One extremely cold morning, PLUS one extremely curious three-year-old EQUALED an unexpected explosion of mathematical concepts being explored in our classroom. Jamison started the movement with a small ramp and a single car. The fever caught on and soon we had ramps and obstacles being set up all over the room by Jamison and his fellow early math explorers. We had ourselves a PLAY BUZZ going on! 

What exactly is a play buzz? It was first explained to me as “a moment during free play when all is good, all is right, all needs are being met and all children are learning.” I would love to give credit to the genius teacher who coined the phrase “play buzz.”  It’s a teacher’s dream and, when it happens, you recognize it immediately. These are the moments of movement and learning and exploring and brain-building experiments. These are the moments when you grab your camera and your clipboard and you begin checking off all of the learning standards that those pesky assessments demand.

On this given day, we were exploring the concepts of spatial relationships and geometry. We made predictions, gathered data, studied cause and effect and organized our information to try something new. We were knocking out those Illinois Early Learning Standards by the minute. Math vocabulary was being tossed about in typical preschool language, including the words “up, down, fast, faster, speed, tall, short, in front of, behind, balance, circle, line, flat and corner.” Children need to learn the language of math to think through and solve their math challenges—and then communicate their thought processes to others. When children play and experiment with ramps and cars with their friends, they learn how to problem solve and communicate their thoughts. Problem-solving play helps children develop foundational skills that will be used in math learning in the years to come. When we introduce children to the vocabulary of math, we are building a foundation for future math success. This early math website has a fabulous vocabulary glossary if you’d like to fire up your brain to “hear” the math that is happening in your own classroom during free play.

When these play buzzes happen, the energy in the room will feel calm and focused. This is the perfect time to observe the learning that is underway and document it through photos and/or notes. This is the good, deep learning that connects the synapses in the brain. This is the hands-on learning that builds a strong early math foundation. This is when you start matching up learning standards on assessments with ease and joy! What turns your students on? Observe your students to determine the types of activities that spark a play buzz and then let the learning standards take care of themselves!