Out of the corner of my eye, I am drawn to the persistence of three-year-old Saaliha. She is calmly and patiently working her way through a rainbow puzzle. Her friends are busy in other parts of the classroom, but Saaliha is problem-solving her way to mastery. I sit down next to her to observe her […]
“Look, look, I made a rainbow!” exclaims three-year-old Evelyn. We are at the clay table and I take a look at her creation. A small orange arch, decorated with gemstones and tree bark and Mardi Gras beads sits on a yellow clay base. “It is a rainbow!” Noah responds gleefully! “I can make a rainbow, too!” […]
“Look, I can pick up six blocks at once! It’s not even heavy!” It’s pickup time in the block center and now we have a challenge on our hands. I recognize that this has taken on a learning moment that we can’t rush but we can extend. Showing off our muscles and strength is […]
We brought out the tape measurers this week. Ah, nothing like a tool in the hand of young friends to get the juices flowing and the neurons firing up! Playful math! Math that is done for no other purpose than the sheer joy and fun it brings. I don’t worry that they don’t understand the […]
Earlier this month, we talked about the math explosion that took place during our block play. I shared the delight of capturing a play buzz to knock out early learning standards through play. To my astonishment, our play buzz continued all the way through our pickup activities and, let me just say, that never […]
One extremely cold morning, PLUS one extremely curious three-year-old EQUALED an unexpected explosion of mathematical concepts being explored in our classroom. Jamison started the movement with a small ramp and a single car. The fever caught on and soon we had ramps and obstacles being set up all over the room by Jamison and his […]
What math treasures are hiding in your game closet? If you’re like me, you have more games in that closet than children in your program. If and when you do play games, do you choose the same few games over and over again? When I repurpose the pieces from our rarely used games, I often […]
It’s November and, here in Illinois, that means cooler temperatures and winter outerwear. Getting the children dressed for outdoor play is one more way that you can meet your math standards while engaging in everyday activities. Outdoor play in the winter months includes snow or rain pants, boots, coats, hats and mittens. Getting my young group […]
As the leaves begin to change colors and jackets and hats become a part of our days, our math play takes on a whole new dimension. Earlier in the year, we talked about all of the collecting that we do throughout our days here. These collections take on a new significance as we use our found treasures to […]
A parent recently asked me if we had been working on shapes because her two-year-old was quite knowledgeable about the topic. I just smiled, because we work on shapes all day long, starting with breakfast. Would you like circles (Cheerios), squares (Chex) or hexagons (Crispix)? Math is embedded in many of your daily activities as […]