NSPCC Number Day 2024 is fast approaching – it will take place next month, on the 2nd of February. We think this is a fantastic opportunity to get children excited about number – and what better way to promote mathematical thinking than having some numerical fun outdoors?!
In this blog post, we’ll explore ten creative ideas to celebrate Number Day in your outdoor environment. We can’t wait to see the results from your own settings!
- Maths Nature Hunt:
- Turn your outdoor space into a treasure trove of mathematical wonders – you can use whatever your natural environment provides, or you can place items in it.
- Create a scavenger hunt with items like pinecones, leaves, or stones.
- Ask the children to create a tally chart of their findings – this is a perfect opportunity to introduce data handling, as well as some practice of counting in fives!
- Outdoor Number Line:
- Use the school playground or field to create a giant number line.
- Assign each child a number, and have them physically place themselves in the correct order. You can do this in small groups – or even as a whole school.
- To add a challenge, you could give children multiples of a chosen timetable instead. See how quickly they can organise themselves.
- Maths Trail Blazers:
- Design a maths-themed trail with stations featuring different numerical challenges.
- Incorporate tasks like measuring tree heights, counting flower petals, or estimating the circumference of objects.
- The children can move from station to station, solving problems and advancing along the trail.
- Number Art Attack:
- Use natural materials to create numerical patterns, geometric shapes, or even outdoor number sculptures.
- Encourage older students to express mathematical concepts through their artistic endeavours. For example, you could give them a prompt such as ‘shape’ or ‘symmetry’ and ask them to create a piece of artwork that reflects the prompt.
- Outdoor Abacus Adventure:
- Construct a giant abacus using ropes and balls or natural materials like sticks and stones.
- Encourage the children to engage in hands-on counting, addition, and subtraction activities using the outdoor abacus.
- Outdoor Measurement Madness:
- Explore the concept of measurement using natural elements.
- You could ask the children to measure tree shadows, estimate the length of a flower stem, or compare the heights of different outdoor objects.
- Geometry in the Garden:
- Identify and explore geometric shapes among plants, flowers, and outdoor structures. What shapes can they find? Can they label the shapes with chalk?
- Ask the children to create their own geometric shapes using natural materials.
- Maths Relay Races:
- Organise relay races with mathematical challenges. Ask the children to sit in teams at one end of the playground, and run to the other end to complete a sequence or number problem.
- You might ask the first player to write down the answer to 1 x 7, for example, and the second person would need to write down 2 x 7. Continue until the team reaches 12 x 7.
- Outdoor Angle Hunt:
- Begin by introducing the concept of right angles to the students. Provide templates or guides for identifying right, acute, and obtuse angles.
- Take the class outdoors on an angle scavenger hunt.
- Challenge children to identify and classify right, acute, and obtuse angles in their surroundings and encourage them to use their templates to verify their observations.
- Maths Ball Games:
- Divide the class into pairs and provide each pair with a ball. Explain the rules of the activity: Each time a successful catch is made, the pair counts up in a specific multiple.
- Depending on the mathematical focus or the level of challenge, decide on the multiples for counting (e.g., counting in 2s, 5s, or 10s).
