Nature is full of opportunities for learning to count as it is full of sets, groups and arrangements of certain numbers. Going out in nature with your kids and especially those who have learning disabilities is a fun way to learn, particularly for those who may have trouble learning abstracts in the classroom.

I am a proponent of learning through more of the senses than hearing and seeing. By being in nature with hands on opportunities kids get to feel and manipulate items in a multitude of ways restricted in the indoor classroom.

Think of learning from nature as a big classroom. In fact, the whole world is a classroom really. We can learn from everything around us through all our bodily senses; our nerve endings.

For a lesson in counting in the great outdoors plan on taking a walk through the woods or a park. Carry along a bag to collect your treasures. The task can be to pick one or two or three of a certain item you've determined ahead of time.

Possibilities: small stones; twigs with one, two or three leaves left on; leaves with one, two or three parts. Examples would be pine needles for one, holly leaves for one, oak leaves for one, two or three, or whatever tree leaves are found in your area.

Take your collection back to your kitchen table and spread them out in groupings by number. All the items of ones together; all the items of 2 parts together, and on with other items as needed.

Now you can do a lot with these groupings to talk about counting. Some questions to ask:

How many piles did we make?

How many items are in each pile?

If we add two piles together how many items do we have?

If we have 3 piles and take away one pile how many piles are left?

The kids really can learn counting by seeing and feeling the object. It is a concrete way to reinforce what counting is.

In summary, make a math lesson in counting out of a walk in nature. Collect different specimens, bring them home and sort by numbers - either as kinds of items or how the item is divided into parts like with an oak or maple leaf. Then play with the piles, combining or subtracting. This is a fun way to learn the concept of counting and sets, too.

Article by Susan Kramer

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