Kindergarten Problem Solvers

First, a brief walk down memory lane:
So you may have seen or heard some of the crazy math that older grades are doing now... this is because things are constantly being shaken up and reassigned to different grade levels. Just a few years ago for instance, some 7th grade level material was reassigned to 4th graders (say what?! yep, true!). 2nd grade got some stuff that was once taught in 4th, 1st got stuff previously taught in 2nd and 3rd... and on and on. Totally crazy, right! Now teachers weren't cool with this, so some changes have been made to help bridge the gap and are still being made... however, it doesn't lighten the work load for the content expected to be taught in that grade level. It's mega important that we teach everything that is "in our lane" because the following year the next grade level will be building a High 5 over that lane, and without understanding the previous year kids will miss the exit ramp to get on the High 5. Math builds on itself. Teachers call this spiraling (where we go deeper into a concept. like a drill bit spirals). Why did the content get shifted you ask? Well I'm not really sure... that's a question/ comment/ concern for your representatives in the State of Texas (none of which are educators). However, as an educator and an educated person actively involved in my community and helping to mold 21st century learns here's my guesstimate of why things have shifted so...

The world is changing.

That's it. Expectations for mathematical thinking in the world around us are so changing! What once was OKAY and ENOUGH to get by on is now not at all enough (say "ohhh scary"). We are developing kids that are going to be part of a high-tech world with complex math and problem solving-type situations and the world that is developing around us is becoming even more mathematical and problem filled... As a teacher and an educated, observant individual it's my opinion that these shifts in when we teach things is due to keeping up with and preparing kids, as best as we can, for said changes in the world. After all, in order for the public education system to be a success, we have to produce successful, independent, contributing members of society. If society is changing then we too must change our system (basically).

So, how in the world does this apply to kindergarten?

Answer: We aren't just playing.

Things that were taught in 1st and 2nd grades are now being taught in KINDERGARTEN. (Let me pick your jaw up off the floor mom and dad.) Don't freak out though because your kids can do it.

Say it with me: YES THEY CAN! 

Kindergarten is all about the expectations and pushing kids. It's instilling a drive to work and question things, and a want to find the answer!

Say it with me again: YES THEY CAN! 

That is you mantra now, from kindergarten, all the way to their senior year of high school (and higher education should that be their path).

How can you help at home? The first and foremost thing for your child's mathematical success in the remainder of their academic and adult career is having a good understanding of numbers. Here's how you start with 3 easy steps:

1. Rote memory of what the numbers look like- Can they recall the name of the number? Can they recall it when in order and scrambled order? Can they write the number?

We LOVE Jack Hartmann's videos for learning our numbers, letters, calendar, etc. Here's his YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVcQH8A634mauPrGbWs7QlQ .

Jack Hartmann has a lot of math videos, just go to the playlist tab and find his counting playlist of videos. Every video has some sort of movement with it as well which helps them memorize.

Websites: ABCMouse, StarFall, ABCYa

Apps: Splash Math Kindergarten, Preschool and Kindergarten Learning Games, 10 Frame Fill, Friends of Ten, Animals Counting Writing Game Free, Number Rack, Count Sort, Number Sense HD, Virtual Manipulatives!, Sushi Monster, Aahh! Math Zombies, Math Ninja.

2. Ordering the numbers/ Counting with 1-1 Correspondence- Once we know their names we need to be able to put them in order and say which number comes before and after a number. They need to be able to do this first with numbers in front of them and then be able to do this from their memory. For example, driving down the road, they don't have numbers in front of them to manipulate. You see the number 10. Ask them what comes one before 10? One after 10? etc. Counting with 1-1 Correspondence means they can count in number order (1,2,3,4,5,6,7) and touch 1 object at a time, giving that object the number name and NOT miscounting or touching an object more than once.

