How Can We Use Nature To Help Us Count? An Early Years STEM Inquiry

The Early Years STEM Inquiry at St Munchin’s Catholic School transformed numbers and counting into an engaging journey of discovery, creativity and collaboration. Through hands-on, play-based learning, Kindy and Pre-Primary students used their skills to explore and design as they worked together to investigate the question: “How can we use nature to help us count?” Using natural materials, children grouped, organised and represented numbers in meaningful ways. Rich inquiry experiences strengthened students’ oral language and mathematical thinking as they explored design and counting principles. Students discovered that mathematics is embedded within everyday experiences and the world around them.