Counting, Counting, Counting!

We have been doing lots of counting in many ways this year. Each child has made a counting book for the numbers 0-6. They each shared a page from their book with the whole class. Children are generating wonderful math conversations, discussing whether they think a particular way of counting is accurate or not. They are actually talking about their thinking (metacognition).

Children are counting how many children are in the group, comparing it to how many children are in the class and figuring out how many children are absent. We often stop the discussion and ask if we started counting with a different person, would the total be different? Or if we count the blue cubes first will it be different than if we start with the red cubes? These questions are truly something to think about in kindergarten. The answers are not obvious!

We have played a game called Build It, where children draw a card and place that number of pennies on their playing board, a ten frame. We also play Roll and Record. Children roll a die and write down the number on a piece of paper. Some children recognize the patterns on the die and other children count how many dots there are each time. They have been practicing writing numbers and doing really well.

Currently we are working on inventory bags. Children take a bag of objects and record how many items are in the bag. We are also building a measuring stick that is ten cubes long and comparing objects in the classroom to determine if they are longer or shorter than the stick.