Math in Your Backyard

Do you know any children who have been spending a lot of time online lately, with distance learning? Here are a few ideas to help kids of all ages get outside—in their backyard or local green space—to play with math concepts while they enjoy the natural world and take a break from computer screens.

The creative, hands-on learning ideas below were written by our colleagues at organizations across the USA and around the world. The complete directions for each activity—and hundreds of others—are available in our free, online set of outdoor Activity Guides. These books were originally written for use in schoolyards around the world, but many of the ideas they include are equally well-suited for use close to home, in our backyards and neighborhoods. We hope you will have fun with them and will share these ideas widely!

Click here to download the books!

Green Schoolyards America and our partners at the International school grounds alliance publish a set of free, downloadable books filled with ideas for outdoor learning, play, and health. This set of 250 hands-on activities and curriculum ideas were contributed by 188 organizations across the USA and around the world. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE BOOKS.

---

This article is the second installment in our series entitled, Bringing Outdoor Learning Home.
Click here to read Part 1: Explore Art in Your Backyard or Neighborhood.

---

Part 2: EXPLORE MATH outdoors, close to home

IMAGE © Chippewa nature center - Preschool

Springtime Math with Worms

Author: Rachel A. Larimore Consulting,
Midland, Michigan, USA
Ages: 3-5 years old

Spring evokes images of tulips, bursting tree buds, frogs calling, puddles… and worms! Children’s interest in worms is a great opportunity to extend play to include math exploration and learning.
— See Living Schoolyard Activity Guide, page 147

IMAGE © SukHprit kaur

Counting is Fun!

Author: Centre for Environment Education,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Ages: 4-7 years old

Explore colors, textures, and materials found in nature, while helping young children learn to count and understand the meaning of numbers.
— See International School Grounds Month Activity Guide, page 98

IMAGE © Juliet robertson

Tens Frame Symmetry

Author: Creative STAR Learning,
Inverurie, Scotland, United Kingdom
Ages: 5-7 years old

In this activity, children use natural materials to create symmetrical patterns that build upon what they have observed in the world around them.
— See International School Grounds Month Activity Guide, page 150

IMAGE © Maria taylor

The Nature of Arrays

Author: Nature Play SA,
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Ages: 5-12 years old

Explore multiplication and division concepts, and practice problem solving and reasoning skills, by arranging natural materials into sets called arrays.
— See International School Grounds Month Activity Guide, page 149

IMAGE © sharon danks

Robert’s Little Finger

Author: Naturskolan i Lund, Lund, Sweden
Ages: 6-11 years old

This activity teaches ratios and collaboration, as children work together to construct a scale model of a member of their group. At home, this idea can include siblings and/or parents.
— See International School Grounds Month Activity Guide, page 70

IMAGE © naturskolan i lund

The Secret Picture

Author: Naturskolan i Lund, Lund, Sweden
Ages: 5-18 years old

Use this enjoyable game to help children improve their vocabulary for mathematical and spatial terms, and concepts such as “over,” “under,” and “below.” At home, play this game with family members.
— See International School Grounds Month Activity Guide, page 69

IMAGE © California coastal commission

Blue Whale: An Animal of Unusual Size

Author: California Coastal Commission,
San Francisco, California, USA
Ages: 10-18 years old

Blue whales are the largest animals known to have lived on Earth. Could a blue whale fit in your schoolyard—or backyard? Learn to measure the height of a tree in your yard, and compare it to the length of a blue whale.
— See Living Schoolyard Activity Guide, page 154

IMAGE © Education outside

Calculate Rainwater Runoff

Author: Education Outside and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco, California, USA
Ages: 10-18 years old

In this activity, students in dry climates determine how many gallons of rainwater can be captured from their rooftop and stored in a cistern. These calculations work equally well for thinking about a school or home rooftop.
— See Living Schoolyard Activity Guide, page 166

Green Schoolyards America Shared Our Work in Uppsala, Sweden this Fall

The Uppsala Health Summit was held in the heart of the city in Uppsala SWeden, at Uppsala Castle.

Green Schoolyards America’s CEO, Sharon Danks, traveled to Uppsala, Sweden in early October to participate in an international event called the Uppsala Health Summit. This year, the Summit focused on developing global best practices for improving children's health and well-being in cities. It was hosted by a group of collaborating local universities and city agencies and took an interdisciplinary approach to the topic. Our colleague, Dr. Petter Åkerblom (Thinktank Movium, SLU) was the Program Committee Chair for the 2019 Summit.

Sharon Danks participated in a workshop at the Summit focused on City Gardening and Farms for Learning and Wellbeing. She gave a presentation about Green Schoolyards America’s work in California to help frame the workshop’s discussion over the course of the day. Two other speakers added different perspectives on children’s urban gardening and farms in the same session. Kemo Kinteh (Future in our Hands) spoke about his organization’s work creating school gardens across The Gambia, in West Africa. Dr. Henrik Lerner (Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College) shared his research about animal husbandry and children’s interactions with animals, in Sweden. The session was organized by Karin Artursson and Bodil Dahlman, professors at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala.

Sharon Danks spoke at the Uppsala Health Summit’s workshop on City gardening and farms, on October 8, 2019.

Sharon Danks (left) and Bodil Dahlman (workshop leader), after Ms. Dahlman offered all workshop participants a “carrot” to inspire them to take action to improve children’s access to City gardening and farms.

The Uppsala Health Summit’s plenary sessions were fantastic, with presenters sharing their work and perspectives on the importance of healthy urban childhoods. These speakers from Canada, England, India, Scotland, and Sweden spoke of the cities and situations in their own countries—but it was clear that children all over the world face similar problems in achieving healthy urban childhoods. All countries, it seems, need to work on reducing dangerous traffic situations, improving children’s independent mobility, providing increased access to nature and greenery, and allowing children’s voices and concerns to carry more weight in public discourse.

The Uppsala Health Summit also provided an opportunity for Danks to connect with close colleagues from the International School Grounds Alliance, which is one of Green Schoolyards America’s closest partners.

A wonderful group of colleagues who are Leadership Council members of the International School Grounds Alliance. From left: Sharon danks (USA), Anna Ekblad (Sweden), Kemo Kinteh (The Gambia), Katrin Herrmann (Germany), Lais Fleury (Brazil), Anders Kjellsson (Sweden), Susan Humphries (UK), Petter Åkerblom (Sweden), and Matluba Kahn (UK and Bangladesh).

After the Summit, Sharon Danks and many of her colleagues also spoke at a related one-day conference held at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science’s Landscape Architecture and Urban and Rural Development Department. Dr. Petter Åkerblom led this event, as well.

Sharon Danks spoke about green schoolyards America’s work at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science, on October 10, 2019. Photo by Bodil Dahlman.

It was a wonderful trip filled with collaboration, new ideas, meaningful conversations, friends, colleagues, and inspiration.