Teaching Math Outside Essential & Tips

Teaching math doesn't have to be rigid and boring! You can bring nature into your classroom or you can bring your classroom into nature!

For the younger years, the easiest way to work on patterns is to bring the children outside to collect nature items and then get them to create the patterns! A stick, a rock, a stick, a rock, a stick, a rock! It can also involve leaves of different shapes and sizes, lengths of items, texture of items, scents of items. The options are endless!

When working on addition and subtraction, why not use pine needles? You can pre set the equations that you want the children to work on and then have them collect pine needs to complete the equations.

How about multiplication? What better way to create groups of numbers than by physically collecting spruce cones and putting them into groups!

By getting your children outside, they are getting to be physically active, and in turn will be more willing to participate in activities and they are more likely to stick with the children long term.

A few essential things you will want to have with you are paper (either a notebook or on a clipboard, writing utensil, areaser and as always, a forest aid kit.