Make Math Playful

Reflect: How Do You Play?

Let’s explore a memory of a playful experience. Find a photo of yourself doing something you enjoy. If you cannot find a photo, think of an activity you enjoy doing.

Reflect:

What emotions did you experience in this photo or activity? What made this experience playful and enjoyable for you?

We All Engage in Play

Play is an essential part of young children’s lives. As children play, they explore math concepts, solve problems, and make meaningful discoveries. They also develop language, build relationships, process feelings, and test their bodies’ limits (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009; Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2009; National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2020).

Play is also an important aspect of adults’ well-being. During play, adults experience joy, productivity, self-confidence, imagination, empowerment, and other health benefits (Nicholson & Shimpi, 2015; Nicholson et al., 2014).

Playing with Math in Everyday Life

Consider the ways in which you engage in playful math experiences in your everyday life. Math may be the focus of a playful experience, or it may frame the activity. Some examples of engaging with math in a playful experience include:

Counting reps while exercising
Working through a sudoku puzzle
Playing a smartphone game
Keeping score during a soccer game
Practicing dance moves involving pattern and rhythm

Stuart Brown, play researcher and psychiatrist, says that play is an essential need, like sleep and nutrition. Brown states, “The need to play is in all of us.” To learn more, check out this podcast on how to integrate play into your daily life.

Reflect:

How might engaging in playful math experiences affect the way you feel and think about math?

Let's Play with Math!

Playful math experiences can contribute to positive math mindsets. When math experiences are playful, you may feel more comfortable exploring math. For example, you may be more willing to experiment to solve problems and to learn from mistakes. This active, joyful engagement with math can lead to more positive feelings and thoughts about math.

Let's use the example of patterns to explore how to engage playfully in math and build a positive math mindset.

Reflect:

What comes to mind when you think about the word “pattern?"

Play: Playing with Patterns, Part 1

There are different types of patterns in our everyday environments and routines, for example:

Geometric patterns in art and textiles, such as stripes
Growth patterns in nature, such as tree rings
Behavioral patterns that illustrate a repeating action or set of actions, such as eating breakfast every morning

In math, a pattern is defined as a sequence of continuously repeating items, such as objects, shapes, or numbers. Some examples of math patterns include:

Number sequences, such as “1, 3, 5, 7, 9…”
Shape sequences, such as “circle, square, circle, square, circle, square…”

Play: Playing with Patterns, Part 2

Let’s playfully explore patterns in your environment.

Observe and feel different objects and surfaces, such as tiles, tables, chairs, or woven baskets. Notice the lines, shapes, colors, and textures that you observe and feel.

If you are unable to find a pattern, create one with things in your environment, such as pens, paper, or cooking utensils.

Include what makes it a pattern.

Play: Playing with Patterns, Part 3

With the pattern you found in your environment, let’s explore the concept of symbolic representation.

Symbolic representation is using symbols to stand for something else. Examples of symbols include icons, colors, numbers, and actions.

Click on an example to explore how patterns can be represented by shapes, sounds, hand signals, and letters.

Curtain Example

In words:

White fabric with an orange geometric zigzag pattern that moves up and down

As shapes:

▴■…▴■…▴■…

As sounds:

BeepBop…BeepBop…BeepBop…

Beads Example

In words:

Four pink beads, a silver bead, four blue beads, a silver bead, four white beads, and a silver bead (then repeat)

As hand signals:
🖐🖐🖐🖐👎✌✌✌✌👎👌👌👌👌👎…

As letters:

AAAABCCCCBDDDDB…

Try it yourself

Represent the pattern you found, or created, using two different sets of symbols.

The Power of Play: From Facilitators to Educators to Children

Facilitators play a key role in supporting educators and children to develop positive mindsets around math. Consider ways to use playful math experiences to develop a community of educators who approach math with curiosity and excitement (Diaz-Varela & Wright, 2019; Zur et al., 2021). Educators’ positive math mindsets impact how they approach math with children. Play promotes positive math thinking for educators and children!

