capacity problem solving eyfs

Resource: Measurement and Capacity Posters

Add your heading text here, measurement and capacity posters.

Measurement and Capacity Posters which can be used in the water tray.

Teaching children about capacity in the early years is fundamental for several reasons, all contributing to their overall cognitive, mathematical, and physical development. Here are some key reasons why capacity is an essential concept taught at a young age:

Foundational Mathematical Skills : Understanding capacity helps children grasp basic mathematical concepts such as measurement, comparison (more than, less than, equal to), and volume. It lays the groundwork for more complex mathematical thinking and problem-solving skills they will encounter as they grow.

Real-life Applications : Learning about capacity equips children with the knowledge to deal with real-life situations that involve measuring and comparing volumes, such as pouring liquids, understanding quantities in cooking, and estimating space in containers. This knowledge is practical and applicable in everyday activities, making learning meaningful and relevant.

Cognitive Development : Exploring capacity involves observation, experimentation, prediction, and problem-solving. These activities enhance cognitive development by encouraging critical thinking, reasoning, and analytical skills. Children learn to make connections between their observations and the concepts they are learning.

Language and Vocabulary Building : Teaching capacity introduces children to new vocabulary and concepts related to measurement (litres, millilitres, full, empty, half, quarter, etc.). This enhances their language skills and ability to express quantitative concepts accurately.

Sensory and Motor Skills Development : Activities designed to teach capacity often involve hands-on, sensory-rich experiences, such as playing with water or sand. These activities help develop fine motor skills as children pour, scoop, and measure, as well as sensory awareness through the tactile experiences of different materials.

Scientific Thinking : Learning about capacity can spark an interest in science and the natural world. It introduces basic scientific principles, such as gravity and density, in a tangible and accessible way, fostering curiosity and a love for learning.

Confidence and Independence : As children master concepts related to capacity, they gain confidence in their abilities to understand and interact with the world around them. This confidence can lead to greater independence in daily activities and a willingness to explore and learn new things.

Social Skills and Cooperation : Many capacity-related activities are collaborative and require children to work together, share resources, and communicate their ideas. This promotes social skills, teamwork, and an understanding of sharing and cooperation.

In summary, teaching children about capacity in the early years is a multifaceted approach to education that supports their development across several domains. It not only prepares them for academic success but also equips them with practical skills and knowledge that they will use throughout their lives.

• Join now to download

Thank you for submitting a review!

Your input is very much appreciated. Share it with your friends so they can enjoy it too!

These are beautifully made and really useful for extending my more able.

This training was fantastic. Really made me think and reflect on ways to improve. Just brilliantly honest and straight to the point.

Phonics Phase 1 planning

This is great we have printed it out and we use daily for the Nursery children for a short Phonics activity. It has saved me loads of time and is really well thought out and each activity is clearly explained so the staff know what to do. Each time they teach Phonics they are becoming more confident with presenting.

This is so helpful to give to parents. A great help. Thanks

Wow wow wow

This is so amazing thank you so much for making plans appropriate for Early Years!

Great understanding of phonics

Very please with my purchase, brilliant phonics activities.

Hi I am interested in purchasing just this resource, however, I cannot read the sample page very well. Is it possible to see a clearer picture of the sample page to help me determine whether I want to purchase a membership?

A Great Help - Thanks.

Really helpful planning - good ideas.

Helpful Phonics

Great Book, really helpful phonics planning. Would definitely recommend when teaching phonics to children.

Phonics 1 book

Highly recommend this informative phonics book. Everything you need to know about phase 1 and explained in good detail.

Not quite what you were looking for? Search by keyword to find the right resource, or request a resource to be created by experts .

Related Resources

Coloured Buses Ten Frame

Valentines Dominos Numbers

Natural Pattern Cards

The Early Years Staffroom © 2024 All Rights Reserved

[email protected]

What do I get for my membership?​

• Over 1600 (and increasing) high quality Early Years resources, planning schemes and brainstorm ideas for enhanced planning created by Early Years Experts. Covers all areas of learning in the new EYFS
• Planning and resources made to request
• Long, Medium and Daily Plans
• Audits in line with the latest government requirements. Policies and risk assessments
• High quality Phonics Program (Phase 1-6) created by a Specialist Leader in Education for Early Years and Phonics
• A fun outdoor and practical Maths program from aged 22 months to the end of Year 1 supporting White Rose Maths
• Training videos to view at your convenience by amazing Early Years Leaders in the field
• A supportive community of likeminded Early Years Practitioners with free access to an exclusive vetted group with anonymous posting
• Progression and skills documents and Training PowerPoints
• Save 7-8 hours of your time on planning and resource preparation time per week, safe in the knowledge the planning you have is high quality and used by experts. Save money on other subscriptions or one-off resources. Stress relief and increased well-being. Spend more time with your family
• Someone to turn to if you need something bespoke
• Ensure you are always prepared for Ofsted
• The ability to lead fun and practical phonics sessions sometimes outdoors that target all types of learners in phonics
• You can track and reflect on your practise, ideal for interviews and appraisals
• Use a tool the enables you to track and reflect on your practise, ideal for interviews and appraisals
• Training as and when you want it. Learn new skills, improve your practise and keep current in the world of Early Years
• Feel completely supported with our team always available to help and guide you with any issues you may have

Choose from the following membership plans

Eys school/nursery plan, eys individual plan..

£58.00 now for one licence which gives you membership for 1 year. Your subscription for the second and subsequent years will be £4.80 per month. Join now before the price increases along with our new benefits.

EYS Large School/Nursery plan

£384 for 12 months membership for up to 5 users, your subscription will auto-renew at £384 per year until cancelled.

