Outdoor Maths Games for Children

Subjects can be incredibly boring throughout the early years of school. Playing outside is preferred a lot more over staying inside. This often results with kids not interacting with the subject properly and therefore don’t enjoy it.

This can be different however with outdoor maths games for children, which you will find out through this article.

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Primary School Maths Playground

Mathematics can be a subject which children hate. It requires a sense of patience and mental prowess to be able to understand some of the complex natures of this subject. In addition, and usually the most common reason, children find the subject boring and simply aren’t interested in it. Primary School maths playground ideas can help make it a lot more exciting. Find out more about outdoor learning activities if you are interested in more ideas.

By combining maths with playground activities, you can help children learn at a progressive rate as well as letting them have fun. With such a creative and relaxing environment (such as the outdoors), kids won’t feel as bored and in fact, will feel a lot more comfortable. This means we will engage with the subject a lot more without any resistance.

Many people assume that playgrounds that include maths-related activities are targeted towards kids who are in KS1. Interestingly, this is far from the truth. A lot of KS2 playgrounds still incorporate maths with play activities due to the success rate they wield. Even some KS3 courtyards have math activities combined with the grounds.

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Play Area Number Markings

With most play area markings, they will be made using a material known as thermoplastic. Graphics made from this material can be applied on most surfaces (mainly macadam surfaces). Different colours, designs, and specifications can be requested and once created, our team will deliver and install the graphics on to your ground.

Requests on thermoplastic markings usually include educational, cartoon, traditional games or sports lines. We can help with any ideas you may want for certain sections. With the bright colours and vibrant designs, kids are often hooked by them and will interact with them often and keenly, giving them the full benefits that these markings offer.

Some common ideas that are often requested when it comes to play area number markings are:

Number grids/lines/wheels
Snakes and Ladders
Hopscotch
Compasses

These are some of the most popular requests we get for these types of maths-based markings. If you have your own outdoor learning idea and wish to see if our team could help you bring it to life, then send us an enquiry and a member of our team will get back to you quickly with everything you need to know about it.

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School Play Area Maths Activities

There is a huge variety of different school play area maths activities that can be done on the playground to boost mathematic skills, but here is a list of a few ideas in which we thought we great.

Surveys – challenge the children by giving them a certain criterion to research into and let them collect data around the playground.
Angle hunts – with the different shapes on a playground, give children a task to find different types of angles and report back to you with their results.
Chalk boards – a simple one. Give children the chance to draw with chalk and show their creativity. Not only does it do this but if you theme it around maths then they can visualise the problem.

These are just a few ideas of outdoor maths games for children which can help get them more interested and encourage learning.

Playground Number Games for Kids

Sometimes, you may just want to play simple games with the kids. Through playing, kids often learn a lot quicker than most other methods as they are enjoying the subject a lot more. To get your kids feeling like that, here are some of our favourite number games that you can add to maths lessons.

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Units of measurement are often a complex subject to teach children due to the concept of it. However, one way to help them understand the uses of it and how it works is by estimating. Give your kids a certain measurement to achieve and let them get into groups and see if they can replicate the given number by creating chains. Kids will not only improve their understanding of the topic of measurement but will also improve judgement skills and estimations. Visit this page to see more of our school play area ideas.

Target practice is another great game. Create a target and give kids beanbags/balls to throw at it. Get the children in pairs (one is the thrower, the other is the counter). Once the thrown object lands in a section of the target, the counter must write down the number it has landed on (it’s usually recommended to give them the right equipment like clipboards and calculators to make it a lot easier). Once the thrower has taken 10 turns, let the counter add up all the numbers and present it to the class. Spirits of competition are improved as well as mathematics.

Finally, shape hunt. A simple game that involves giving kids a list of shapes to find. Depending on what key stage they are in, you can make the shapes easier or harder to spot. Let the kids go out and give them a time limit to find the shapes. If you want them to also improve on their technology skills, maybe let them use tablets/cameras to take pictures of these shapes. At the end, see which group of students has found the most shapes. This is my personal favourite as it allows a strong connection between real life and maths to be drawn and connected.

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Here is one example of a Snakes and Ladders number design which we installed at a school in Wales:

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These are all great examples of outdoor maths games for children which can be easily incorporated into lessons or play time. Get in touch with our team today to find out more about the different floor markings and equipment we can supply.

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