I recently grabbed our dusty box of beanbags off of the top shelf of the closet and took the beanbags outside. We rarely played with them indoors, so what was I saving them for?  If a beanbag gets lost or forgotten under the plants and soaked in the rain, who cares? At least it has been played with.

Now that the beanbags have been relocated to our outdoor play space, they have been used daily over the past few weeks. Recently we created a new beanbag game that laid the foundation for later STEM learning.

We currently have a full group of children who can pump on the swings, which is great—unless you have more children than swings, like we do. So I brought out the bucket of beanbags and placed it on the edge of the sidewalk. 

Then I picked up a beanbag and gently tossed it in the direction of my swinging friends. The kids loved the idea and it was GAME ON!

Now mind you, the swings were a good 12 feet away from that sidewalk—far enough to ensure that none of the children would be strong enough or accurate enough with their beanbag tosses to actually harm a friend.

“Hit me! Hit me!” hollered the members of the swinging gang.

“I want to play!” shouted the rest of the gang.  AYE YAE YAE!  What had I started?

What I had started was a new game that quickly became a favorite. No one has been injured, few have been hit and the cooperation and turn-taking is incredible!

Our rules were simple:

1. Throwers had to stay on the sidewalk.
2. No creeping up on the swingers.
3. Only throw one beanbag at a time.
4. When all beanbags have been thrown, yell, “SWITCH!” and the swingers must stop.

When the swingers stopped that first day, there was a mad rush by all to pick up the beanbags and put them back into the basket for the next round. WHAT in the world? I NEVER see this type of energy and enthusiasm during usual pickup times!

I encouraged the new group of throwers to take a water break to give the new swingers time to get up to speed before the throwers started aiming at their targets. And then we repeated the cycle for a good 20-30 minutes before the children exhausted themselves from all of their throwing and pumping.

We had overhand throwers and underhand throwers. I watched as they tried different techniques and shared theories with each other on the best time to throw the beanbag depending on where the swingers were in the air. This is physics! This is math and geometry and plain old fun!

Investigations into physical science and engineering through this type of play give young children a chance to explore and control physical phenomena and develop a practical understanding of the laws of physics— all while giggling with their moving-target friends.

This activity also teaches children about risk-taking and trust building. You trust that your friend won’t hurt you, but you definitely take the risk of possibly getting hit. Scary but fun!

As the game evolved, new ideas were added to the play. Sometimes children called out the number or  letter printed on the beanbag or grabbed specific colors. One three-year-old consistently looked only for beanbags labeled with letters that had meaning to him: the first letter of his name or the names of his two siblings. (I later found three beanbags labeled with those letters hidden in a secret corner of the yard. Ha!)

Physically, our beanbag throwers were building up the muscles of their dominant hands, which they will use in future academic settings. They were also working on STEM concepts such as distance, accuracy, speed and force. We throw these wonderful science words into their play to build up their STEM vocabulary and lay the foundation for a deeper understanding of scientific concepts. Meanwhile, our swingers were  focusing on the trajectories of the beanbags headed in their direction and making predictions about when and where they would hit, while strengthening their core muscles for future desk and circle time.

OH, you want learning standards? We’ve got those covered too. We count, subtilize and build our math vocabulary. We measure and estimate distance. We make predictions and modify those predictions based on experience. We use our science skills to explore the physical properties of objects and experiment with force and motion. The list goes on and on and there are so many ways to adapt this game. So grab your beanbags, head outdoors and let the playing and learning begin!

“Look! The people blocks are in a line and they crash at the bottom,  just like when we play on the slide!”

This is a lightbulb moment as Evelyn transfers knowledge gleaned from a previous play experience into her current hands-on learning. A chain-reaction domino fall during today’s block play reminds Evelyn of waiting in line, forming a chain with her friends and banging into her friends at the bottom of the slide.

Learning is not learning unless it is applied to something real. This is the key to unlocking an understanding of math, science and reading skills.

Evelyn is beginning to “see” and retain her play epiphanies, building a rich experiential foundation that will help her make the most of her learning adventures today and in the years to come.

Soon, more young explorers join Evelyn at the table and our outdoor classroom grows quiet as the children engage in their own investigations with their favorite, people-shaped blocks.

We love blocks for so many reasons, but mainly because block play naturally adapts to the developmental level of the child. This is a great time to document the different math and science standards that our early learners are meeting. It’s also a good time to observe the mentoring and scaffolding that takes place as our young friends take their skills to the next level.

Our morning of block play turns out to be a great opportunity for the children to hone their fine-motor and problem-solving skills while developing traits such as patience and determination.

