Messy Maths: An outdoor, playful approach

Update to our learning programme

As part of our organisational response to the COVID-19 virus, Children in Scotland has adapted our training and events programme to a digital webinar offer for the foreseeable future.

We believe it is important that the sector continues to build resilient networks, share helpful resources and develop the skills our workforce needs to provide high-quality support to children and young people.

As such we will be rescheduling and/or changing the format of our upcoming events. Please note that our Learning and Events team will be in touch with everyone who has booked a place at a March-April event to confirm arrangements. From 5pm on Wednesday 18 March our office will be closed, and staff will be working from home – you can contact the team on events@childreninscotland.org.uk

About this event

When children have opportunities to play with loose parts, their creativity, imagination and ability to problem-solve becomes evident. It provides the ideal context for exploring and developing mathematical concepts. In this practical course (half of which will take place outdoors), you will explore the rationale behind using outdoor play as a key approach to building the foundations of maths, along with a host of practical ways of making this happen.

Key learning:

• Outdoor play as a key, everyday approach to build the foundations of maths
• Practical ways to offer the context for exploring and developing mathematical concepts in children aged 3-7.

Facilitator Bio

Juliet Robertson is a former head teacher who established Creative STAR Learning in 2007 to support the development of learning and play outdoors. She works behind the scenes at a national level in Scotland and was part of the working group that developed the Scottish Government's Play Strategy for Scotland. In 2016 she co-wrote Loose Parts Play: A Toolkit to provide practical guidance around developing loose parts play on behalf of the Scottish Government and Inspiring Scotland. She is in heavy demand world-wide for her practical training sessions that are full of doable suggestions.

Juliet is the author of Dirty Teaching: A Beginner's Guide to Learning Outdoors and Messy Maths: An Outdoor, Playful Approach for Early Years. Her award-winning blog, I'm a Teacher Get Me OUTSIDE Here! has more than 250K annual visitors and is a source of advice, ideas and support for educators world-wide.