Creating and communicating maths is at the heart of mathematical curiosity and exploration. Content from the first three sub-areas; Space and measurement, Number and measurement, and Pattern and relationships, all provide rich maths contexts in which children create, exploring their mathematical curiosity and thinking. Children are ‘being mathematicians’ when they create their own maths representations to model their play and games, make things easier, or to solve problems.
Children can create maths models or representations using a range of materials, such as harakeke, clay, driftwood, cardboard, paper, blocks and so on. Models created during sand and water play are also representations of children’s thinking. The process of drawing is an important tool for thinking because it requires children to make decisions about the relative size and positions of the objects they are drawing. Drawings can be part of a collection of children’s creativity and playful exploration and can be revisited for further discussion. For example, early drawing may represent family members as being the same height, whereas later drawing may show the relative height differences among those family members.
Children often use their representations purposefully to communicate with others and solve maths problems. For example, children might draw their designs or maps to help them plan how to build a garden bed. The process of drawing helps them to both visualize their thinking and share with others, providing a common discussion point to communicate their ideas about the shape, length or height of the edging. This also illustrates that maths can be communicated in different modes, through language, visual representations, gestures, movement, and constructions.
