During Math this week, our stations focused on strengthening the kids’ one-to-one correspondence, counting to twelve (and more as a challenge!), writing numerals, and identifying pattern blocks. There was a good mix of “oldies but goodies” as well as some new stations.
· Spin and Sort Pattern Blocks - Given a spinner with the following options: 3 sides, 4 sides, and 6 sides, the students sorted the shapes on their sorting mat. In this activity, everyone had to identify which shapes had that many sides. They also received continued practice naming the various shapes.
· Build a City - This partner activity had students building towers depending on the roll of the dice. When their game was over, they had built a “city” of skyscraper towers! This week, the cherubs had an extra challenge. They connected all their towers, counted and decided which one had more cubes and which had less. If students had trouble counting that high, they compared the 2 towers by standing them up next to each other and comparing which one was more and less and by how much!
· Build a Staircase (to 9!) - This week, this fan favorite got even trickier!! Not only did the kiddos use number dice to increase their number recognition, they also had to build the staircase to 9! They had to choose which dice to use (1-6 or 4-9) dependent on what they needed in their staircase. Working with a partner, the boys and girls of Room #7 took turns rolling a die. They then stacked cubes together to represent that number. Once the partners finished building their staircases (1-9), they took turns rolling the die to disassemble them!!
· Shape Puzzle Books – Using various paper puzzle pieces in a book format, the children counted how many Unifex cubes could fit on each. Next, they recorded that number inside their books. Great job practicing your counting skills, Kindergarteners!
· Roll a Tower – At this independent station, a cherub rolled a dice, built a tower with enough cubes to match the number rolled, and then placed the tower on the game board in the corresponding column. The child kept rolling the dice and building towers until an entire column was filled and a number had “won”! The boys and girls got so excited to see which number ended up winning!
· Pumpkin Seed Counting Story – Similar to last week’s mini ten frame book, students used star stickers to represent each number in their book. Lastly, they received practice tracing each number!
This past week, I spent two days out of the classroom to attend a Responsive Classroom workshop. Responsive Classroom is a research- and evidence-based approach to elementary education that leads to greater teacher effectiveness, higher student achievement, and improved school climate. If you would like to learn more about this innovative approach to teaching, please visit the Website: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/. I will also be sending home a notice with more information on how I will be using what I learned in the classroom this week!
On Friday, we went to Smolak Farm! Room #7 had a blast on the hayride, picking pumpkins, and eating a delicious apple cider donut snack. Thank you to the adults who chaperoned! It was a fabulous day!