Putting the numbers in order and using 1-1 correspondence to count them would be like this video has done:

Here's a video explanation of 1-1 Correspondence

3. Subitize the numbers- Subitizing is when we can see a set of items (like the dots on playing cards/ dice/ dominoes) and quickly tell how many are there. When they get it with regularly patterned dots, move onto randomly placed dots. They love this game! You can also have them subitize with their fingers. A big part of subitizing is the discussion. Ask them how they know it is that number. This is when they will explain to you how they saw it for example if there are 7 dots they may tell you it was a group of 2 and group of 5 or group of 3 and group of 4. Subitizing is when kids start to build their basic math facts because they can recall those simple facts quickly.

Here's a great video explanation of what subitizing is!

These are the skills I want you to focus on at home this year with your child (unless otherwise told based on your child's independent needs). Please do not have them working on other skills like adding and subtracting number sentences, greater than/ less than (unless they are right near each other on the number line), fractions, place value... these are way out of our lane in kindergarten!

Here is another teacher with some great overall math tips!

Words in the Great Outdoors!

Outdoor word work is so much more than side walk chalk! Here are some supply ideas:

• Chalk (most common) - there is an endless supply of ideas out there for chalk. Your child probably has endless ideas of what they could do with chalk! Swing on over to The Home Teacher to see some great sidewalk chalk activities!

• Sticks- use sticks and build the words/ letters.

• Leaves- use leaves to build the words/ letters.

• Silly string- 1) use silly string to write words 2) write words with chalk and then tag the word said with silly string.

• Fly swatters- swat words that are written with fly swatter.

 (now just imagine this outside!)

• Pebbles/rocks- use pebbles/ rocks to spell words and letters.

• Sand/ dirt- use a stick or finger to spell words in the sand/ dirt.

• Water/squirt guns- write with the guns, tag the words that are already written, for rhyming words (or any other spelling rule)- spray the beginning sound to erase it and change out the word to another word in that family.

• Hopscotch pad- chalk out a hopscotch pad or if you want to make it more permanent paint it, hopscotch spell the word or recite the alphabet as you hopscotch.

• Cardboard letter tiles (think of this like giant Scrabble pieces) - cut cardboard squares (about 1ft x 1ft) and write letters on them like Scrabble. Then use to recite ABCs or spell out words.

• Jump ropes- use the ropes to spell or jump rope and spell the words.

• Paints- paint the word on a stone then you can hide the stones around the yard and have a scavenger hunt.

Intro Activities to Outdoor Learning

(Let me preface this with stating, none of these ideas are my own genuine creations. As a teacher we beg, borrow, and steal from anyone with a good idea we think may work. These are off of other blogs/ Pinterest/ moms that I know/ my own childhood...etc.)

Measurement/ Classification Scavenger Hunt

Chalk number lines + imagination = a whole world of possible math thinking going on!

Here are a TON of number identification, classification, sorting, addition, subtraction starter ideas in this pic!

In the pic above, I would suggest activities like these:

• Bull's Eye- adjust the numbers inside for the learner's age. Throw the sponge and that learner must do that many jumping jacks, find that many items in the yard, count to that number, give an equation to equal the number...use your imagination!
• Sorting- this could be a great, fun scavenger hunt. Like the pic shows you could use stones OR colored plates/ bowls/ buckets/ towels, etc. They could be natural object being found or objects you've placed intentionally.
• Number lines- I love number lines! I like the bike pick above. This could be where you have a number caller and a biker/runner/ skater/ you name it-er...the number caller says a number and that person uses their mode of transportation to move over that number on the number line. 

Use found objects to create shapes...then take the simple shapes even further to create pictures. This is a fun thing for students when we learn about shapes. We will look at pictures and identify what shapes it takes to make that picture (real photos). Then using construction paper shapes students make their own pictures. They can do this with found objects in the yard as well!

Experiment.

Have fun.

Research- Pinterest is great.

I am beginning outdoor centers this week in class. Each post in this series past the intro will be from the classroom. Going to be a fun time! Check in next week!

Outdoor Challenge!

