I wish I wrote this article. I feel like I say these exact words every semester to every group of students I encounter. But still, I go out into the field and see the same arts and crafts activities time and again. Where does it end? Many summers ago, some friends and I spent the summer […]
By now, everyone knows I love dominoes. I have blogged about them here and here and they have come up in several other posts about classroom manipulatives. Last week, one of our readers, Ivan (Thank you Ivan) was perusing the blog and landed on my post about the Really BIG Dominoes from the Chicago Children’s Museum. […]
I am always looking for winning combinations…Peanut butter plus jelly equals gooey deliciousness. A sunny day plus a half day of work equals a good long walk with my dogs. These are win-win situations that make me very happy. Me happy plus anything, equals a better day for everyone! I like to think of parents […]
Young children begin thinking spatially as early as the first time they play “dropsy” and their caregiver retrieves the fallen object and declares, “Oh, did you drop your _______?” What fun it is for the child to drop the same item again and again, exploring the depths of her caregiver’s patience. Exploring the concepts of […]
How frequently do you engage the parents in your program about math? This is one of those things that seems so simple, but in practice really hard. Parents are usually in a hurry, dropping off or picking up – trying to get somewhere else. The time for conversation is limited so are we really going […]
Over the past few years I have thought a lot about math anxiety. Before the Early Math Counts project and this blog, I never gave it much thought expect to acknowledge that it is a real thing and it matters. I wrote about a friend whose life was forever changed by a teacher who told her […]
I can’t help but look through each classroom I visit to see what kinds of materials make up each center. Sometimes it feels like snooping as I try to ascertain whether or not the math center is also the science center or if there is a math center at all. In some rooms, there are […]
The easiest way to make rain stick is to use paper towel tubes, rice and tape, but if you want to create rain sticks that really sound like falling rain, try this. Rain Sticks Materials Needed: Paper towel tubes (1 per child) Corrugated Cardboard (enough to fill each tube) rice (the lease expensive possible) Small […]
This one requires a really big storm one with thunder and lightning but it is a nice way for the children to think about “how far” the storm is. If you are inside and the skies get very dark and the rain is coming down hard, bring the children to the window to look for […]
An abacus is an ancient counting tool that has been used all over the world, for centuries, primarily in Asia. The frame is traditionally made of wood with wire or small wooden rods running through it. On each of the rods there are beads that move from one side to the other. Children being using […]