Activities! Birdie Houses! Sand Castles! A Fish Bowl! And (drum roll...) Camille's Team!
The Stuart J. Murphy Activities Newsletter comes out every other Wednesday, filled with selections from a vast and wonderful archive of Early Math & Early Childhood Ed activities.
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Hello!
It is starting to feel like summer! Or at least the summer side of spring.
This week’s featured I See I Learn story is Camille’s Team / Camila y su equipo. I love this story—and not just because my youngest grandchild is named Camille and it takes place at a beach! It is story about collaboration / colaboracion. Camille may be the youngest of the Ready, Set, Pre-K kids, but it turns out she has natural executive abilities. Just wait until you see the magnificent sand fort they built together! (Scroll down for free posters and a video.)
Our Level MathStart book this week is A House for Birdie (understanding capacity). This the time of year when birds that spent the winter in Central and South America fly north to spend the summer raising a family. Every morning they sing. It is called the “Dawn Chorus.” What do you think Birdie’s song sounds like?
Our Level Two MathStart book is Super Sand Castle Saturday / Sábado de Súper Castillo, another story set at the beach, this one about measuring / medir. Do you like to go to the beach? Me, too! Be sure to scroll down for videos in English and en español.
Our Level Three MathStart, is Room for Ripley (area). Like Birdie, Ripley needs to find the right size home, only this time it’s a fish bowl!
Math = Fun!
Stuart
Mathstart is a series of 63 storybooks organized into three levels for Pre-K through Grade 4. Each story teaches a different mathematical skill.
You can buy individual books, sets by level, or a complete library. Here is list of where to find MathStart books!
• Level 1, Pre-K/ Kindergarten:
A House for Birdie (understanding capacity)
Poor little Birdie! He doesn't have a house to protect him from the wind and rain. So his buddies — Spike, Queenie, Goldie, and Fidget, who range in shape from tall, thin, and narrow to short, fat and wide—decide to help him find one.They fly all over the neighborhood, but each house they come to is either too tall, too wide, too fat or too short for Birdie, but perfect for one of them. Just when the skies begin to cloud over and things look their bleakest, Birdie's friends pitch in to build a house that's just right for Birdie.
Capacity is an important concept in geometry.
• Level 2, Kindergarten / Grade 1:
Super Sand Castle Saturday (measuring)
Juan, Sarah and Laura are building sand castles. But which one's tallest? Juan's is only two shovels high, while Sarah's is three. Laura's moat is one big spoon deep, while Juan's is two little spoons deep. Too bad their shovels and spoons aren't the same size. But "an inch is always an inch," says Larry the Lifeguard, using a tape measure to determine the winners.
Children learn that it is helpful to use standard units of measure to make accurate comparisons.
en español
Sábado de Súper Castillo (medir)
Juan, Sara y Laura están construyendo castillos de arena ¿Pero cuál castillo es más alto? El castillo de Juan mide tan solo dos palas de altura, mientras que el de Sara mide tres palas de altura. El foso de la Laura mide un poco más de una cuchara grande de profundidad, mientras que el foso de Juan mide dos cucharas pequeñas de profundidad. Qué lástima que sus cucharas y palas no sean del mismo tamaño. Pero “una pulgada siempre mide una pulgada”, dice Larry el salvavidas, cuando determino los ganadores usando su cinta métrica. Los niños aprenderán a usar las normas de unidades de medidas para hacer comparaciones precisas.
• Level 3, Grades 2 - 4:
Room for Ripley (capacity)
The guppy in the pet store ripples through the water as he swims, so Carlos names him Ripley. Carlos wants to buy Ripley, though first he needs to set up a fish bowl at home with a little help from big sister Ana. He pours a cup of water into the bowl, but it isn't nearly enough. Then another cup, which makes a pint. But he needs more. How many pints make a quart? How many quarts in a half-gallon? In a gallon? It sure takes a lot of water to keep a little fish happy!
Children need to understand the relationships between the various units used to measure liquid capacity.
I See I Learn is a series of 16 stories that follow the adventures of the children in Miss Cathy’s class at Ready, Set Pre-K in See-and-Learn City (see map).
Each story focuses on a different social, emotional, health & safety and cognitive skill important for success in school and in life. For Pre-K / Kindergarten.
Camille’s Team (collaboration)
Camille loves to build sand forts at the beach. But it’s hard to build a big fort alone. See what happens when Camille and her friends make a plan, work together, and share the fun.
Learning how to work together to achieve a goal helps children develop mutual respect. Children see that they can get more done—and have more fun doing it!
Share the work. Share the fun!
FREE PDF Poster
Camila y su equipo (colaboracion)
A Camille le encanta construir castillos de arena en la playa. Pero, es difícil construir un castillo solita. Ve lo que sucede cuando Camille y sus amigos hacen un plan, trabajan juntos, y se divierten.
Aprendiendo como trabajar juntos para lograr una meta ayuda a los niños a desarrollar como respetar a los demás. ¡Los niños aprenden a completar más trabajos - y a divertirse mientras trabajan!
¡Compartir el trabajo! ¡Compartir la diversión!
FREE PDF Poster
Do you have a story or a question? Please send me an email!