EYS Small School/Nursery plan

£160 for 12 months membership for up to 2 users, your subscription will auto-renew at £160 per year until cancelled.

EYS Individual Plan

£118.80 for 12 months membership for one user. Your subscription will auto-renew in the second year on a monthly rate of £9.60 until it is cancelled.

EYS Individual Monthly Plan

£15.56 per month for 12 months for one user. Your subscription is for a minimum of 12 months and after this period it can be cancelled at any time.

Every plan gives access to everything on the website. The price will never increase as long as you have a continuous subscription. If you don’t find what you are looking for our experts will create it for you. If you would like to get a quote for more than 5 users or pay by invoice (Schools or Nurseries only) please email us at [email protected]

Early Years Staffroom

• 1-2 Years (80)
• 2-3 Years (166)
• 3-4 Years (260)
• 4-5 Years (275)
• Over 5 Years (206)
• Alphabet (22)
• Reading (9)
• Writing (7)
• Fine Motor (84)
• Gross Motor (9)
• Counting (33)
• Geometry (2)
• Measuring (18)
• Numbers (46)
• Birthdays (0)
• Christmas (39)
• Easter (11)
• Father's Day (4)
• Halloween (1)
• Holidays (1)
• Mother's Day (8)
• New Year (6)
• Valentine's Day (6)
• Balloons (7)
• Bottle Tops (15)
• Buttons (14)
• Cardboard (17)
• Colours (45)
• Paper Plates (11)
• Pipe Cleaners (12)
• Play Dough (87)
• Pompoms (22)
• Shapes (16)
• Threading (2)
• Dinosaurs (4)
• Flowers (2)
• Learning Trays (18)
• Outdoor Play (3)
• Rainbows (2)
• Science (27)
• Seasons (17)
• Senses (69)
• Sensory Bins (23)
• Active Play (13)
• Bath Time Play (5)
• Book Activities (25)
• Busy Bags (7)
• Food and Cooking (17)
• Messy Play (7)
• Music Activities (12)
• Play Room and Toys (14)
• Pretend and Imagine (32)
• Puzzles and Games (9)
• Rainy Day Play (5)

Simple Volume and Capacity Measurement Activity

Exploring volume and capacity through hands-on activities will help children develop an awareness of these measurement concepts.  

Volume and capacity are properties of three-dimensional objects. Volume is the space that a three-dimensional object occupies or contains; capacity, on the other hand, is the property of a container and describes how much a container can hold.

Volume and capacity are introduced in early childhood classrooms. Setting up opportunities to play and learn about these concepts will build early measurement skills, more awareness and knowledge around volume and capacity and how they are a part of their every day lives.   

This hands-on volume and capacity activity is great for small groups and can be set up in an area of the classroom as a maths station for children to return to throughout the week and further explore the concepts and make new discoveries.

What you will need?

Rice (how to colour rice here), scoops, measuring cups, measuring spoons,  various containers of height and width.  I added the measuring spoons later to extend the activity and learning.  Other alternatives you could use in replacement of rice, water (warmer months/outdoor), beans and sand.

Tip: Set up a tablecloth or sheet underneath the tub of rice to help with clean.  The rice can easily be returned to the container.

Some great children’s books that teach volume and capacity.  These can be read in class and added to the learning centre or maths station. (affiliate links)

Measuring Up by Lily Lamotte , Measuring Volume by T H Baer   and Measuring Weight by T H Baer 

Set Up a Question

Setting up a question similar to the photo will provoke a discussion of ideas around capacity.  Children will share their prior knowledge of capacity and apply this to solve the question and provide their reasoning behind their answer.  The best part is when they get to test their theory and find a way to get

Quite often children will assume that the tall and thin container will hold the most due to its height.  This is a common misconception with young children as their special awareness and understandings develop over time.  It is important to provide children with opportunities to explore these concepts.

Let’s Play

Some Ideas:

• Ask questions, which containers do you think will hold the same?  Which container will how the most or least? How do you know? How many spoon scoops does the smallest container hold? Measuring and comparison questions are good questions to ask.
• Provide an opportunity to explore freely the different materials.
• Take the measurement activity to another level by introducing measuring scales.
• Order the containers from the container that holds the most to the least.

Let’s Learn

Through many discussions, the children tested their theories by pouring the tallest container from the question into the shortest container.  It is so much fun to see them discover that the shortest container held the most and challenge their theories.

Count the number of scoops with a smaller measuring cup and record the results is another way for find ‘how much each container holds?’

Learning Opportunities

• Spatial awareness – experimenting with quantities
• Language development – vocabulary and using measurement terms
• Mathematics – concepts of capacity, measurement, volume, weight
• Fine Motor Development
• Hand-Eye Coordination and Control
• Cause and Effect
• Concentration
• Reasoning, problem solving and

Click here for more MEASUREMENT activities & play ideas

Available in Our Online Shop

You may also be interested in our Printable Measuring Capacity Activity Mats

About The Author

Janice Davis

1 thought on “simple volume and capacity measurement activity”.

Thank you for these easily applicable ideas! I am a gramma and occasionally babysit my 4 yr. old g’dau. who loves my visits and amusements. Coming up short on ideas landed me on your site with these exciting suggestions! I esp. appreciate that many supplies for activies can be substituted with items around the house. And thank you for teaching ! Oh what courage to faithfully educate kids mostly with hard to please parents.! I hope you are compensated by the excitement and pleasure of discovery in the kids as well as by the appreciation of at least a few parents. Maybe in Australia teachers are more widely appreciated than in the U S.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Hi and welcome to Learning 4 Kids!

My name is Janice and I am an Early Childhood Teacher in Australia.

I have a strong passion and love for teaching and creating meaningful learning experiences for my students. What I love most is watching children discover in those amazing light bulb moments. I hope Learning4kids brings you some useful ideas.

