2.3 Sources further information; developing &/or collecting resources for literary & numerical teaching & learning

I hope to start a collection of numeracy and literacy resources for young children, which I can use throughout my placements and future employment. I began to research resources when I came across the NRICH - enriching mathematics website http://nrich.maths.org/early-years, I found this website had some really good numeracy activities for young children.

One of the activities I found was ‘shapes in a bag’, this is an activity where children put there hands in a bag full of shapes, an try and describe what they can feel?

While on my placement, the teacher in the preschool room did a similar activity with musical instruments. In this activity she played the instrument, then asked the children if they knew what was making the noise, the activity was very successful, the children were very engaged and enjoyed the experience. This activity encourages mathematical thinking and reasoning, but it also develops literacy skills as children use language to describe what the feel, and have discussions about the shapes with teacher and peers. I would love to try this activity with a small group of with 3 or 4 year olds, as it is enhancing both numeracy and literacy skills.