Activities! Shapes, Angles and a Picnic!
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!
Parents can be the most wonderful teachers! That’s Freda’s mom having lunch with her daughter in the picture above. In my I See I Learn story, Freda Plans a Picnic / Freda oraniza una merienda (sequencing / secuencia), Freda’s mom shows her how to pack a picnic basket for a tasty backyard party with friends from Ready, Set, Pre-K—including Pickle, Emma’s green bulldog. Woof!
The children have the best time, including Pickle who runs around the yard, steals a cookie and gets a bit dirty. “It’s time to clean up!” says Freda’s mom.
Freda’s mom knows daily life is full of oppotunities for teaching, even a picnic. Freda’s learns she has to invite her friends first, then prepare lunch, then pack it in a basket, then carry it outside, then spread a blanket on the grass, then welcome her friends, then eat sandwiches, then dessert, then clean up.
The ability to recall events in the proper order—understanding sequence, a cognitive skill—is important for story comprehension, mathematics, following directions, planning and other life skills.
Each of the 16 stories in the I See I Learn program teach a different social, emotional, health & safety or cognitive skill, but there is always overlap. Freda’s Plans a Picnic is also about cooperation, a social skill, and hygiene, a health and safety skill. Young children can learn many things at once.
This week’s three featured MathStart stories are:
Circus Shapes (a story about shapes, that can also be used to teach sequencing)
Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes (a story about 3D shapes and also friendship. Go Comet, the Space Dog!)
Hamster Champs (a story about angles, but also about the importance of persistence and teamwork)
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I would like to give a special shout out thanks to my very good friends at the Early Math Project for including two of my stories in their latest newsletter! This week, the newsletter is all about sorting, a foundational skill for data analysis, fractions, algebra, classification, logic and problem solving. Click over to see which MathStart books are featured! And subscribe!
Your friend, who is always up for a picnic,
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:
Circus Shapes (shapes)
First the elephants form a circle, then the monkeys make a square. Circus shapes are everywhere! Can you find all the circles, squares, triangles and rectangles?
Recognizing shapes is the beginning of geometric thinking.
• Level 2, Kindergarten / Grade 1:
Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes (3D Shapes)
Sam—a.k.a. "Captain Invincible"—and his trusty space pooch Comet have their hands and paws full trying to navigate through the universe.
Meteor showers, flying saucers, and a "galactic beast" are some of the dangers lurking among the stars.
They have to push the right button—the cube, pyramid, cylinder, cone, sphere or rectangular prism—in order to land safely in…Sam's bedroom!
Recognizing and classifying three-dimensional shapes is an important part of geometry.
• Level 3, Grades 2 - 4:
Hamster Champs (angles)
The car drives away and suddenly it’s just Hector the cat and three clever hamsters: Pipsqueak, Chuckles and Moe. The hamster champs offer to show Hector their new stunt, which requires they leave the safety of their cage, but only if Hector promises not to chase them. “All right,” he says, “But if I get bored…watch out!” Using a protractor to measure a 30-degree angle, the hamsters set up a ramp made out of a board supported by blocks. Then they get in a toy car, parked on the couch, and race down another ramp—this one made of pillows—which gives them enough speed to climb up the board and briefly fly in the air. Wheee! Hector’s not impressed. So they try again with a 45-degree angle. Then a 60-degree angle, but it's too steep. Hector’s getting bored! He wants a larger angle. Guess what happens when the champs try a 180-degree angle?
Learning about angles helps children identify and describe different geometric shapes.
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.
20% off on book sets on the I See I Learn store!
Freda organiza una merienda (secuencia)
La mamá de Freda le dice que puede invitar a sus amigos a una merienda. Hay tantas cosas que hacer, desde empacar la cesta con la comida hasta recoger y limpiar. ¡Todo es parte de la diversión!
La habilidad de recordar los pasos en orden - que pasa primero, lo siguiente, y lo que pasa al final - es muy importante para la comprensión de cuentos, matemáticas, seguir las instrucciones, organizar, y otras destrezas de la vida.
FREE PDF POSTER
Freda Plans a Picnic (sequencing)
Freda's mom says she can invite her friends to picnic. There is so much to do, from packing the picnic basket to cleaning up. All the steps add up to a fun-filled time!
The ability to recall events in proper order–what happens first, what comes next, and what occurs last is important for story comprehension, mathematics, following directions, planning, and other life skills.
FREE PDF POSTERS
Do you have a story or a question? Please send me an email!