• Home Learning
• Free Resources
• New Resources
• Free resources
• New resources
• Filter resources
• Childrens mental health
• Easter resources

Internet Explorer is out of date!

For greater security and performance, please consider updating to one of the following free browsers

EYFS Measuring Using Capacity Provision Enhancement

Measuring Using Capacity Provision Enhancement

This EYFS Measuring Using Capacity Provision Enhancement resource pack includes teaching information, an observation sheet for use with the resource and a variety of activities for enhancing provision in the classroom. The activities can be used to support independent or adult led play across 13 different areas of provision. Children will enjoy exploring and learning all about Measuring and Comparing Time.

More resources for EYFS Provision and Enhancements .

Download our EYFS Development Matters Statement codes.

Not a member? Sign up here.

What's included in the pack?

This pack includes enhancements to be used in all the following areas:

• Construction/STEM
• Home Corner
• Small World

Development Matters Statement Links: 3 and 4 year olds

(M-14) Make comparisons between objects relating to size, length, weight and capacity.

Children in Reception

(M-32) Compare length, weight and capacity.

Early Learning Goal

There is no Early Learning Goal for shape, space and measures, but it is important that the curriculum includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics.

This resource is available to download with a Premium subscription.

Our Mission

To help our customers achieve a life/work balance and understand their differing needs by providing resources of outstanding quality and choice alongside excellent customer support.​.

Yes, I want that!

Keep up to date by liking our Facebook page:

Membership login, stay in touch.

01422 419608

[email protected]

Interested in getting weekly updates from us? Then sign up to our newsletter here!

Information

• Cookie Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Terms and Conditions

Copyright: Classroom Secrets 2024

Company number: 8401067

VAT number: 248 8245 74

• Terms & Conditions

Designed by Classroom Secrets

• Teach Early Years
• Teach Primary
• Teach Secondary
• Technology & Innovation
• Advertise With Us

• Free Reports
• Have You Seen
• Learning & Development
• A Unique Child
• Enabling Environments
• Positive Relationships
• Nursery Management

Home > Learning & Development

Learning and Development

Maths problem-solving – Activities for Early Years settings

• Written By: Judith Dancer
• Subject: Maths

Share this:

Critical thinking doesn’t have to be a daunting prospect. There are simple, effective and exciting ways to encourage children’s maths problem-solving skills, says Judith Dancer…

Maths is a subject many adults lack confidence in. Having struggled with it at school they often avoid it, wherever possible, when grown up.

But if maths seems scary for some people, then maths problem-solving can cause even more anxiety. There is no ‘safety net’ of knowing the ‘correct answer’ beforehand. This is because maths problem-solving lends itself to investigation and exploration with lots of possible tangents.

Understandably this is often the area of maths where many practitioners feel least confident. However, young children, who are not restrained by right answers, feel the most enthused and animated.

The non-statutory  Development Matters Guidance , as part of ‘creating and thinking critically’ in the Characteristics of Effective Learning, identifies that practitioners need to observe how a child is learning, noting how a child is:

• thinking of ideas;
• finding ways to solve problems;
• finding new ways to do things;
• making links and noticing patterns in their experience;
• making predictions;
• testing their ideas;
• developing ideas of grouping, sequences, cause and effect;
• planning, making decisions about how to approach a task, solve a problem and reach a goal;
• checking how well their activities are going;
• changing strategy as needed;
• reviewing how well the approach worked.

All of these elements are, at one time or another, part of the problem-identifying and solving process – although not at the same time and in the same problem.

Role of the adult

Maths problem-solving for young children involves them understanding and using two kinds of maths:

• Maths knowledge – learning and applying an aspect of maths such as counting, calculating or measuring.
• Maths thinking skills – reasoning, predicting, talking the problem through, making connections, generalising, identifying patterns and finding solutions.

The best maths problems for children are the ones that they identify themselves. They will be enthused, fascinated and more engaged in these ‘real’, meaningful problems.

Children need opportunities to problem-solve together. As they play, they will often find their own mathematical problems.

One of the key roles of practitioners is to provide time, space and support for children. We need to develop situations and provide opportunities in which children can refine their maths problem-solving skills and apply their mathematical knowledge.

Supporting maths problem-solving

You can effectively support children’s developing maths problem-solving strategies through:

• Modelling maths talk and discussion – language is part of maths learning because talking problems through is vital. Children need to hear specific mathematical vocabulary in context. You can promote discussion through the use of comments, enabling statements and open-ended questions.
• Providing hands-on maths problem-solving activities across all areas of the setting. Children learn maths through all their experiences and need frequent opportunities to take part in creative and engaging experiences. Maths doesn’t just happen in the maths learning zone!
• Identifying potential maths learning indoors and outdoors. Provide rich and diverse open-ended resources that children can use in a number of different ways to support their own learning. It is important to include natural and everyday objects and items that have captured children’s imaginations, including popular culture.

Maths problem-solving possibilities

Spell it out.

This experience gives children lots of opportunities to explore calculating, mark making, categorising and decisions about how to approach a task.

What you need to provide:

• Assorted containers filled with natural materials. This includes leaves, pebbles, gravel, conkers, twigs, shells, fir cones, mud and sand. Include some ‘treasure’ – sequins, gold nuggets, jewels and glitter.
• Bottles and jugs of water, large mixing bowls, cups, a ‘cauldron’, small bottles, spoons and ladles.
• Cloaks and wizard hats.
• Laminated ‘spells’ – e.g. “To make a disappearing spell, mix 2 smooth pebbles, 2 gold nuggets, 4 fir cones, a pinch of sparkle dust, 3 cups of water”.
• Writing frameworks for children’s own spell recipes and a shiny ‘Spell Book’ to stick these in.
• Temporary mark-making opportunities such as chalk on slate.

