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Exploring and playing with symmetry
Counting
Ask 10 children to sit at the front holding numbers 1 to 10. Child holding 1 stands up, then children shout 1! Child holding 2 stands up, children shout 2! Carry on until all ten are standing.
Shout 10! Child holding 10 sits down, children shout 9! Child holding 9 sits down, children shout 8! Carry on until no children are standing. All shout ZERO!
Repeat across the week to include all the children.
Chants/Rhymes/Songs
Sing along with Five little apples, e.g. this animated version at www.bbc.co.uk. Ask children to hold up 5 fingers, then fold one down each time an apple falls from the tree.
Play an I-spy shapes game.
Story
The hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle.
Use this well-known book to stimulate discussion about the symmetrical pattern on the butterfly’s wings.
Exploring 2-D shapes
Counting
Use the 1-100 grid to support counting to 50, with children all using fingers to match the 1s digit in the count, e.g., holding up 1 finger for 21, 2 fingers for 22, 3 fingers for 23, 4 fingers for 24 and so on. Say the multiples of 5 louder: 5, 10, 15, 20 etc.
Chants/Rhymes/Songs
The shapes song from www.YouTube.com.
Story
When a Line Bends...: A Shape Begins by Rhonda Gowler Greene. Rhymed text describes how shapes are made from simple lines.
Washing Line by Jez Alborough. Use vocabulary relating to shape and size by looking at clothes on the washing line.
