Dear teachers and parents,
Mathematics is often considered to be an abstract and difficult subject. But there is a general consensus now that this is because the focus has been on learning procedures and rules. With a different approach, the learning process could become more meaningful and engaging for children.
An approach -
where the learning activities begin from the world of children – from stories, games and contexts connected to their lives and each activity has a motivating purpose for children,
where children are engaged in problem-solving and the questions are open-ended, rather than the focus being on finding the one correct answer,
where each activity is a possibility for doing, making, exploring, with materials aiding in this exploration.
Mathematical understanding can be built up through such activities that are meaningful and motivating for children.
In this section we share with you some glimpses of such activities. Some of these are explorations with some involvement of a teacher/parent whereas some are group games to be played amongst friends in a class or with family at home. Many of these activities can be revisited by introducing varying levels of challenge. They can be seen to be part of a developing progression of mathematical ideas.
We hope that you enjoy doing these activities with the children.
– Jodo Gyan Team