The important thing with open-ended maths problem-solving experiences like this is to observe, wait and listen. Then, if appropriate, join in as a co-player with children, following their play themes.

So if children are mixing potions, note how children sort or categorise the objects. What strategies do they use to solve problems? What happens if they want eight pebbles and they run out? Observe what they do next.

When supporting children’s maths problem-solving, you need to develop a wide range of strategies and ‘dip into’ these appropriately. Rather than asking questions, it is often more effective to make comments about what you can see. For example, say, “Wow, it looks as though there is too much potion for that bottle”.

Acting as a co-player offers lots of opportunities to model mathematical behaviours. This might include reading recipes for potions and spells out loud, focusing on the numbers – one feather, three shells…

Going, going, gone

We all know that children will engage more fully when involved in experiences that fascinate them. If a particular group has a real passion for cars and trucks , consider introducing maths problem-solving opportunities that extend this interest.

This activity offers opportunities for classifying, sorting, counting, adding and subtracting, among many other things.

• Some unfamiliar trucks and cars and some old favourites. Ensure these include metal, plastic and wooden vehicles that can be sorted in different ways.
• Masking tape and scissors.
• Sticky labels and markers.

Mark out some parking lots on a smooth floor, or huge piece of paper using masking tape. Lining paper is great for this. Line the vehicles up around the edge of the floor area.

Encourage one child to select two vehicles that have something the same about them. Ask the child, “What is the same about them?”.

When the children have agreed on what is the same – e.g. size, materials, colour, lorries or racing cars – the child selects a ‘parking lot’ to put the vehicles in. So this first parking lot could be for ‘red vehicles’.

Another child chooses two more vehicles that have something the same. Do they belong in the same ‘parking lot’, or a different parking lot? E.g. these vehicles could both be racing cars.

What happens when a specific vehicle could belong in both lots? E.g. it could belong in the set of red vehicles and also belongs in the set of racing cars.

Support the children as they discuss the vehicle. Make new ‘parking lots’ with masking tape and create labels for the groups, if you choose.

Observe children’s strategies

It’s really important to observe the strategies the children use. Where appropriate, ask the children to explain what they are doing and why.

If necessary, introduce and model the use of the vocabulary ‘the same as’ and ‘different from’. Follow children’s discussions and interests. If they start talking about registration plates, consider making car number plates for all the wheeled toys outdoors.

Do the children know the format of registration plates? Can you take photos of cars you can see in the local environment?

Camping out

Constructing camps and dens outdoors is a good way to give children the opportunity to be involved in lots of maths problem-solving experiences and construction skills learning. This experience offers opportunities for using the language of position, shape and space, and finding solutions to practical problems.

• Materials to construct a tent or den such as sheets, curtains, poles, clips and string.
• Rucksacks, water bottles, compasses and maps.
• Oven shelf and bricks to build a campfire or barbecue.
• Buckets and bowls and water for washing up.

Encourage the children to explore the resources and decide which materials they need to build the camp. Suggest they source extra resources as they are needed.

Talk with the children about the best place to make a den or erect a tent and barbecue. During the discussion, model the use of positional words and phrases.

Follow children’s play themes. This could include going on a scavenger hunt collecting stones, twigs and leaves and going back to the campsite to sort them out.

Encourage children to try different solutions to the practical problems they identify. Use a running commentary on what is happening without providing the solution to the problem.

Look for opportunities to develop children’s mathematical reasoning skills by making comments such as, “I wonder why Rafit chose that box to go on the top of his den.”

If the children are familiar with traditional tales, you could extend this activity by laying a crumb trail round the outdoor area for children to follow. Make sure that there is something exciting at the end of the trail. It could be a large dinosaur sitting in a puddle, or a bear in a ‘cave’.

Children rarely have opportunities to investigate objects that are really heavy. Sometimes they have two objects and are asked the question, “Which one is heavy?” when both objects are actually light.

This experience gives children the chance to explore really heavy things and measures (weight). They also need to cooperate and find new ways to do things.

• A ‘building site’ in the outdoor area. Include hard hats, builders’ buckets, small buckets, shovels, spades, water, sand, pebbles, gravel, guttering, building blocks, huge cardboard boxes and fabric (this could be on a tarpaulin).
• Some distance away, builders’ buckets filled with damp sand and large gravel.
• Bucket balances and bathroom scales.

With an open-ended activity such as this, it is even more important to observe, wait and listen as the children explore the building site and the buckets full of sand and gravel.

Listen to the discussions the children have about moving the sand and the gravel to the building site. What language do they use?

Note the strategies they use when they can’t lift the large buckets. Who empties some of the sand into smaller buckets? Who works together collaboratively to move the full bucket? Does anyone introduce another strategy, for example, finding a wheelbarrow or pull-along truck?

Where and when appropriate, join in the children’s play as a co-player. You could act in role as a customer or new builder. Ask, “How can I get all this sand into my car?”. “How much sand and gravel do we need to make the cement for the foundations?”.

Extend children’s learning by modelling the language of weight:

• heavy/heavier than/heaviest
• light/lighter than/lightest
• about the same weight as/as heavy as
• balance/weigh

Judith Dancer is an author, consultant and trainer specialising in communication and language and mathematics. She is co-author, with Carole Skinner, of  Foundations of Mathematics – An active approach to number, shape and measures in the Early Years .

You may also be interested in...

• Great ways to support communication, language and literacy
• How to provide outstanding learning in the outdoors
• Award winners announced

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy & Cookies Policy.

Enhance your children’s learning environment with unique products from Profile Education

Review – Sleep Stories

Enrol now for courses with Modern Montessori International

Wanna See a Llama? – picture book

View all Top Products

Croc and Bird

Missing Mummy

Recommended for you....