Because the blocks (or dominoes) do not have to be evenly spaced to set up a chain reaction, this is an activity that even our two-year-olds can master.

“Ugh, I am so frustrated!” declares Noah with a laugh. The children use the word “frustrated” many, many times during the activity because they enjoy mastering a new word (and because every other child at the table is using it), rather than as a true expression of frustration.

This is play! It is also a wonderful opportunity to share math and science vocabulary words such as force, push, speed, predict, hypothesis, distance, length and probability. I toss these words out like seeds to be planted for future understanding. Some of the children grasp these vocabulary words immediately and incorporate them into a new lexicon that reflects their growing understanding of mathematical and scientific principles.

“Hey! You are in my way!” shouts Eve as her line of block people intersects with Sally’s. I watch as Sally takes notice with an air of quiet concentration. “I know! Let’s make a square!” Eve shouts again before Sally can problem-solve her way out of the temporary crisis. Suddenly, we have collaboration and a new plan. We are creating shapes and timing our push-offs to coincide with those of our friends. We have teamwork and data analysis to see if the plan will work, where the blocks will meet and who will “win”!

Our morning of block people play takes off in many directions. They are counting and creating lines and curves and talking about direction and using words like far, near, behind, in front of and flat. This is geometry! They are also using words like never, impossible, probably and always—the language of data analysis and probability.

Jamie is quietly working on a whole new investigation. He has moved on to stacking, which takes a bit more patience and determination, and he really is getting frustrated! He has a plan and he knows what he wants to do, but the slightest movement on the table sends his circus act crashing down.

Jamie is our busy, rambunctious, always thinking, always moving friend. When he slows down enough to work on a project like this stacking challenge, he gives it the same 100% effort that he gives to nearly every activity in his day.

When we give children the materials and the time to explore and play, we can relax and remember that this is learning. This approach helps form the successful students and problem-solvers of the future!

“Look, look! Come and see what is inside this flower!”  It’s a warm, late-spring day and our friends are scattered around the yard, discovering the new surprises that have popped up overnight. The flowers are finally showing their beautiful blooms!

“Is it a bumblebee?” I ask. They look at me—their eyes big with wonder. It’s been many months since we’ve had flowers, and their young brains may not have retained that bit of information. “Sometimes the bees go inside of the flowers to get nectar and pollen. Nectar is like a little energy drink for the bees.”

“Nooooo! It’s black!” says Jamison. His friends gather around to take a closer look at the flower. We have just formed our curriculum for the day—or at least for the moment. We have science as we explore and gain a better understanding of the world around us. We have math as we count and discuss attributes and take parts and join them into a whole. We have language as we learn new vocabulary words. We have art at our fingertips as we explore the beauty of this flower in all of its blossoming glory.

I tell the children that the black pieces are called anthers and the tall green piece at the center of the flower is the stigma. “This is where the pollen and nectar are kept,” I say, “and why the bees like to buzz around inside of our flowers.”

“Can we drink the energy juice?” asks Eve, much to the delight of her giggling friends. Eve smiles, but I know that her brain is really trying to work this out.

“I think we should leave it for the bees,” I suggest.

“The bees will make honey from the nectar,” four-year-old Noah explains. “We can eat the honey but we can’t eat the nectar!”

I see Noah’s friends nodding, as this makes complete sense to them.

“Let’s have honey with our snack this afternoon,” I suggest to the delight of our class.

“This flower has five petals!” I turn around to see our subitizing queen, Annika, at it again. Subitizing is the ability to “see” a small number of objects and know how many are there without counting. When we roll dice, we don’t need to count the pips, we know the number when we see it. Some children grasp this concept easily, while others need to work with it a bit more.

We continue to count the petals, find the stem and leaves and find the anthers again. Individual flower parts are not exciting on their own but, when these pieces are put together, they make something more complex and more beautiful. The learning flows from the lips of the young friends as they share insights and ideas and think out loud as they process all that they are absorbing.

We find the dandelions on the hill and we are again measuring, building our vocabularies and investigating with the field of gold. “Look at how long THIS stem is!” shouts Violet.

I look over to see Claire in a world of her own. Quietly splitting the stem into pieces. Ah, decomposing. Math. Deep exploration to develop an understanding that will make sense in a classroom years down the road.

This is the learning that makes me smile. This is what learning can look like if we give children time to explore and move and play and figure it out in nature. This is the good stuff that sticks in the brain, like nectar to a flower. The foundations of math, science, exploration and investigation. Give your children the gift of nature and let the learning flow on their terms. The math and science and language are all just outside of your door. Enjoy!

