The kiddos have been hard at work learning about 3-D shapes and noticing them in their environment. Last Friday morning, the cherubs were able to make their original 3-D shapes using marshmallows and toothpicks. They loved experimenting with the structures and seeing what they could create. We have been talking a lot about how 3-D shapes are fat, not flat, and that each 3-D shape has different faces. These conversations helped the kiddos form their own. Moreover, one student remarked to the class, “You have to build a 2-D shape first in order to make a 3-D shape.” What a great comment for the kids to hear in order to help mold their shapes!
Have your child try to find the following shapes in the real-world; they are everywhere: cones, spheres, prisms, cubes, and cylinders. Ask them to tell you about what we found in the classroom!
Math stations for the week:
- iPad – Hungry Fish! – At this fun and engaging new game, students picked a level where they felt comfortable yet challenged. In each level, a fish emerges with a number on its belly. The students’ job is to combine numbers, or add, to equal the number found on the fish’s belly so that the fish can eat it! Everyone loved this game and enjoyed the challenge!
- Fill the Hexagons - With what different shapes can you make a hexagon? At this center, everyone picked pattern block shapes to determine how to fill in their hexagons. This center really inspired the kids to think critically and carefully to see where they could fit each shape!
- Worm to 10 – At this partner game, students worked with numbers to equal the number 10. The goal was to cover all the spots along the worm. The kiddos had to choose 2 circles to equal the target number. This station was great to work on different number combinations!
- Block Visions – Given one or more pictures of a simple block structure, the mathematicians built a structure that matched the pictures! We had great conversations about naming and counting the faces of the 3-D shapes.
- 3-D Shape Color - The boys and girls did an outstanding job recognizing what each shape was called at this center and then coloring that shape accordingly!
- Building and Recording Block Structures – At this stations, students explored relationships of three-dimensional shapes and began to develop a sense of perspective. Using 10-15 geo-blocks, the children built structures with the blocks and then drew what they saw. They had to pay close attention to the “faces” of their 3-D shapes and make sure their depictions of their structure matched their drawings.
- Part/Whole Bingo (from last week’s Apple Boxes unit) – This game gave our mathematicians the opportunity to explore arrangements and equivalence. It promoted thinking about equivalence and the likelihood that combinations will appear. With a partner, players took turns rolling two dice. The roll of the two dice determines the number of cubes that each player can place on the board. For example, if one player rolls a 5 and a 2, each child takes seven cubes and placed them on his/her board. Each player gets to independently decide where to place the cubes and the two players’ choices may have been different. For example, one child might cover all seven on the “7 track”; the other child might cover the 5 and 2 tracks. One could also cover tracks 2, 2, and 3, or tracks 6 and 1. It is the player’s choice! The objective is to eventually cover the entire game board. Part-Whole Bingo encouraged the exploration of decomposing and composing numbers by allowing the cherubs to cover equivalent arrangements. Plus, it’s a super fun, cooperative game!
Well, spring has sprung both inside and outside Room #7. We have officially begun our unit on planting, and the kids are pumped. The boys and girls and I have chatted a lot about the differences that are occurring outside due to the change in seasons. Last Friday, the cherubs were able to sow their very own seeds! From beans and radishes, to marigolds and sunflowers, the children each received a few seeds to plant in their individual planter. Over the course of the next few weeks, the students will come in every day, water their plants, and watch them grow! Additionally, the kiddos will be recording their plants’ progress as well as noting what seedlings and plants need to thrive and grow in their Planting Journal. Very exciting times in Kindergarten!
Have a wonderful weekend!