University lecturers, researchers, advisers and even head teachers can forget all too
easily what it is like to be a classroom teacher. Nothing that any of these people say
or do is profitable unless it can be used by teachers in their classrooms. (Davis and
Pettitt, 1994, p. 157)The following case studies are of authentic classroom practice. This is a small sample
to represent the age range from 3 years to 8 years. We begin with observations of
children initiating their own learning through play and then go on to describe a
project focusing on a group of Children’s Centres. We have also selected a mixture
of teacher-directed small groups and whole-class teaching. There is no set way to
support children’s learning in mathematics or in any subject. We offer these exam-
ples for your reflection and as a discussion point with others. Sharing what we do as
educators may give us a stepping stone to refine or rethink our own practice.The birthday cards
THE MATHEMATICS number knowledge as a function in society
AGE 3- and 4-year-olds
CONTEXT free representation in the writing area – individual
responses
FEATURES providing opportunities for mathematical representations
within a nursery settingBirthdays are something young children identify with and that excite them. The
changing of their age is very important to them. To enhance our graphics area for a
birthday focus we asked the children to bring in old birthday cards from their family.
We discussed with each child the card they had brought in and then they put it up
on the writing area display board. As well as providing a discussion tool the birth-
day cards gave the children models to create their own birthday cards for other162
Case Studies
from Early
(^9) Childhood Settings
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