For the last 10 weeks of school (so this starts NEXT MONDAY- 3/31/14) cut out technology and encourage your family to do outdoor activities instead- at least during the school week. I know rain will come since it's spring, so I will include rainy day suggestions as well. I encourage you to share the experience in the comments of how this goes for you during the last 10 weeks of school.

Outdoor Learning

Saturday I spent the majority of the day outside, I even did my grad school work outside. With all this nice weather coming our way it had me thinking of just how much kindergartners and elementary aged students just prefer to be outside. Really most of our world's biggest minds did a lot of their work outside.

Reflect with me on some of the great leaders of our past:

Henry David Threau- a naturalist and abolitionist who wrote about the wrongs of slavery and the world around him. Some of his most famous pieces include A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and (Thoughts from) Walden- were written while in nature, as was most of his work.

Robert Frost- I think we all remember having to memorize The Road Not Taken... recite with me "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both. And be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth..." I will forever associate that poem with Mrs. Geiger's 8th grade English class.

Nathaniel Hawthorne- The Scarlet Letter goes into such rich detail about the nature in the state of Massachusetts that when I visited Vermont over spring break, the drive from Boston to VT just made all the imagery in Hawthorne's writing alive. I could just imagine that patch of woods next to the river, tucked away from civilization being where Hester Prynne lived. Visiting Boston for the first time over spring break, I could see the book come to life as I walked The Freedom Trail. (I know it wasn't set in Boston, but the buildings are the same.)

Abraham Lincoln actively played outside and taught himself everything he knew. He educated himself so well, while absorbing nature that he was able to become a lawyer and the president.

George Washington was a great leader and soldier, but first and foremost was a farmer and surveyor. He knew the land, understood it, and felt he was one with it. His bond with nature forged his character!

During the Renaissance in both Europe and our own Renaissance periods, people were often found outdoors working because it yielded so much more production.

Most ivy league and well established universities are surrounded by nature and have extensive grounds that they keep. Year round you find students sprawled across the yards of those universities in study groups, independent study, in self expression, or even my own university had a stump that people could stand on and freely express anything they wanted from that stump. 

Examples of those who actively believed in learning through nature or doing work outdoors lead to more productive work is extensive. This philosophy of learning stems from Maria Montessori- http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/History-of-Montessori-Education/Biography-of-Maria-Montessori.aspx- , an educational theorists who (very simply put) believed learning should be done at the learner's pace through exploration. This is largely why in my classroom I don't require students to work in a dedicated place- yes we have tables and they do have assigned spots, however they only go to those areas when they are being redirected or it is a whole group learning time. The remainder of our day students may complete the tasks I give them via free roam (that's what we call the period of independent/ partner/ small group tasks). Only if they don't meet our agreed upon contract rules for this period can they be asked to go to a preassigned area. This rarely happens though! It's unique. It's challenging. It's EXTREMELY chaotic. However, I've seen so much improvement in my students this year that seems to be a direct result of the process. They are most importantly more responsible because they have to be or the privileges are revoked.

SO, I am about to begin a series of blogs based on outdoor learning. This learning will be structured but out of your control- so if you like holding the reigns take a deep breath and just try to experiment with me! We are creating leaders! We are creating independent children! We are creating deeper thinkers! So, with these blogs to come there is a challenge involved... can you handle it?

Challenge: For the last 10 weeks of school (so this starts NEXT MONDAY- 3/31/14) cut out technology and encourage your family to do outdoor activities instead- at least during the school week. I know rain will come since it's spring, so I will include rainy day suggestions as well. I encourage you to share the experience in the comments of how this goes for you during the last 10 weeks of school.

Easy Math Centers

I don't believe in worksheets. They are not engaging and don't require the student to use their brain in higher levels of thinking. If you would like to use a worksheet, please supplement it with hands-on activity!

