Jacob Merrill

So here they my favourite 40 picturebooks of 2025 (actually there are 42). Merry Christmas!

#FavePicturebooks25 #PicturebookPage

I'm also part of this 'podcast thing'... Do have a listen!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

open.spotify.com/show/3cJF2EX...

@atmmathematics.bsky.social

And air fryer temp and time before that?

Bit nervous to share but, it’s here!

Available to pre-order. If you use MINCHIN35 you should get 35% (if you fancied!)

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported, inspired & challenged me over the past however many years l've been posting playful activities online 🙌
#playinupperprimary

Fractions always a topic where visuals can help.
However need children to decide the questions. E.g “What if we had …….. "
Polypad is great for working with children rather than asking them to watch a 'fixed’ PPT animation.
Love Polypad.
@polypad.bsky.social @davidporas.bsky.social

Continuous Quadrilaterals Task

This task provoked some interest at my conference session this week so I thought I'd share to see if anyone fancied having a go.

Polypad interactive to assist with attempts (you can drag copies of the triangles): polypad.amplify.com/p/cR6OglvIOO...

#mathstoday #ukmathschat

Formed From Three - The Mathematical Isles of What If...? Using three similar shapes, surround an area that forms a triangle. Then using three more the same, form a quadrilateral, then a pentagon etc. How far can you go?

Thank you! The photo on the left is this task if anyone is interested:

islesofwhatif.com/2024/05/01/f...

Really enjoying exploring with triangles in #MathsToday #FPTC2025 with Jacob Merrill

Looking forward to seeing people at FPTC conference this week.

I'll be exploring how exploratory variation might illuminate beauty and power through the surprising use of equilateral triangles.

Why not try one of the tasks online? islesofwhatif.com/2023/10/03/t...

@atmmathematics.bsky.social

Look at this! Taken from Satisfraction, the new book from @profsmudge.bsky.social which is available to order now.

atm.org.uk/Shop/Satisfr...

Next week I'll be at the @mathematicala.bsky.social @atmmathematics.bsky.social joint conference (exciting!) along with my conference buddy @mathforge.org

If you're also going, would you like to join our conference buddy gang? The deal is we meet up at the end of each day and compare notes.

Crocus flowers

Stumpery with crocus flowers and ferns

Ferns and crocus flowers

Stumpery

Gardening gang loved tending to the stumpery this week. Beautiful crocus, narcissus, snowdrops, and primroses are mingled in with ferns.
@herefordshirewt.bsky.social @gardenersworldmag.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @minilebowski.bsky.social
#lovestc #perseverancestc #unitystc

children create a huge growing shape on the floor with giant pattern blocks, placing the same shape block in smaller version on each giant shape

Popped into the K class and saw this...
pattern blocks on pattern blocks

It might retain it for a while as it is probably cached but it would likely go at some point soon after. In the past, if I've updated the meta image or text, it has eventually changed on a post.

So true.
Long may the @atmmathematics.bsky.social messaging of learning mathematics by making and doing mathematics be broadcast.

It was reaffirmed in "Better Mathematics"

Love this debut from Portuguese writer #InesViegasOliviera.

“The Duel” is a profound and thoughtful tale of letting go of past conflicts and seeing beyond the hate. Two men duel but one just keeps walking. Change in palettes show the change in thought and outlook. Quietly great #PicturebookPage

Yes! I probably should have written that!

Thanks! I fear my short list could be quite long...

Done

Since I can't send a DM to you on here, is it ok to email it to you?

Ah yes, thank you.

I'm sure you'll have better suggestions but I recently wrote a piece about how we might create opportunities for learners to develop agency through 'what if' questions. It shares some classroom experiences where they created and explored their own constraints. Happy to share if interested

My next book - a journey through child development from prenatal to age three - will be called Wonderment…and for good reason.

There’s not a lot that arouses awe in us as adults. After a point we’ve mostly seen it all. We’ve been there and done that.

Thread 🧵

Three triangles. Many tasks. One goal: to show how playful explorations of these mathematical objects can transform perspectives. Simple words can hold beauty and power in a poem, can simple mathematical objects hold the same? KS2/3 workshop
@atmmathematics.bsky.social @mathematicala.bsky.social

And the thing with putting so much priority on remembering more is, what happens when they forget it? What value was the learning then? It's inevitable at some point. It might take days, months, years. I can't remember the formula for quadratic equations now despite endless use at school

Yes. When I think about myself as a mathematician, I studied to a level, did a computer science degree. Now I don't access beyond KS2 content but the way I access it is more meaningful. But edu is so afraid of any complexity. In tasks, in aims, in what we value. The way chn access is reductive

I've been thinking a lot about this. The goal of a poem isn't to help you understand language - it's to transform perspectives. But maths is taught as if properties and predefined procedures of mathematical objects are all that matters. I think m. objects can transform perspectives too when explored

Maths has such an appalling record of putting people off the subject for life, that we should build appreciation for maths into everything we ask learners to do.

This article by Skemp written in 1983 & reproduced in @atmmathematics.bsky.social MT journal 293 is still extremely pertinent: “if we were to teach music the way we teach maths we would only succeed in putting most of them off for life.” >>

www.early-years-reviews.com/play-matters

We have some news. An update. You are not going to want to miss this.

Play Matters will be out on March 18th 2025 🥳🥳🥳🥳

“Play Matters” – A Groundbreaking Free Guide to Champion the Power of Play in Early Childhood.

#PlayMatters

I do like that my cats follow me everywhere, but when you discover the ultimate spot for hide and seek and the cat leads the children straight to you, it feels a little unfair.

Perhaps I'm taking the game too seriously.