Using Recorded Music in Early Years Settings

Learning with Nursery Rhymes

Story Time Activities for Early Years Settings

Messy play activities – Grasping new skills

Editors picks

Ten of our favourite early years problem-solving activities

A lot of the time when we hear the term ‘problem-solving’, our brain jumps back to the tricky maths teasers from our school days, and we immediately recoil a little. However, problem-solving is much more than number conundrums.   

Problem-solving is a key part of early years development and can support learning across many of the My First Five Years streams. The skill of problem-solving starts developing very early in a child's life and stems from the knowledge of the world that they are constantly building.[1]. For instance, your baby may cry when hungry as they know that crying gets the attention of an adult who can feed them.   

Problem-solving is a part of everyday life for children, from being a baby through to their future adulthood. When children learn how to solve problems, it can support them in building resilience, self-confidence and self-esteem. Taking part in problem-solving activities with others can also help children develop social skills, communication and relationships.[2]   

Psychologist Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development also focuses on the importance of problem-solving for early childhood development. In each developmental stage of his theory, the psychologist emphasised the importance of play-based learning for young children when it comes to problem-solving, and in turn building skills across the spectrum.[3]    

Supporting problem-solving  

When thinking about problem-solving activities for your child, it can be difficult to know where to begin.   

To keep children engaged, enabling them to take the lead and follow their interests, is key. Play-based, hands-on learning makes acquiring new skills more interesting and memorable for young children.[4]    

Many activities can support children when developing their problem-solving abilities – the possibilities are wide open. When considering which problem-solving activities are the most effective, it is also important to consider how they can be adapted to multiple interests, abilities and how accessible they are when it comes to using resources and materials.   

To help you out, here are ten of My First Five Years’ favourite problem-solving activities that you can try with your child.   

1) Den-building

Den-building is brilliant for problem-solving as it requires creative and critical-thinking, foresight, and planning. It is also a wonderful way to promote sustained shared thinking with your child. Sustained shared thinking is a way of working together that encourages individuals to evaluate the problem that they are working on and is focused on collaboration, using experiences and prior knowledge.[5]  

When building a den with your child, encourage your child to take the lead. You could provide materials such as boxes and blankets, or you could even ask your child to decide what materials you need before starting, encouraging them to plan out their work. Den-building can also be done both indoors and outdoors and with children from a young age. You may find that people have already started creating these in your local woodland that you can add to, adapt, or just enjoy!  

2) Cooking and baking

Cooking and baking are not only fun activities, but they also focus on mathematical problem-solving. To bring problem-solving into a cooking and baking activity, you can ask your child to count out simple measurements, for instance, cups of flour or sugar. Activities like cooking or baking are great for children to be able to take ownership of what is happening; encourage them to choose what you will make and allow them to do all the elements themselves.   

What’s great about cooking is it really doesn't matter how it turns out! Problems can arise often in cooking or baking, for example, the mixture may turn out too dry, you may be an ingredient short, or your cakes might not rise how you expected them to. If this is the case, talk to your child about what might have gone wrong and how you can rectify it next time! Then when they come to do it again, they can use their prior knowledge to help them.   

3) Playing with patterns

Patterns are a great activity for mathematical problem-solving. You can create patterns of any objects that you can find! For example, with pieces of fruit, pebbles from the garden, building blocks or even snacks! You could encourage your child to continue patterns, fill in the missing pieces or even create their own for you to solve problems with as they grow more confident. 

4) Sorting and categorising

Sorting and categorising objects is an activity that supports children in mathematical problem - solving and can be easily adapted to individual children’s abilities . You could encourage your child to sort by shape, size, colour, or better yet , their interests . For example, if they are a dinosaur enthusiast, they could classify them by wh ich is their favourite or least favourite , or order them by the size of their feet. They may even find enjoyment in helping you with daily sorting such as recycling or washing!  

Puzzles are a fun resource that can be used with children from a very young age. There are a wide variety of puzzles for children to access , such as chunky wooden puzzles or traditional shape sorters. When playing with puzzles, children will have to use their prior knowledge and experience of shape, space and measure whil e also experimenting with different angles and placements. They will use trial and error to find the best way to complete the puzzle and then will use this knowledge in future attempts.  

6) Ice rescue

As well as being a great problem-solving activity, ice rescue enables children to explore seasonal changes, temperatures and develop their fine and gross motor skills using tools. To play ice rescue, freeze toys inside ice overnight. This could be in cake moulds or small bowls. Use toys that will motivate your child, for instance, their favourite small figurines.   

Once frozen, place your blocks of ice in a big bowl or tray, and encourage your child to think about how they can get the items out. You could provide tools, or even get your child to find tools themselves.  

7) Obstacle courses

Obstacle courses are versatile and can be made with a wide variety of resources. When setting up an obstacle course for your child, try to include sections where your child will have to stop and think about how they will have to adapt their body to move through it , for example, something that they must climb over or under, or a section where they have to move differently. You could even include them in trying to create the obstacle course and allow them to make it the most challenging they can.  

8) Filling, emptying and investigation

Many children enjoy filling and emptying during play. Investigating this way helps children to get a sense of size, capacity and explore predicting and estimation. For instance, if your child likes playing with sand, you could ask them to guess how many scoops they will need to fill a container, or if they like water play you could challenge them to find a way to move the water between two containers as quickly as possible , or from one tray to another.  

9) Story problems

Stories are an effective way of introducing problem-solving and they can be a highly engaging way to promote creative and critical-thinking. You could use familiar or traditional stories to help scaffold play opportunities for your child. For example, you could try building a house for the three little pigs that cannot be knocked over. You could test out different methods using materials that you can find around your home.   