“Sally, look!  My rock turned purple!” Three-year-old Eleanor can’t contain her excitement as she changes the color of a rock with her paintbrush. Ah, the joy of painting rocks with water. Yes, water!

I will be the first to admit that I really wanted to be the educator who LOVED paint and easels and smocks and all of the joy that it gave me on the one day of the month that I actually got to use those paints when I was in kindergarten myself. Yes, I wanted to be that educator!

But I discovered long ago that my vision of paint utopia was unrealistic, which made me feel like a failure of a preschool teacher. I have made peace with my aversion to thick, gloppy, messy poster paints and moved on to watercolors. I’ve perfected the art of keeping them all together in a bag and whipping them out with a flourish to entertain my early learners on a snowy Monday, feeling like a rockstar of an educator. Well, sort of, but not really. The unvarnished truth is that paint is just not my favorite medium.

But there is one kind of painting that I really like—and that is painting outdoors with water. If you struggle with the mess that seems to be an inescapable part of painting or your landscape looks different as we navigate the global pandemic, then welcome to my water paint party! Regardless of the age or developmental stage of your students, this kind of painting doesn’t get old. Simply dig out the paintbrushes and a water source and let the celebration begin. You will never, ever go wrong with water play of any kind! On hot or dreary days, just bring out the resources, including whatever you need to document the learning standards that you’ll meet, because this is going to be a hands-on, brain-building bonanza!

It took me years to figure out how to keep everything in one place for easy access when the mood strikes. Paint rollers or paintbrushes from leftover family paint projects work extremely well. Those bigger brushes and rollers are really great for building the strength and muscles in the hands, wrists and arms, which will make handwriting easier when the time is right. No need to rush that. We’re too busy painting with water, baby!

Wondering how to get started? Use what you have! There is no need to make a purchase for this activity. We like to start out small with younger children. I have all of these supplies from my earlier attempts at what I thought my paint play should look like. Setting the stage with simple materials like paintbrushes and water creates an environment that allows children to become curious scientific researchers.

“Will the rock fit in the paintbrush hole in the cup?” Scientific investigation going on right there!

“Wait! My rock isn’t purple anymore!” Eleanor has been so busy painting other rocks that she has just made her way back to her favorite rock. As her friends gather around for a closer inspection, four-year-old Noah says with a giggle, “It evaporated!”

Wow! It’s always a delight when friends can lead the learning with one giant vocabulary word like EVAPORATE!

“Watch. If I paint here on the sidewalk, it will disappear,” Noah adds. “The sun dries it up. It evaporates!”

Without a sound, the whole gang begins painting the sidewalk to see if their watery brushstrokes will evaporate as well. This is hands-on, child-led learning at it’s finest. So much is happening in this moment. We have children using their leadership and language skills and mentoring their friends. We have scientific inquiry happening at their level of understanding. We have PLAY!

Don’t be surprised if the sidewalk, chairs, tables or other loose parts make their way into this adventure. It’s fun to watch their brains light up with observations, predictions and cause-and-effect scenarios as the water changes each surface it touches. Preschool children have an innate passion to investigate and make sense of the world around them. By integrating science and mathematical discoveries into their play, we are giving them a strong foundation and understanding of their world.

As the children in the group begin to express wonder and share their observations, the water play generally takes on a life of its own. By bringing in buckets and pans of water, along with a collection of pouring cups and pitchers, we can extend the learning into the mathematical world of quantities, estimation and volume. All of this is data analysis. It may not yet be recorded on paper, depending on the development of your group, but you are planting the seeds for this activity in the coming years.

Add this to your toolbox of outdoor learning.

Of course, we often bring this activity indoors as well—usually in the early spring, when the snow won’t melt and the sun won’t shine.  My indoor setup usually looks something like this:

It’s a great crabby Monday activity that will surely lighten the mood in your classroom. Happy water painting!

As teachers we can model appropriate math terminology and encourage our students to use mathematical vocabulary. Children used the blocks to build towers that are smaller than their body, larger than their body, and the same size as their body. They also built two towers of the same size.

“I wonder which is heavier, the stack of six blocks or two of these long blocks? Are they the same?  They are? We can say the blocks are equal in weight.” Using real objects help children understand measurement concepts.

Here I go once more, rambling about the benefits we reap in the block area, during pickup time.  If it wasn’t so innocent and deep, I would swear they were manipulating me.  Give the gift of time. Toss out the clock, and let the investigations continue.  Let the play buzz fill their little brain with a strong math foundation through play.

