Patterns Galore

The kindergarten mathematicians have been working with patterns for a few weeks, and our culminating event, a "Pattern Museum" was a success! We created our own patterns from art materials, blocks and manipulatives, and we also broke apart patterns, shared our patterns, and recorded our patterns. Patterns in math are an important concept, as they mirror the predictability of numbers, help us to look closely at other concepts, and build on our number knowledge.

We set up our pattern posters  about the room, and added some patterns that we had built from blocks and shapes. The preK 4's and the first graders and teachers came in and asked us questions about our work. The mathematicians were very proud of their work, and having a "museum" is very motivating for the learners, as they exhibit their knowledge and hear compliments from others.

Until Next Time,
Michele

Patterns

We begin our pattern unit with an observation walk-looking for patterns throughout the school. The children learn early on that a pattern is something that is predictable, and that helps  you identify  "what comes next." We now know that numbers are patterns (4 comes after 3 every time!) and we will begin to take apart our patterns to discover units of the patterns.  

The children are given a variety of materials with which to construct patterns during free choice time. 

 We played a game which was about figuring out "what comes next" in a pattern.

Until Next Time,
Michele

Measuring

In kindergarten we learn about the basics of measuring-we ask questions such as "Why do we measure?" and How do we measure?" We read books about measuring, like Inch by Inch by Leo Leoni.  We trace our feet and measure them, and compare the footprints of all of the children. We don't use rulers, but do use units such as cubes so that we have a hands on comparison of lengths. 

Until Next Time,

Michele

Exploring Counting, Continued!

We explored counting and relative amounts when we read the book Chrysanthemum and counted up all of the letters in her name. We made towers of cubes representing the letters in our names, and then played comparison games, and filled in papers that showed shorter or longer.

 We played an inventory "game" which motivated the mathematicians to open mystery bags, count up the objects inside the bags, and record their results. Some children chose more than one bag to count up!

Until Next Time,
Michele

And the Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins

We are exploring the book And the Doorbell Rang  by Pat Hutchins.  Everytime the doorbell rings, the children have to share their cookies out fairly. Today we practiced sharing "one for you, one for me;" and we made sure to share out the cookies evenly. We will try to act out the story with props in the coming days. The children all realized that each time the plates would have fewer cookies-and checked my work dividing the cookies up evenly.

The book brings to life for the children the combining of groups, even numbers, dividing, counting out even groups, and anticipation. What will happen if more children show up? Can we divide the cookies?

Until Next Time,
Michele

Literature and Math Work Together!

Literature adds an element of creativity and familiarity to our classroom work. The K mathematicians were very proud of their work as they constructed a book based on the Donald Crew Book Ten Black Dots ! Creating the book required choosing a number from one to ten, gluing that  number of dots to the page,  and coloring a picture to include the dots. The children then told me their stories; I think that their favorite part was when we read the pages together as a group!

Until Next Time,
Michele