Maths on Toast and a creative, playful approach to maths – explaining why we do what we do
Maths can be a very divisive subject. We sometimes call it ‘marmite maths’ – because people often love it or loathe it!
Whichever camp you fall into, many people are unsure – and frequently not very confident – in supporting maths learning outside of the rigid or very traditional framework.
At Maths on Toast we develop playful, hands-on, creative maths activities and resources. Our key aim is to encourage and support families to build a positive and confident, can-do attitude to maths. How? By taking part in and enjoying fun shared experiences of maths.
But, you may ask, how does this help and what is ‘creative’ maths anyway?
Even if you understand the vital role of play in learning, it may be hard to translate this to maths or to understand why a playful approach is vital to maths learning. Opportunities for hands-on, playful and – crucially – exploratory maths learning are often taken away too soon, with people thinking ‘now for the serious maths’. But being able to confidently explore and ‘play around’ with maths concepts is serious and is a helpful skill at all stages of maths learning.
It is particularly important to remember this currently, with the post-Covid 19 emphasis on ‘catch-up’. Maths is broad and wide and a part of everyday life. Making time for investigation and giving the opportunity to explore links to and between maths concepts widely and creatively is a vital component of maths learning. Sadly, in the pressure to make sure children don’t fall behind, exploration may be side-lined in favour or memorising maths facts ‘off by heart’ or an emphasis on the speed that one can recall a maths fact or use a certain method of working a problem out. But as all maths educators will agree, ‘maths mastery’ is what we are aiming for – a deeper understanding of the mathematical concepts – and creative, exploratory, ‘playful’ maths can help achieve this.
5 key principles of Maths on Toast’s creative approach
At Maths on Toast, we realised that we could and should explain the importance of ‘Why We Do What We Do’ a little more clearly and show why ‘playing with maths’ creatively is such a crucial step in laying a foundation for maths learning at all ages.
To find out more about our 5 Key Principles and understand the ‘why’ behind our approach, read here: