MakeBelieve Arts (United Kingdom)

Children are born with an ability to make sense of the world through play and storytelling. By creating narratives during fantasy play, children act out concepts and ideas that confuse them or that they find fascinating. Dramatic Mathematics consists of five stories and accompanying exercises to support teachers in Key Stage 1 to take a playful, story-based approach to introduce early mathematical concepts that children often struggle with. The stories are all set in the Kingdom of Sunobia and follow the journey of kings and sorceresses, an evil ship owner and a girl called Lily, who is exceptionally clever and very good at maths. Accompanied by playful illustrations and teachers notes, each story presents a different aspect of the Key Stage 1 maths curriculum enabling teachers to engage their pupils emotionally and bring the topic of maths to life. Offering a wide range of stimulating ideas for developing learners’ mathematical thinking and understanding, these activities can be used to enrich and supplement learning and will be an essential resource for all teachers looking to teach mathematics in an exciting new way.

Ella O’Connor desperately wants to tell a story, but every time she opens her mouth, her words disappear. Will she ever discover the joy of becoming a storyteller and unlock the secret that ideas and stories can be found everywhere? This beautifully illustrated story book explores a common situation that arises for children and teachers taking part in Helicopter Stories, and allows the children to explore their feelings in a sensitive and supportive environment. The story is accompanied by teacher’s notes on how to use the book with young children, along with questions and discussion prompts that can be incorporated into the curriculum. In a class where Helicopter Stories take place on a regular basis, I Can’t Remember offers an empowering solution for those moments when a child can’t think of anything to say. It is part of the Helicopter Stories Tale series, a valuable and visually captivating resource for all Early Years educators using storytelling and story acting with their children.