Exploring and Playing
Maths Reception Autumn Patterns
Hamilton's Reception Maths planning targets the key characteristics of effective early learning:
- Through Exploring and Playing, children independently engage with their peers and their environment.
- Active Learning group activities promote the motivation needed to be involved and to keep trying.
- Guided Creating and Thinking Critically supports development of problem-solving & reasoning skills.
Maths Out Loud: whole-class counting, repetitive chants, rhymes, songs and a linked story to enjoy together.
Exploring repetitive patterns (suggested as 5 days)
Active Learning
Creating and Thinking Critically
Maths Out Loud
Counting
Show the 1-100 grid. We’re going to count all the way to 100 today! Point to each number as you do so, emphasise the numbers ending in 0 and 5, so that the children pick up on the pattern.
Do you notice any patterns in the 1-100 grid? e.g. the columns of numbers ending in the same digits.
This is an activity which needs regular repetition so that more and more children will join in saying the higher numbers.
Chants/Rhymes/Songs
Join in with the patterns with the song Banana, banana, meatball by Blazer Noodle on www.YouTube.com.
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly has a super rhythm and repetitive nature.
Story
Pattern fish by Trudy Harris.
You Will Need
Exploring and Playing
Prepared cut-out snakes; paint; brushes; water; table covering; or playground chalks and access to the outside; Lego or Duplo bricks and baseboards; multilink cubes; linking elephants or other pattern-making equipment, e.g. peg boards, Numicon; shapes, or natural materials such as leaves; plain wallpaper/wall lining paper; large crayons or paint and sponges for printing; art shirts.
Active Learning
Interconnecting cubes in different colours; 2 drums, 2 wood blocks, 2 triangles and beaters; flat shapes: triangles, squares and rectangles (optional).
Creating and Thinking Critically
Paint and shaped sponges or gummed shapes; strips of card to make headbands; different coloured and shaped beads; strings/laces; fruit, e.g. bananas, strawberries, apples, pineapple, grapes; skewers; kitchen roll; interconnecting cubes in different colours.
Counting in 2s; odd/even numbers (suggested as 5 days)
Exploring and Playing
Active Learning
Creating and Thinking Critically
Maths Out Loud
Counting
Count to 20 WITHOUT the support of a number track or 1-100 grid. Children hold up a finger for each number to 10, then one finger for 11, 2 for 12 and so on, and wave 1 or 2 hands for 5, 10, 15, 20, shouting these numbers.
Be sure to pronounce the teens numbers very clearly, so children don’t confuse them with the 10s numbers, e.g. confuse fifteen with fifty.
This is an activity which needs regular repetition so that more and more children learn the teens numbers in order by heart.
Chants/Rhymes/Songs
One, two, buckle my shoe. Children could join in with this animated version of One, two, buckle my shoe from www.bbc.co.uk.
Story
Eggs and Legs: Counting by Twos by Michael Dahl.
You Will Need
Exploring and Playing
Toy animals; an ‘ark’; a soft ball; 10 socks; 2 lunch boxes; up to 10 real or play food items; numbered boxes.
Active Learning
Number cards 1 to 20 (see resources), 20 pegs and washing line; five replica 2p coins, washing line, 10 pegs; five 2p coins and a tin; 10 socks (preferably identical).
Creating and Thinking Critically
Even 2 to 10 cards; collections of up to 10 objects, e.g. pairs of shoes, pairs of cubes, pairs of eyes on soft toys, pairs of socks, etc.; cookie recipe (see resources); ingredients and cooking equipment; 20 chocolate buttons; plates; cubes; 1–10 number track (see resources); red and blue pencils.