds they thought might be at the feeders. We spent time drawing our guesses on a graphic organizer. I wanted to capitalize on the children's interest in the birds and integrate math and literacy into the experience. I also displayed posters from our library that had illustrations of common North American birds to be used as reference.

As the children observed the feeders they tracked what they saw on their charts. After ten minutes of watching we calculated and shared our results. Blue jays appeared the most!

This is an easy to implement activity that brings the outdoors inside! Click here for a free printable Bird Count tracking sheet children can use to record birds.

A Classroom Tour for September

 

For many years now I have been greatly inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education and have sought any source of information that I could get my hands on! When FDK was first introduced in Ontario I was thrilled to see that many of Reggio's beliefs were interwoven in the document and honouring children's interests through play, inquiry and documentation were highlighted. As educators who follow a standardized curriculum we have great flexibility in our interpretation and implementation of the expectations and this makes our role exciting and dynamic.

I believe in having a fluid, evolved space that continues to change to better reflect the needs of the children and support heightened understandings of explorations and inquiries as well as enhanced abilities in the various domains of learning. We want to support the whole child in developmentally appropriate experiences and integrate learning materials from centres in diverse and unconventional ways.  

Some of the Reggio principles that have guided my work include:

• children are capable of constructing their own learning
• children form an understanding of themselves and their place in the world through their interactions with others
• children are communicators
• the environment is the third teacher
• the adults in the room are mentors and guides
• there is an emphasis and importance on documenting children's thoughts and experiences
• there are hundreds of languages of children and these are used to explore and communicate ideas and experiences

This is the door leading to our classroom. I post information around the door to assure visitors to the space that I believe in an inclusive environment where all children are respected. Building relationships with families and helping them learn about and support growth mindset is a big part of creating a safe and supportive space for learning. Something about which I've had a lot of positive feedback is our 'wish wreath'. Each September we ask families to write their hopes, wishes, dreams, etc. for their children's kindergarten experiences on paper ribbons. We weave each of these onto a grapevine wreath and display it on our door. We want it to be a symbol of our partnership and collaboration with families for the year ahead. We also include a photo of our teaching team and visitors to the room can access our class blog by scanning the QR code on the door.

Above each child's cubby is a recent photo and painted self-portrait. These change a few times each year (usually a new photo and self-portrait per term) to help show their growth. We like including a real photo to celebrate each child and love how the children use the language of art to represent their perception of self. 

Our quiet literacy area has a collection of books and writing materials to explore. It's a comfortable area for children who want a quiet space to read or draw and the sofa and chairs are a great way to calm oneself if a child is tired or needs a break. The whimsical light invites children to stay for a while and read a book or chat with a friend. We ask families to send in photos that are hung by the sofa as a sign of connection and comfort. The light table and weaving wall encourage creativity and fine motor development which will help children with writing readiness. An upcycled photo display holds seasonal vocabulary cards that can be manipulated by children. The wooden shelf holds diverse and inclusive books so all children can see themselves reflected in classroom resources.

 

Our math area has many things available for children. We include mentor texts, learning props, and documentation to showcase and support our program.

Our drama centre changes based on the interests and requests of the children. At the beginning of the year it is set up as a little 'house' to provide comfort and familiarity to children.  We include many real objects for the children to use in their imaginative play; real objects communicate the message to children that they are capable of using these tools and make the context for the imaginary play very real and meaningful. Donations from families and the local community also helps represent the diversity of our population and encourages children to see themselves and their peers reflected in the space. Literacy is interwoven throughout as children can talk on the phone, write on the chalk boards, or follow a recipe when cooking. A variety of scarves encourages children to dress up and create their own costumes and clothing. A large basket of fabric flowers can be turned into different arrangements for the table or inspire other dramatic play (e.g., a flower shop, a farmer's market).

Our building area is the heart of our room and the most popular place to be. Children integrate materials from all around the classroom into their play here. We love the big body play the wooden blocks encourage. Small loose parts (e.g., tile squares, corks, wooden spools) are also included in this area for children to combine with wooden blocks. Pillow are available for incorporation in the creations and photos of local structures are displayed for inspiration.

My favourite center in the classroom is the science area. We are fortunate to have a very large wall of windows on one side of the space. The shelf near the window houses materials that are specific to ongoing inquiries. Loose parts play are a big part of our program as we embrace all things STEAM and love our makerspace. We use many natural and found materials here and always welcome donations from our families. The science area also houses many building materials and the children can freely use these around the room in any area to support their play. Often treasures found outdoors (e.g., pinecones, feathers) and the changing of the seasons inspire inquiries. Invitations for further exploration are sometimes set up on the table in this area. A sensory table integrates imaginative play regarding current interests, here insects and their natural habitat. Children can swap out materials for other small world play (e.g., dinosaurs, fabric flowers).

The art studio is located in a sunny area of the classroom. You can see that colours and colour mixing are ongoing interests and there is much art that supports this. The materials are aesthetically arranged to be accessible for children and also decorate the space. Materials are organized by colour for ease of accessibility and also to embed math and sorting into the centre.

We are often asked by other educators about how we encourage the children to engage in regular reading and writing in a child-driven space. On the back of our bookshelf are writing clipboards, one per child. We ask children to self-select a piece of writing that they are proud of and display it on their clipboard. These are then brought to a sharing circle where children can discuss their work with others. It's a quick and easy way for us to see which children have (and haven't) engaged in regular writing so we know how to better support their needs. This clipboards can also be brought on nature walks in the yard or community as needed.

Thank you for visiting us! We love feedback and to learn about your classroom and program. Please share in the comment section below or connect with us on Twitter @McLennan1977.