Introduction: The Importance of Learning in the Playground
Playgrounds have a lot of benefits for children! They help each child learn about their surroundings and the world around them. It also helps with their physical development and motor skills.
Playgrounds are an important part of childhood development, because they teach kids to explore and interact with the other people, different objects, and much more. They also help kids develop their physical skills like balance, coordination, and even social skills when playing with other children in a group.
Why is Playing Maths Games Important?
Playing maths games helps children to develop their maths skills whilst helping them to have fun, inside or outside of the classroom, and additionally, playing on the playground is a great way for kids to burn off energy, learn about teamwork, and develop important skills like counting, or even reading! But did you know that there are also some hidden benefits of playing on the playground?
A recent study found that children who play on the playground have an easier time in the classroom than those who don’t – meaning better maths skills! Playing outside means they were more focused and less hyperactive than kids who didn’t play outside.
By introducing maths games into the equation, you can keep maths fun.
How to Practice Maths Outside
There are a few marking ideas available to ensure that your school makes maths fun for your pupils! Obviously there’s the classic hopscotch which helps with early stage numeracy skills, but we’d recommend looking at our full range of maths markings and number markings to see the range of possbilities. You can also think outside the box, for example many of our scaled-up traditional board games teach mathematical skills!
Benefit #1 Make Maths More Exciting
Practicing maths outdoors is a great way to get kids more excited about maths. It also helps them understand the concepts better by giving them a chance to see and feel the connection between numbers and real life, which illustrates the concepts much better than paper ever could!
Snakes & Ladders: Snakes and Ladders is a great way to make maths more visual for children and make it more exciting!
Benefit #2 Improve Social Development and Teamwork
There are a lot of maths playground games than can be re-designed to be played outdoors, so that children can play these games with friends, in groups, or by themselves, and create engaging challenges.
Number Line: There are many different games that involve counting, adding and subtracting. Children can play these games individually or in groups or teams, which is a great way to help them develop their maths skills while having fun at the same time.
Benefit #3 Show Support for Different Learning Styles
Mathematics is a fundamental skill that is important for all students, and although some concepts can be difficult to grasp depending on learning style, there are many activities that can be used to promote mathematical learning, and hands-on activities are great for kinaesthetic learners.
Benefit #4 Encourage Strategic Development
Even younger children can learn about strategy! Keep it fun with some games!
Chess: Our chess playground marking is basically a large chessboard where children can play chess outside. This is a great idea for schools that want to promote physical activity and mental stimulation for their students. The children will be able to learn and play chess from a young age without having to be confined inside.
Benefit #5 Reinforces Classroom Learning
Another benefit is that it helps children to reinforce what is learnt in the classroom. It gives them a chance to take what they have learnt in class and transfer it into games that they can play competitively against other children.
Number Grid: Something like a Number Grid can be used for many maths games. This is a versatile marking that can be used for various games that reinforce what has been learnt in numeracy classes.
Looking to add maths games to your playground?
Contact us! We can create a playground plan to suit your needs!