Before naps, I will bring out the book by Steve Jenkins, Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. This book describes animals that are the heaviest, strongest and tallest. It introduces the concept that determining which animal is the biggest depends on how you define big.  We also love the math books,  How Many and Which One Doesn’t Belong by Christopher Danielson.  These great books help my group understand there are many different measurable attributes to consider when we say something is bigger or heavier.

One of the arguments against the Core is that it expects what have been here-to-for 1st and 2nd grade outcomes for kindergarteners.  This is a real worry, especially for those of us who serve children under age 5.  If educators are forced to water down a grade-school curriculum for kindergarten, you better believe the trickle-down effect will appear in Pre-k classrooms, and G-d forbid, Infant and Toddler programs.

The article recognizes the push back from ece professionals.  I also appreciate that we now better than they do how to serve young children without sacrificing their childhood.

Check it out. 

The first goal in the Mathematics section is

“Goal 6 – Demonstrate and apply a knowledge and sense of  numbers, including numeration and operations”

 

The associated learning standard is

“Learning Standard A – Demonstrate beginning understanding of number, number names and numerals”

and the benchmarks are

6.A.ECa – Count with understanding and recognize “how many” in small sets

6.A.ECb – Use subitizing (the rapid and accurate judgment of how many items there are without counting) to identify the number of objects without counting in sets of four or less

6.A.ECc – Recognize and describe the concept of zero

6.A.ECd – Connect numbers to quantities they represent using physical models and representations.

6.A.ECe – Differentiate numerals from letters and recognize some written numerals

6.A.ECf – Verbally recite numbers from 0 – 10

 

Without looking at the example performance descriptors, I think we could come up with a thousand and one ways to look for examples of the children meeting these benchmarks.  Using a variety of math manipulatives, regularly as a part of your everyday program, children will begin to know how many pips are on a die without counting them (6.A.ECb), count the number of Unifix cubes there are in a set, (6.A.ECa, 6.A.ECf) identify numbers in a matching game and name them (6.A.ECe), and so on.

It is important to note that although the authors of this document provide performance descriptors, that we as practitioners, do not get caught up in “teaching to the test.”  It would be easy to use these examples as specific ways that we look for successful achievement for children, but it is much more developmentally appropriate to expect that there are a variety of ways that children can show us what they know.

This goal is about number- recognizing a written numeral saying its name and differentiating those symbols from letter symbols. It is about understanding the concept of “nothingness” and that “nothing” can be represented by the symbol “0”.  It says that, just by looking, children should be able to tell how many of something are in a set of 4 or less and that they should be able to count individual items in a set accurately.  Children should be able to answer the question, “how many?” and make representations of that number by creating a set using physical numbers and representations of that number.

In April, I plan on exploring perhaps the most important book ever to be written about young children and number….it is aptly entitled “Number” and hopefully, this discussion will continue to shed let on how children achieve these goals and meet these benchmarks.

Over the next several weeks, we are going to look at the Standards and Benchmarks for each of the areas in mathematics.  This week, simply because we have spent so much time on “Attributes” I am going to review the exact Standards and Benchmarks for this one mathematical concept.

Goal 8 states that children will “Identify and describe common attributes, patterns and relationships in objects.” Learning Standard A under Goal 8 says that children will, “Explore Objects and Patterns.”

The benchmarks for this Goal and Standard are:

8.A.ECa – Sort, order, compare and describe objects according to characteristics or attributes.

8.A.ECb. – Recognize, duplicate, extend, and create simple patterns in various formats.

So, how do we know that children are meeting their benchmarks?  We look at the next section called “Example Performance Descriptors.”

Compare and describe various objects (e.g., describe different rocks by referring to their size, shape, weight, etc.).

 

Create a simple repeating pattern using classroom objects (e.g., build a tower of alternating blue and red cubes).

 

Replicate patterns in music (e.g., repeat a sound pattern by clapping or tapping foot lightly; sing a repetitive song such as B-I-N-G-O; play finger game such as Open, Shut Them).

 

Sort objects according to different characteristics (e.g., sort crayons by color and size; sort small blocks by shape and color).

 

Order objects in a series by a single attribute (e.g., order fire trucks from shortest to longest; order rocks from smooth to rough).

 

Is your head spinning?  Mine sure is.

For me, the most helpful way to sift through this information is to consider the smallest and most specific details and begin there.  You will see that until a child can recognize a simple attribute (one characteristic) they will not be able to do the rest or meet these benchmarks via these example descriptors.  Begin with what children know- and work up.  Don’t start at the highest or widest point and work down.  Children don’t learn that way.

These 5 content standards are: Numbers and Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Data Analysis and Probability.  Over the next few months we are going to talk about each of these in detail (YEAH!).