Facilitators

Value playful learning
Model a positive math mindset
Use hands-on, playful math experiences in professional learning

Educators

Engage playfully with math
Build a positive math mindset
Offer play-based math experiences

Children

Explore math during play and routines
Form positive thoughts and feelings about math
Develop a positive math mindset

Play with Intention

Facilitators can intentionally plan learning activities that invite educators to explore math through playful experiences during trainings or communities of practice. These adult learning activities:

Encourage educators to explore their own creative ideas
Promote joy and curiosity
Offer opportunities for educators to interact and share ideas
May be adapted for small group or individual coaching sessions

Create a positive learning environment by setting up guidelines for playful experiences for adults, such as:

Staying present, both physically and mentally
Keeping an open mind
Listening respectfully

The sounds of laughter, silliness, storytelling, and deep conversation are all signs of success in playful math experiences for adults (Exploratorium, 2018; Novicki, 2018).

A participant in a Count Play Explore summer learning institute noted, “It was quite amazing to see educators enjoying themselves in these math activities. Our group was able to bring the joy of play and learning from our experience in [Count Play Explore] to our teachers” (Zur et al., 2021).

Five Key Considerations for Creating Playful Professional Learning Experiences

Personal Connections

Playful math experiences allow adults to:

Make connections to their daily lives
Build on their prior learning experiences
Make personal meaning of math content
Consider ideas on how to support children’s early math learning

A net is used to illustrate the math concept of polyhedrons. A facilitator exclaims, “The polyhedron opens up like a box!” This statement connects the adult activity to educators' day-to-day lives.

Active Learning

Active learning refers to hands-on, minds-on experiences in which adults actively construct their own knowledge. Active learning offers opportunities to:

Be playful and curious
Ponder meaningful questions
Remember what it is like to learn something for the first time
Explore a topic in a new and different way

Facilitators explore shapes and angles by building structures with blocks.

Collaboration and Sharing

Learning is social. The rich and diverse perspective that each adult brings strengthens the collective learning experience. When adults learn alongside each other, they can:

Share ideas and discuss the activity together
Observe each other’s behaviors
Develop a deeper understanding of concepts and skills

Facilitators share ideas about a geometric design, which deepens collective understanding.

Trial and Error

Trying new ideas and making mistakes along the way can be a powerful way to learn. Playful math experiences are about the journey, not the destination. Adult learning activities create opportunities to:

Experiment with new ideas
Make mistakes
Learn in a non-judgmental, safe space

Facilitators work to build the highest tower with the least number of cups, trying different configurations each time.

Reflection

Reflection provides a connection between adult learning experiences and pedagogical practices. For example, reflection:

Allows adults to explore strengths and anxieties about math
Offers opportunities for facilitators to listen and provide encouragement
Supports communication and relationship-building

An educator explains to a coach how doing playful math activities as an adult opened their eyes to the idea that everyone can be a math person.

For more resources on how to create playful math professional learning experiences, explore the Facilitating STEAM Professional Learning self-study module (coming soon).

Reflect:

Which of these considerations do you feel most comfortable implementing in your upcoming professional learning or coaching? Which of these considerations do you want to learn more about and strengthen?

Reflect: How Do You Play?

We All Engage in Play

Playing with Math in Everyday Life

Let's Play with Math!

Play: Playing with Patterns, Part 1

Play: Playing with Patterns, Part 2

Play: Playing with Patterns, Part 3

Reflect: Playing with Patterns

The Power of Play: From Facilitators to Educators to Children

Play with Intention

Five Key Considerations for Creating Playful Professional Learning Experiences

Personal Connections

Active Learning

Collaboration and Sharing

Trial and Error

Reflection

Self-Study Modules

Building Your Capacity

Facilitator Resources

Building The Capacity Of Educators

Building Your Own Capacity

Laying the Foundation for STEAM

Early Math Topics

Reflect: How Do You Play?

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Where to next:

Self-Study Modules

Building Your Capacity

Facilitator Resources

Building The Capacity Of Educators

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