Math should be FUN!

Many students find learning Mathematics stressful or unpleasant-something they would gladly forgo if given the chance.

Currently, I am teaching the 4 years old children, I was given the N2 class as the teacher went for maternity leave. As I entered the class, the Math corner looks so boring and nothing-with no activities for children to use and there are only two commercial toys available in the corner for children to use.

I tell myself that I want to make a change in this classroom. I want the children to learn Math the fun way. Then I asked myself how and where should I start.

Firstly, I start by doing an assessment- checklist and observation. This assessment helps me to know the children's ability in how much they know on the Math concepts. From the assessment that I've done, I found out that most of the children still doesn't recognise numbers from 1 to 5 and basic shapes. Secondly, I start to set-up the Math corner to ensure it is welcoming and inviting for children. In addition, I gathered resources to create games which focus on number operations 1 to 5 and basic shapes. It took me for almost 2 weeks to implement this change.

Once everything is done, I still remembered that morning when the children came in to the class they were surprised to see the drastic change in the Math corner. One of them said "Wow! I can't wait to play at this corner!" Some of the children were seen pulling out each trays from the shelves to see what games are available for them to play. These are some of the games available at the current Math corner.

This is how the current Math corner looks like:

During corner time most children wants to play at the Math corner. But they know the rules that only 4 children are allowed to play at the Math corner therefore they took turns. After implementing this change, I could see the vast improvement in children's Math learning. I did the assessment again for the second time to see how much they have improved, I could after 1 month after children use the Math corner most of them were able to recognise the number 1 to 5, they are able to count objects using their pointers from 1 to 5 and they can even recognise all the basic shapes.

Furthermore, I also did an observation on the children while they are at the Math corner:

This girl was using the dough to make the shape of circle and triangle. As she was making the triangle she said, "I have to make three snakes (long lines) for my triangle." Next, she did the circle, once she is done she said, "Circle have no lines it goes round n round. Circle...like the car wheels. Look! This chair have circle on it. Hee"

From this observation, I can see that the girl is able to recognize and describe the properties of a triangle. At the same time she is also able to show her understanding by naming and matching some of the circle shapes to her environment.

As I was doing this implementation, I could see the importance of assessment. Assessment helps me find out the children's strength and weaknesses. At the same time, assessment helps me plan further lessons to help support children's learning. According to Van de Walle (2013),assessment should be a major factor in making instructional decisions,. By continuously gathering data about students' understanding of concepts and growth in reasoning, teachers can better make the daily decisions that support student learning."

I have also learnt that Math should be learnt through fun way. I can see that children are able to grasp math concept very fast when they enjoy playing and manipulating things which involve Math. I can see that children work as a team to problem solve and gives reasoning while they were playing at the Math corner. They acquire the concept independently through play. It is important that teacher's provide children with appropriate materials and a fun environment for children to acquire the Mathematical skills in the classroom.