Inside and Outside

Here is another fun activity students can work on this summer. This one helps keep those addition skills strong. You will need a hoop (this can be an actual hoop or a long piece of yarn or a jump rope). You will also need objects that are easy to toss. This example shows rolled up socks. Beanbags also work really well.

Hoop with socks inside and outside 

Your child stands facing away from the hoop and gently tosses the objects behind his or her head. This part can be pretty funny and a little tricky until they find their rhythm. When all the socks have been tossed (I would use sets between 5 and 10), your child turns around and shouts out the equation. In the case above, they would shout: "2+7=9!!

Math "Activity"

All year long, we have practiced our counting skills in many, many ways. One of the best ways to get kids up and engaged in counting is to add a little movement to the task.

This week, the students took their math counting balls outside where they tossed them back and forth with a partner. In the classroom, students pair up and we roll the balls back and forth. Each time a student catches the ball, he or she says the next number.

We also stomp around the classroom counting our steps. You can do lots of counting practice while out and about this summer. If you are going on a walk or hike, see how far 100 steps takes you. In your backyard, you can see how far 100 steps takes you.

How many cars in the garage?

Here is another fun, quick and easy way to practice fact fluency this summer. This example uses match box cars, but you could use ANYTHING that you have.


First, choose a set number of cars. I would start with 5. Line up the cars near a "garage." In this case, we just use a shoe box. If our child wants to decorate a box to make it look like a real garage, that is great. It is always a good idea to make this fun and creative.

Ask your child, "How many cars do you have?"

He or she will tell you, "Five!"

Now, ask your child to turn around or cover his or her eyes. Place some of the cars in the garage.

You can both see that there are three cars outside of the garage. The question you want your child to be able to answer is, "If we started with 5 cars, and now there are 3 cars, how many cars must be in the garage?"

As they become more and more proficient, use larger sets of items.

Practice counting this summer

This summer is a great time to keep your child's counting skills strong. There are so many fun ways to do this. First, make it meaningful to your child. Count the things he or she loves. This could be match box cars, legos, figurines, stuffed animals, books and so on. The bigger the collection, the better.

Here is an example of one simple activity: Start by asking your child, "I wonder how many stuffed animals you have?" Both of you can make a guess. Write the guesses down so you can see who was closest to the correct answer. Have your child collect all the stuffed animals and count. Is your child counting one-by-one? Can he or she put the animals in groups of ten to make counting easier? What is the final answer? Who was closer? Now, ask your child to sort the animals into groups. How many bears? How many cats? Do you have more bears or cats?

Take advantage of those big piles of stuffed animals! Lots of great math everywhere we look.

A look at the last few months

It is hard to believe the end of the year is nearly here! We are so proud of the incredible work these kindergartners have done this year. Every single child has grown in many, many ways.

These last few weeks, students examined rocks from the district science kit as well as went on a rock hunt outside. Many students have quite the collection. We took time to examine the qualities of various rocks and figured out all the different ways you can sort a rock collection!

Students studied basalt, scoria and tuft rocks

One of our rock collections

These last few months, students have mastered counting to 100 by 1s and 10s. Many students can also count to 100 by 5s and 2s! Students can break apart numbers 4-10. We know how to show our teen numbers with 10 + some more. Students are beginning to memorize addition facts and made flip books to help them practice.

Each day a student organizes the eggs into the ten-frame egg carton.

                       

Eggs from the nest in the classroom

We have been so lucky to have amazing art moms who help us get creative on Fridays. Here are a few of the great pieces of work.

Over the last few weeks this blog will have some different ideas and activities you can do with your student to keep his or her skills sharp and ready for first grade!

3.... 2.... 1.... Blast Off!

A few examples of the many cool rockets created last week!

Last week the students created their own rockets for space travel! We took time to research a variety of designs and then each student created his or her own rocket plan. They drew the rocket exactly the way they wanted it to look and added color and details. Students also made a list of the materials they would need in order to make their plan come to action. On the day of building, students were given materials and were encouraged to talk to one another about construction. It was so incredible to see the students engaged and working hard on their rockets.

Breakfast of Champions

A few samples of our cereal bowl math

Today, students explored teen numbers with a bowl of cereal! Each student decorated his or her own cereal bowl. Then, each student received an equation with the sum missing! Students were expected to show the solution with ten on the left side of the spoon and then the remaining number on the right side. With all the cereal in place, they could determine the sum of the equation. The students did an incredible job and of course enjoyed eating the extra cereal! This week we will continue to work with our cereal bowls and make our own "Building Numbers" booklet.