education by stealth
As much as we’d like to say that we had this grand plan for the success of Finska in schools, that wouldn’t be entirely accurate. Truth be told, schools discovered Finska and encouraged us to help introduce the game and spread the word. We’ve since discovered that what makes it special is the combination of strategy, mental arithmetic, and outdoor active play that supports educational objectives in a fun positive way. The kids think they’re just having fun. The teachers know better. It’s good fun but also a genuinely good way of reinforcing what’s learned in the classroom via non-threatening competitive exercise. That’s win-win and supported by the feedback provided by primary schools. “The class cheers when the Finska comes out. As a teacher, that’s the kind of learning activity that works for all of us”.
tips for schools
We recommend students are paired with a partner and games are played two versus two. This helps develop teamwork and joint problem solving as the game evolves. Students are encouraged to monitor their own score but also to tactically react to that of their opponents. e.g if the opposing team are on 37, students must work out they need 13 to win and consider how best to achieve that whilst limiting the likelihood their opponents reach 50 first. In mathematical terms, Finska directly reinforces the mathematical concepts of addition, subtraction, likelihood and risk, one versus many and can be extended to support multiplication.