Math

We finished up a unit on patterns in December with activities like adding cars on to a train of cubes. Children draw a card that shows them a pattern. They build this pattern and then roll a die that tells them how many of these "cars" they will make. They also practiced breaking a train into cars, marking where a pattern begins to repeat.

In January we started a unit on measurement and numbers. Children began by figuring out how they could measure their feet in a variety of ways. We also measured lines around the room using craft sticks  and small objects around the room using cubes.

We have played Build It, where you draw a number card and place that many pennies on a ten-frame. This is followed by Build On, a game where you draw a card, place the pennies and then roll a die and add that many pennies to the frame. These activities build a foundation for adding and subtracting. Today we played Racing Bears. Children roll a die and move their bear. When they get close to the end, they decide on how to split the number on the die, involving the idea of subtracting the spaces they have already used. In Roll and Record, the children use two dice and have to combine the numbers to figure out their total. We are also doing Quick Images, where we flash an image on a screen, then ask children to copy the image onto their Ten Frame.