If you are feeling creative, you could also make up a little story using your child’s favourite toys. An example of this could be figuring out how to share food between their favourite teddies during a picnic and making sure that everyone gets enough.   

10) Playing with loose parts or open-ended resources

Natural materials such as leaves, conkers, sticks, acorns, and pinecones are all brilliant open-ended play opportunities (if supervised). You can also use household objects like bottle caps, curtain rings, tubes, tins, boxes, buttons etcetera in this sort of play. All it requires is a tray of different objects that you've collected and time to explore them. Your child will have to think creatively about how to utilise the objects and in doing so will be challenging their cognitive capacity by problem-solving to achieve the desired outcomes.   

References 

[1]  Rachel Keen. (2011). The Development of Problem Solving in Young Children: A Critical Cognitive Skill. Available: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.psych.031809.130730#_i22 .  

[2] Sheila Ebbutt. (2009). EYFS best practice - All about ... problem-solving . Available: https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/features/article/eyfs-best-practice-all-about-problem-solving .  

[3] Piaget, J. (1983). Piaget's Theory. In P. Mussen (ed). Handbook of Child Psychology. 4th edition. Vol. 1. New York: Wiley.  

[4] Unicef. (2018). Learning Through Play. Available: https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/UNICEF-Lego-Foundation-Learning-through-Play.pd .  

[5] Kathy Sylva, Edward Melhuish, Pam Sammons, Iram Siraj-Blatchford and Brenda Taggar. (2004). The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project: Findings from Pre-school to end of Key Stage1. Available: https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/8543/7/SSU-SF-2004-01.pdf .  

T&C's   |  Privacy Policy   |  Cookies

© Copyright 2023  - My First Five Years Ltd.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Early Years Careers

How to promote problem solving in the early years

5th November 2015 by Kelly Leave a Comment

Ways to incorporate problem solving in the Early Years

Developing problem solving skills is an area of development early years ’ practitioners are familiar with, and the importance of developing these problem solving skills is well known, but what exactly are problem solving skills? And how do we encourage children to develop these?

Within the Early Years Foundation Stage, problem solving comes under the category Mathematical Development, however this does not limit problem solving to just mathematical circumstances! There are opportunities for children in early years to explore problem solving every day, within all aspects of their development. Children are natural problem solvers from birth, all the way from learning to communicate problems through crying, through learning to talk and learning to walk. They develop a natural problem solving process through trial and error, for example, an infant will fall down many times before taking their first steps, but it’s the process of getting back up and trying again which helps them to achieve their goal.

Although problem solving can occur naturally, practitioners should still encourage children to recognise the process of problem solving and become familiar with it.

Shape sorters are a great activity for younger children to explore problem solving through trial and error. The children can get a feel of the shapes and see the holes, but will not yet have the knowledge of shapes to place the correct shape in the correct hole, they will attempt to fit shapes into holes, and when they realise it will not fit, they move onto the next hole. As the children get older, they can apply their knowledge and learning to this activity, understanding that the square shape will fit with the square hole, thus overcoming a problem. Jigsaws are another effective way of children developing problem solving skills in the early years. With younger children larger puzzle pieces can be used made out of tactile materials and they can attempt to solve the jigsaw through trial and error again. Slightly older children can expand onto smaller puzzle pieces, once they have mastered more simple jigsaws. Practitioners should take note of the different strategies children use in order to fit different puzzle pieces together and offer directional help such as matching the colours of pieces together should a child become frustrated.

Early Years practitioners can help children apply problem solving skills to real life situations as well as various activities. For example, practitioners can encourage children to help set up at meal times, but pose them with a problem of not having enough cutlery for each child. Children could be able to recognise this problem, or be guided by the practitioners to realise that not enough cutlery could pose a problem. Practitioners can then encourage and support the children to think of a solution to this problem. Allow children to use their imagination to solve problems, the sky is the limit! If they suggest sharing cutlery or even crafting their own cutlery out of different items, then this is all part of the problem solving process! They are recognising a problem and attempting a solution.

Overall, there are many activities and real life scenarios practitioners can implement in order to help children explore problem solving skills and guide them to create a solution. Using numbers and mathematics are not the only methods of developing problem solving skills as seen from above, but they can be an effective way to develop learning numeracy skills which can help in later life.

Related Posts:

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

EYFS best practice - All about ... problem-solving

Sheila Ebbutt, a freelance consultant and was formerly managing director of BEAM (Be A Mathematician) Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Responding to challenges and finding solutions is not confined to mathematics but arises in all areas of learning, says Sheila Ebbutt.

Mathematics in the EYFS is called Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy. It's an odd title, probably chosen because it has a rhythmic assonance with Knowledge and Understanding of the World and Communication, Language and Literacy. It's odd, first because problem-solving and reasoning are applicable across all learning, not just maths, and second, because maths is about more than numeracy.

My dictionary defines being 'numerate' as 'able to perform arithmetical operations'. But 'mathematics' has a much wider definition: 'the science dealing with measurements, numbers, quantities, and shapes'. That's a gripe of mine, but let's focus on problem-solving and reasoning. Each of the areas of learning could have had 'problem solving, reasoning and ...' added to their titles.

UNPICKING THE EYFS

The Early Years Foundation Stage has a mixture of very clear, brief descriptions of learning development and more complex general ones.

Simple and brief:

'Continue a rhyming string'; 'respond to simple instructions'; 'handle books carefully'; 'recognise numerals 1 to 5'; 'say the number that is one more than a given number'; 'select a particular named shape'; 'use simple tools competently and effectively'; 'notice and comment on patterns'; 'sing a few familiar songs'; 'go backwards and forwards as well as sideways'.

