As part of our focus on maths, pupils from Reception to Year 4 recently took part in a session of problem solving activities tailored to their year group. These sessions were run by The Happy Puzzle Company, with teachers and assistants joining in and guiding where appropriate, but leaving the children to come up with a solution to each puzzle.
The sessions took place in the hall and children worked in small groups to solve a range of different puzzles. All were designed to encourage co-operation and could be successfully solved using teamwork. Some groups found this easier to achieve than others, but as the session progressed, all groups discovered that collaboration was the best way of working, and a huge sense of achievement was felt when a particularly tough puzzle was completed.
The day was a great success, with plenty of fun and enjoyment of the various puzzles, as well as a lot of mathematical concepts being explored and mathematical language used, often without the children realising.
