Math, Summer, Play: Activities on Counting On, Comparing Numbers, Solving for Unknowns & Playing Safe!
Math, Summer, Play: Activities on Counting On, Comparing Numbers, Solving for Unknowns & Playing Safe!
Every other Wednesday, we post selections from our vast and wonderful archive of Early Math & Early Childhood Ed activities.
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Hello!
We are now in the thick of summer. I hope you are all staying cool! Libraries are one of my favorite places to go when it’s too hot outside to play. There are lots of books (including some of mine!) and activities and story hours. It’s wonderful! Librarians always have good suggestions. They are the best!
This week, our three featured MathStart books are:
Jack the Builder (counting on)
More or Less (comparing numbers)
Safari Park (solving for unknowns)
Our featured I See I Learn story is about the important skill of playground safety.
Percy Plays It Safe (playground safety)
That’s Percy on the slide in the picture above. Oh boy, could he ever be a monster! When he learned how to play safe, though, he had a lot more fun.
That’s Carlos drawing with sidewalk chalk. He is quite an artist! Do you like to draw with sidewalk chalk, too?
Now, let’s all be “safe monsters” and have some fun!
Stuart
MATHSTART
Mathstart is a series of 63 storybooks organized into three levels for Pre-K through Grade 4. Each story teaches a different mathematical skill.
Here is list of where to find MathStart books!
• Level 1, Pre-K/ Kindergarten
Jack the Builder (counting on)
Jack has the best blocks ever. They come in all shapes (square, rectangle, cylinders, cones) and colors. In Jack’s imagination, an arrangement of just two blocks is a robot. Add one more block and presto! It’s a hot dog stand at the circus. Add two more blocks for a total of five for a ferry boat. And so it goes, counting on more and more blocks, all the way to the super-duper, ready-for-lift-off rocket ship. Blast off! All the blocks fall down and it’s time for Jack to start over again.
Counting on is a strategy to help young children understand how to solve addition problems.
Bonus fun fact: Jack was inspired by my grandson Jack!
• Level 2, Kindergarten / Grade 1:
More or Less (comparing numbers)
Mr. Shaw, the principal of Bayside School is retiring, so all the students and teachers, and family and friends are having a picnic in his honor. There are lots of game booths, and the most popular is "Let Eddie Guess Your Age!" Eddie, blindfolded and sitting on a chair over a large tub of water, can figure out how old someone is by asking a few key questions: "Is you age less than 10?" "Yes." "More than 7?" "Yes." "It is an even number?" "No." "Then you're 9 years old," says Eddie triumphantly. If Eddie has to ask more than 6 questions, he gets dunked.n Find out whether Eddie can swim!
Comparing numbers is an important part of the understanding the mathematical concepts of "greater than" and "less than,"and for developing skills for making logical guesses.
• Level 3, Grades 2 - 4:
Safari Park (solving for unknowns)
Grandpa's taking all the grandkids to the neatest amusement park ever: Safari Park. All the Jungle King rides cost 4 tickets. Rhino Rides are just two tickets. Monkey Games and Tiger Treats are a bargain at one ticket each. But a ride on the "spectacular, amazing, heart-pounding Terrible Tarantula" costs six tickets! Each of the kids has 20 tickets and has to figure out the best combination to have the most fun. Which would you choose?
An essential part of early algebraic thinking is understanding a "number sentence" with a missing element (8 + ? = 20), and the process for figuring out the unknown.
I SEE I LEARN
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. 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.
Here is list of where to find I See I Learn books!
20% Discount for Sets of 16 books at the I See I Learn Store!
Percy Plays It Safe (playground safety)
Percy loves to go to the playground. He plays on the swings, the slide, and the monkey bars—and in the big sandbox. But what happens when Percy doesn’t play it safe?
Knowing how to follow playground rules, use common sense, and respect others are important skills to keep children from hurting themselves or others.
Safe play is fun play!
* edición en español: Percy juega con cuidado
FREE POSTERS
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