Complex and general:

'Have an awareness and pride in self and as having own identity and abilities'; 'question why things happen, and give explanations'; 'use language for an increasing range of purposes'; 'use talk to connect ideas, explain what is happening and anticipate what might happen next'; 'use writing as a means of recording and communicating'; 'use developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems'; 'describe solutions to practical problems, drawing on experience, talking about own ideas, methods and choices'; 'explain own knowledge and understanding, and ask appropriate questions of others'; 'collaborate in devising and sharing tasks, including those which involve accepting rules'; 'talk about personal intentions, describing what they were about to do'; 'work creatively on a large or small scale'.

It is easy to allocate the simple descriptions to particular curriculum areas, and these are recognisable discrete skills that we know we have to teach. 'Continue a rhyming string' is language and 'recognise numerals 1 to 5' is maths.

The general descriptions are harder to allocate, unless there are clues like 'mathematical' and 'writing'. These complex statements have embedded in them a problem-solving approach. How do you teach 'question ...', 'collaborate ...', 'pride ...', 'personal intentions ...'? Well, you don't. You have to set up the environment and the ethos that will encourage these things, and support the children with planned interventions.

It's difficult working with such a mix of complex concepts. You know how to approach 'begin to form recognisable letters' and 'select a particular named shape'. You show children how to form letters. You teach them the names of the shapes. But how do you ensure that this develops into 'use writing as a means of recording and communicating' and 'use developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems'?

What are the children learning?

Clearly, children are learning about shapes and how they move and fit together; about how to manipulate large objects; about relative heights; about hollow and solid shapes; about filling spaces; about the properties of materials. But they are also learning about collaboration and working to a common goal, and about perseverance; and above all, they are setting themselves problems that they have to solve.

The work in the case study below involved a problem-solving chain, each one with its own goal to be set, obstacles to be overcome, and the solution to be found. One goal is to build a tower with tyres, but the problem is how to lift and place the tyres.

Another goal is to fetch the tyres to add to the tower, but the problem is how to get the tyres to the tower. Another goal is to make the tower as tall as possible, but the problem is how to reach the top of the growing tower - and so on.

Seeking solutions to the problems involves analytical reasoning, conscious or unconscious. How do I move the tyre? Turn it into a wheel by putting it on its edge and rolling it.

Later, during circle time, the children talked about their play with the tyres. Although there was not a lot of talk during the activity, just brief and necessary instructions and comments, the children were able to put into words what they had been doing.

THE NATURE OF PROBLEM-SOLVING

Problem-solving is an integral part of everyday provision, an expectation rather than an added extra, and it relies on a 'have a go' ethos. Successful problem solvers have these kinds of strategies:

- setting themselves a goal - recognising there are obstacles in the way of the goal - getting a feel for the nature of the obstacles - having a sense of possible ways of overcoming the obstacles - planning ahead, and predicting what will happen - checking progress as they go - trying out different possibilities in a systematic way - trying different approaches to see which will work best - looking for even better solutions.

Children who feel confident and secure in their surroundings, and free to make choices, are better able to solve problems, both on their own and collaboratively.

Problems can be minor and arise incidentally, or they can be major projects. But the most important thing is for children to set themselves a challenge, or to engage with the challenge that is there, and then to know that they can choose their own ways of solving it. If children are told the problem and then told the method to use to solve it, they are not problem-solving.

To become confident, proficient problem solvers, it stands to reason that children must have access to a wide range of appropriate resources they can use independently.

The ethos of the setting must support their investigations and allow them to move resources between areas of provision. For example, the children working with the tyres knew with confidence that they could move the tyres around, they could fetch a chair, and they could empty into the tower a range of objects at their disposal, without adult intervention. One of the important things about problem-solving is that it involves choice and that children have opportunities to reason and make decisions.

WHY IS PROBLEM-SOLVING IMPORTANT?

Two highly influential thinkers have stressed the importance of problem-solving as a vehicle for learning: Piaget and Vygotsky.

Piaget thought that children under seven saw the world differently from older children and adults, and they need time to explore the world in their own way. These are some of Piaget's key ideas:

- Children need to be in charge of their own learning by choosing their own activities and taking their own time in that exploration.

- We should provide children with materials to explore, such as block play, role-play materials, small-world toys, and so on. We should involve children in planning the uses of these resources, such as setting up a shoe shop or organising a picnic.

- We need to observe children to find out what they are focusing on and what their interests are, and respond to them if they ask for it. Our role as an adult is as a facilitator in their play.

- We should be aware of the stages of learning that children go through so that we can offer appropriate materials and activities for each stage, and note when children become 'ready' for the next stage.

- We should value each child as an individual.

Vygotsky emphasised collaborative and guided problem-solving. He focused on the social aspect of children's learning, and how they develop their thinking skills through shared experiences. This meant that language is a vital tool for thinking and for sharing ideas. He also looked at the roles of older children and adults in influencing learning. These are some of Vygotsky's key ideas:

- Children learn best through active self-directed play.

- Children learn more effectively in collaboration with other children and with adults.

- Our role is to offer help and support in helping children learn how to do things they cannot quite do on their own. Language is very important here.

- We need to observe children to find out where they are on their own learning trajectory.

- We must focus on language, as this is vital in helping children make sense of the world.

- We must be sensitive in how we take part in children's learning. Sometimes we can take the lead and instruct, at other times we will have minimal engagement.

The EPPE (Effective Provision of Pre-School Education) project corroborated Vygotsky's ideas, by finding that quality conversations between adults and children, and children and other children, enhanced children's problem-solving and reasoning skills. The work of the nursery settings in Reggio Emilia also puts into practice Vygotsky's ideas, with children and adults working collaboratively on long and complex projects.

