Early Math Counts

This week we usher in a new year, a new beginning, and a new, exciting chapter of all of our lives.  Have you ever played the game where you go back and try to remember where you were on New Year’s Day (or Eve) year after year until you can’t remember anymore?  It’s much more difficult than you think.  I can usually remember one or two and then I have lapses, but usually end up remembering the big ones like when we entered the New Millennium, or the first year I was married.  They all seemed so memorable at the time…

Since there is nothing inherent about January 1st as the “beginning” of something (other than a new calendar year), we need to make newness out of this date.  That is why throughout history, the new year marked an occasion for people to take note of past trespasses or wrongdoings, atone for those, ask for forgiveness, and make promises to change or be better in the future.  This period of reflection might take only a moment and be known only to you, or it can be a grand and public sharing of New Year’s Resolutions.  Either way, the New Year is an opportunity to make adjustments, no matter how big or small, in our lives.

This new year might be a time for you to make small or big changes in your program. Perhaps there is a something you have wanted to try for a long time but never got around to. You might move the furniture around and try out a new floor plan. You can trade out some of your old math manipulatives with new ones. Go through all of your puzzles and make sure all of the pieces are accounted for and dispose of incomplete ones.  Get rid of broken toys.  Try each marker out and toss the dry ones.  Pull some of your favorite children’s books out and reintroduce them to your group.  Make a plan to include more math into the everyday life of your classroom.

No matter what you do – plan to make 2016 a great year.  

Happy New Year From Early Math Counts!