That being said, centers in my classroom use few supplies. I like to keep my centers this way so that we use objects that are commonly found at home. Why? Well when we use a deck of cards, dice, dominoes, chopsticks, clothespins... the student will see it at home in their environment and remember the activity. This way the student is more likely to recreate the center at home. So, here are some examples of centers my kids use for math practice:

Shown above: In this math centers student use ice trays and fuzzy balls or pom poms. 

• Beginning of the Year (BOY):The student rolls a die and places that many fuzzy balls into the ice tray to develop number sense.
• Middle and End of the Year(MOY/EOY): The student rolls a die and writes the number down and puts that many pom poms in the ice tray. Then the student flips a coin- heads = addition, tails = subtraction. The student writes the symbol. Then the student rolls the die again. This gives the 2nd number. The student writes it down and completes to problem. 

Shown above: In this center the students pull sticks with simple addition and subtraction problems. If they get it right they keep the stick. Wrong, then the stick goes back in the container. This container once was Lysol wipes :)

Shown Above: In this activity students give the sharks teeth.

• BOY: We use this as number sense. The student rolls a die and places that many teeth on the shark.
• MOY/ EOY: The student rolls a die and writes the number down and puts that many teeth on the shark. Then the student flips a coin- heads = addition, tails = subtraction. The student writes the symbol. Then the student rolls the die again. This gives the 2nd number. The student writes it down and completes to problem. 

Shown Above: Students place 10 counters at the top. Then student selects a number sentence card (4-3). The student brings 4 counters down into the box. The student takes 3 away and places them in the cup. What is left in the box is the answer.

Shown Above:

• BOY: We use this as number sense. The student pics a rocket ship and places that many clothespins on it.
• MOY/ EOY: The student selects 2 ships and puts the clothes pins on them. Then the student writes the number sentence and solves the problem in this one we only use it for addition.

Shown Above:

• BOY: We use this as number sense. The student pics a paint sample and puts that many links on it. At home the links could be paper clips.
• MOY/ EOY: The student selects 2 paint samples and puts links on them then writes the number sentence and completes the problem. Again, I only use this one for addition.

Shown Above: My kids LOVE this center. I've just labeled the bottom of cups with different ways to show numbers. The students match the cups and build a tower for each number, so there's a tower for 1's, 2's, 3's, 4's, and so on! IT IS A HIT! The can is just a decorated Pringles can :)

How do I create Word Work centers?

Word Work is by far my students' favorite time of the day! They just love writing in unconventional ways and creating silly words. In Kindergarten we start Word Work with simple letter recognition, sound practice, and writing the alphabet. As the year progresses, the difficulty increases in our word work centers. Our year looks something like this:

alphabet practice
names of classmates
site words
CVC words
sneaky E words
Vowel teams/ diphthongs/ digraphs
building sentences

For each step they have many tools to use:

• Alphabet practice- they tote their name tags around the room so they have their own personal alphabet at their disposal. 
• Names- I make a key ring of laminated names for each table consisting of each students' name. 
• Site words- we use the word wall, but I also add their site words onto that key ring. 
• Spelling Patterns- we make an anchor chart on each pattern and I post it on our bathroom door. All the student has to do is refer to the chart and recreate the pattern. 
• Building sentences- they combine ALL tools for this and any other print in our classroom. 

(pictures below)

I've already mentioned how I like to use items in my centers that are commonly found around the home, this way the student can recreate the center easily at home. Same goes for Word Work. If you are looking to create Word Work Centers here are some supplies you might want to keep around:

spoons
cups
chopsticks
letter stickers
letter stamps
fun colorful paper
markers
colored pencils
pencils
regular stickers
play-doh
yarn
old keyboard
poster paint/ bingo paint dotters
water colors
magnets
dry erase boards and markers
newspapers/ magazines

This list could really go on and on, and I encourage you to use Pinterest for innovative ideas!

Shown Above: They are kind of beaten up, however this is a popular center! The bottom cup has a word ending written on it and the top cup has single letters on it (I put about 4 on each top cup). The student spins the top cup around and sounds out the CVC words. 