For now, I want to share the NCTM Statement of Beliefs about math education and children.  This is love!

Statement of Beliefs

As the primary professional organization for teachers of mathematics in grades pre-K–12, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has the responsibility to provide broad national leadership in matters related to mathematics education.

In meeting this responsibility, NCTM has developed a set of standards for school mathematics that address content, teaching, and assessment. These standards are guidelines for teachers, schools, districts, states, and provinces to use in planning, implementing, and evaluating high-quality mathematics programs for prekindergarten through grade 12.

The NCTM Standards are based on a set of core beliefs about students, teaching, learning, and mathematics.

We believe the following:

• Every student deserves an excellent program of instruction in mathematics that challenges each student to achieve at the high level required for productive citizenship and employment.
• Every student must be taught by qualified teachers who have a sound knowledge of mathematics and how children learn mathematics and who also hold high expectations for themselves and their students.
• Each school district must develop a complete and coherent mathematics curriculum that focuses, at every grade level, on the development of numerical, algebraic, geometric, and statistical concepts and skills that enable all students to formulate, analyze, and solve problems proficiently. Teachers at every grade level should understand how the mathematics they teach fits into the development of these strands.
• Computational skills and number concepts are essential components of the mathematics curriculum, and a knowledge of estimation and mental computation are more important than ever. By the end of the middle grades, students should have a solid foundation in number, algebra, geometry, measurement, and statistics.
• Teachers guide the learning process in their classrooms and manage the classroom environment through a variety of instructional approaches directly tied to the mathematics content and to students’ needs.
• Learning mathematics is maximized when teachers focus on mathematical thinking and reasoning. Progressively more formal reasoning and mathematical proof should be integrated into the mathematics program as a student continues in school.
• Learning mathematics is enhanced when content is placed in context and is connected to other subject areas and when students are given multiple opportunities to apply mathematics in meaningful ways as part of the learning process.
• The widespread impact of technology on nearly every aspect of our lives requires changes in the content and nature of school mathematics programs. In keeping with these changes, students should be able to use calculators and computers to investigate mathematical concepts and increase their mathematical understanding.
• Students use diverse strategies and different algorithms to solve problems, and teachers must recognize and take advantage of these alternative approaches to help students develop a better understanding of mathematics.
• The assessment of mathematical understanding must be aligned with the content taught and must incorporate multiple sources of information, including standardized tests, quizzes, observations, performance tasks, and mathematical investigations.
• The improvement of mathematics teaching and learning should be guided by ongoing research and by ongoing assessment of school mathematics programs.

Changing mathematics programs in ways that reflect these beliefs requires collaborative efforts and ongoing discussions among all the stakeholders in the process. NCTM stands ready to work with all those who care about improving mathematics education for all students. Through such dialogue and cooperative efforts, we can improve the mathematical competence of the students in mathematics classes across the continent.

NAEYC has described 10 separate but interwoven standards that programs must meet to achieve accreditation.  According to their website:

Ensuring the quality of children’s daily experiences in early childhood programs and promoting positive child outcomes is the goal of the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria.

 There are ten program standards, with specific criteria attached to each, that programs must meet in order to achieve NAEYC Accreditation. The framework of the standards and criteria focus on best practices in the field and the benefits to stakeholders in early childhood education. There are four groups of early childhood education stakeholders: children, teachers, family and community partners, and the program administration.

Each of the ten standards falls under a category according to the early childhood education stakeholder.  As the breakdown below illustrates, the majority of the standards focus on children–the most important stakeholders. The remainder of the ten standards focus on other stakeholders and the programmatic structure they build to support quality.

Children

Standards under this group focus on the advancement of children’s learning and development.

• Standard 1: Relationships
• Standard 2: Curriculum
• Standard 3: Teaching
• Standard 4: Assessment of Child Progress
• Standard 5: Health

Teachers

The focus for this standard is on the qualifications, knowledge, and professional commitment of a program’s teaching staff.

• Standard 6: Teachers

Family and Community Partners

The two standards focus on relevant partnerships the program establishes with both families and the community.

• Standard 7: Families
• Standard 8: Community Relationships

Program Administration

The final two standards focus on the program’s physical environment and the leadership and management provided by the program administration.

• Standard 9: Physical Environment
• Standard 10: Leadership and Management

It is hard, almost impossible, to tease out which of the standards applies directly to early math education because each area of development, programming and teaching is intricately connected.  You might think that we should focus on “teaching” and “curriculum” but materials would fall under “environment” and we have already begun exploring the need for “family involvement”.  Working toward excellence in each of the standards should be every program’s goal.

That way we all win a gold medal.