Children\'s Mathematics

Child-initiated role-play

On their return to school, a group of eight children led by Marina (whose fifth birth-

day it was on that day) set about creating their own ‘library van’ (Figure 9.8). They

used the big wooden blocks to create a narrow, enclosed space and Marina was their

self-appointed ‘chief librarian’.

Figure 9.8 Marina and the library van

Exploring mathematics and literacy through role play

During their play, the children arranged the books we had borrowed and pretended

to stamp the date on them.

Marina and Frances were especially concerned about library fines and wrote a

number of letters demanding huge amounts for overdue books, using paper,

envelopes and stamps from the office box. They used calculators to work out fines

due on several books and real money to give change. Their calculations may not

have been ‘correct’ but the children were using tools and resources in appropriate

contexts and for purposes that made sense to them. They remonstrated with readers

who argued about the amount of fines and Marina spent a long time on the phone

complaining to borrowers about overdue books: clearly this aspect of libraries had

left an impression.

Marie-Anne made a road safety poster which she attached to the front of the

‘counter’: in the city library she’d seen a road safety poster in the same position. The

children filled in forms with titles of books and recommended particular books to

‘parents’, drawing on their own experiences. They counted how many books each

borrower took. One of the children instructed a ‘new’ borrower to fill in a form with

her name and age in order to join the library.

Evaluation: using mathematical language

Observing this rich episode of role-play it was clear that the children had integrated

their experiences and understanding from their visits to both libraries. The mathe-

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