Shown Above: This is a printed keyboard, I also have old real keyboards which kids just love. Anytime you can give them an artifact not only does it help them put the skill into a practical sense but it makes the task more enjoyable. Anywho, the student selects a word and types it out. This has helped with student logins and with students pecking words out in the computer lab!

Shown Above: This is pretty self explanatory. At home you could do this with magnets on the refrigerator and words written on a sticky note!

Shown Above: YES this is word work! No it doesn't involve words, but does involve fine motor skills or working out those small muscles in our hands. The stronger those muscles are the better handwriting will be. It also is a big brain workout, like a puzzle. See my fine motor skills blog for more fine motor practice. Chopsticks are my kids' favorites for fine motor practice, along with lacing cards.

Shown Above: Newspaper/ Magazine + paint dotter. Students locate and dot their site words. They love this. Another similar one is water color painting site words WITH a paint brush not fingers. This helps for practicing holding a pencil. They really enjoy water color writing!

Thinking Higher! Did you ask any good questions today?

Growing up, my family ate dinner every night around the table together. My mom is an elementary teacher and my dad is a principal so we grew up in an educational home where everything was a learning opportunity. I was very fortunate. At dinner each night my dad would always as my sister and I if we asked any good questions that day at school. At the time I hated this part of dinner. Now, as an adult and an educator I realize just how important it is to ask kids if they asked any good questions! But for them to ask good questions, we have to model what good questions are! 

So, new to the Kingdom, a higher level questions wall! We are very excited about this. Using Bloom's Taxonomy, I've divided questions into 3 levels. Lowest level is blue, middle is green, and highest is pink. I'm excited to use these with the kids. My thought is to ask questions from blue on Monday and Tuesday, green questions on Wednesday and Thursday, and pink questions on Thursday and Friday- this way they are taking our week's learning and pushing it further each day. I encourage you to try it in your classroom or even at home! Why shouldn't we ask some challenging questions. So, did you ask any good questions today?

The Leader in Me: Habit 2 at Home

Thank you Jack Elementary School, Tyler, TX for the wonderful at home Habit suggestions!

The Leader in Me: Habit 1 at Home

Thank you Jack Elementary School, Tyler, TX for the wonderful at home Habit suggestions!

Fine Motor Practice

These are a few great activities to work on fine motor skills. Also, picking up paper clips, stringing beads, Mancala and board games are great, and those wax beads that you iron to make magnets. Here's a mom-blog with 50 Fine Motor Skill Activities: http://www.loveplayandlearn.com/2012/09/the-ultimate-list-of-fine-motor-skills-activities-for-children.html.

October Homework BINGO

Technology and Apps

I just wanted to give y'all some apps and sites we use in the classroom that can be great tools at home as well!

iPad:

• My Story- Book Maker for Kids: in this app, kids create stories and can record their voice telling the story. We have used it to make books about our group, books about colors, and books with our class members' names in it.
• Whiteboard app: We use this to practice writing names, sight words, letters, and spelling.
• Haiku Deck: This is similar to My Story-Book Maker, but you can't record your voice.
• Letter and number tracing apps: These are great for muscle memory and practicing writing the letters in the correct format.

Websites:

• Star Fall http://www.starfall.com/
• PBS Kids http://pbskids.org/
• BookFlix, this is like Netflix but with books. They allow a free trial. http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/bookflixfreetrial/
• Switcheroo Zoo http://www.switchzoo.com/
• Fun Brain http://www.funbrain.com/
• National Geographic Kids http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
• Seussville http://www.seussville.com/
• Storyline http://www.storylineonline.net/
• ABCYA.COM http://www.abcya.com/kindergarten_computers.htm

Software used at school:

• iStation: we use iStation throughout the week for reinforcement and for our assessments. Each student has their own login. Students can login online at home, if parents download the software to their home computer. It is free. http://www.istation.com/

  

September Homework

Here is our September homework, a paper copy is going home in your child's MOOSE Tuesday, September 3. Please read the directions and e-mail me if you have any questions!