Children's thinking will only develop well if they can spend their time solving problems. As they solve problems, their confidence and self-esteem increases. However, their self-esteem will decline if they fail too often to solve a problem. The role of the adult is so important in providing appropriate help, support, knowledge and skills.

Problem-solving involves reflection and thought. The adult can help by modelling strategies and encouraging children to talk about their methods. Children can develop a range of methods by collaborating with adults and with other children, and by discussing the range of methods.

HELPING CHILDREN BECOME PROBLEM-SOLVERS

- Create an atmosphere where exploration and having a go are more important than getting the right answer or doing the expected thing to please an adult.

- Provide a rich and stimulating environment, with plenty and varied activities, and don't make things too easy for the children.

- Be an opportunist and look for problem-solving possibilities in everyday activities, such as parties, picnics, tidying-up, arriving and leaving, charity events, a new baby, children's own interests.

- Approach everyday activities as problem-solving opportunities. In adult-led guided learning sessions, make sure children have choices within the framework of the objectives of the session. For example, if children are focusing on counting, play an interesting game that involves choices.

- If children ask you to be involved in their problem-solving, prompt them with comments or questions that will help them to continue to grapple with the problem themselves, or supply further resources that will keep the problem with them. A comment or a look can be as effective as questioning. Certainly, asking questions should not be an inquisition, but a collaborative conversation.

What do you think would help you to reach up there?

Mmm ... I don't know ... What have you tried so far?

Why didn't that work? I wonder if there is another way of doing it.

I wonder if we need anything else here to help us.

How does it look now?

I'm not sure I can do it either! Let's have another go.

- In group sessions, encourage children to describe their play, and the problems they tackled and overcame. Invite them to share ideas and thinking to show what they have done.

- If children are becoming frustrated, or if you feel they are on the cusp of new learning, introduce them to a technique or strategy for taking them on to the next step of learning. You can suggest breaking the problem down into smaller steps, or draw their attention to key features or clues.

- On the other hand, also allow children to get into a muddle so they can see that they need to think things through and develop systematic strategies. Don't take the problem away from the children. Healthy confusion is a good starting point for trying to sort things out.

- Make sure that children have long, uninterrupted periods of time at their own self-directed play.

- Observe children regularly to gain insights into their learning. Analyse and interpret these observations to help understand how to support them in their further learning.

For children to engage in and learn from problem-solving, they need to solve problems that they understand, in familiar contexts, where the outcomes matter to them, either on their own or in collaboration with others. They need to have control over the problem-solving process, and the problems should involve knowledge and skills they are confident with. They should have the opportunity to talk about the process, and have adult help to scaffold smaller steps in the process where they need it.

Two boys are playing with the tyres in the outdoor area of the setting. Their play leads them to start piling one tyre on top of the other. There are lots of tyres lying around the grassy area, and gradually they collect them and add them to their growing cylindrical tower.

Two more children join them, but in a different activity. They each find a container - one a bucket and spade and the other a dustpan and brush - and they gather up leaves and twigs and stones and empty them into the growing tyre cylinder.

The children building the tower have difficulty manipulating the tyres, as they are big and unwieldy. They have to turn each one on its edge and try to roll the tyre along. Sometimes another child sees this going on and volunteers to help.

Lifting the tyres increasingly higher is also difficult and reqiures two children, at least. As the tower grows, one child runs off and fetches a chair, puts it up against the tower, and lifts each tyre up on top. Meanwhile, the fillers continue to collect material to put into the central cavity.

Now that the hole is deeper, they add larger items such as lumps of wood and bark from the digging area. There are eight or nine tyres, one on top of the other. The children work at this activity for an hour and a half with no adult intervention. There is an adult observing from time to time and making notes.

Nursery World Print & Website

• Latest print issues
• Latest online articles
• Archive of more than 35,000 articles
• Free monthly activity poster
• Themed supplements

From £11 / month

Nursery World Full Membership

• Latest digital issues
• Exclusive offers

From £13 / month

Nursery World Digital Membership

© MA Education 2024. Published by MA Education Limited, St Jude's Church, Dulwich Road, Herne Hill, London SE24 0PB, a company registered in England and Wales no. 04002826. MA Education is part of the Mark Allen Group. – All Rights Reserved

Login Logout

Capacity Problem Solving Activity EYFS KS1

Description.

• Reviews (0)

Capacity Problem Solving is a great activity to encourage young children to use thinking and reasoning skills.  Each activity has a different container that needs to be filled with water, can children work out which object would be the best tool to use to fill that container?  They can discuss or write their answers, explaining reasons.

There are no reviews yet.

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

Related products

Capacity Volume Ordering Activity

Or search by topic

Number and algebra

• The Number System and Place Value
• Calculations and Numerical Methods
• Fractions, Decimals, Percentages, Ratio and Proportion
• Properties of Numbers
• Patterns, Sequences and Structure
• Algebraic expressions, equations and formulae
• Coordinates, Functions and Graphs

Geometry and measure

• Angles, Polygons, and Geometrical Proof
• 3D Geometry, Shape and Space
• Measuring and calculating with units
• Transformations and constructions
• Pythagoras and Trigonometry
• Vectors and Matrices

Probability and statistics

• Handling, Processing and Representing Data
• Probability

Working mathematically

• Thinking mathematically
• Mathematical mindsets
• Cross-curricular contexts
• Physical and digital manipulatives

For younger learners

• Early Years Foundation Stage

Advanced mathematics

• Decision Mathematics and Combinatorics
• Advanced Probability and Statistics

Early Years Foundation Stage Activities

Explanation of Our EYFS Format

Here you can find out more about how we structure our EYFS activities.

Early Years Activities - Number

Early Years Activities - Measures

Early Years Activities - Shape and Space

Early Years Activities - Pattern