This tape measure was easy for the children to use.  It was small and fit in the palm of their hands. It could be pulled out without snapping back unless the children pushed in on a button on the side and then slid back slowly rather than snapping back quickly.  We have a few different types of tape measurers in our toolbox, and they love them all.   Children love exploring with tools. The exploration, cooperation and investigation on this morning was an educator’s dream!

As the children measure every object in sight, I find opportunities to introduce new understanding and vocabulary. I often refer to this as throwing seeds in the wind.  Some may land, and sprout.  Some may fly in one ear and out the other.  I throw them anyway.  I observe their play and wait to see when they may be ready for added information to extend their level of play to a higher understanding.

We talk about the word inch.  We count the numbers on the tape. Vocabulary words are flying through the air as they play. Words such as longer, shorter, taller, smaller, bigger, and wider.  I see cooperation and experimentation between friends.

On Friday, Early Math Counts presented at the Opening Minds conference in Chicago.  We spoke about the Early Math Counts site and our upcoming Professional Development series, soon to be available through the Gateways to Opportunity ilearning system.(More to come about that exciting project over the next couple of weeks). At the end of our talk, we presented the attendees with buckets of counting worms and walked through some possible learning activities that could be done with them.  Although the worms we had were a bit different, they reminded me of this post from 2013.

Have you seen these?  These are called Inchworms and they are actually one inch long.  That means they are standard units of measure (because an inch is an inch is an inch) while looking like a non standard unit of measure.  When children use these to measure, they might say, “It is 3 inchworms long,” which also means that it is actually 3 inches long. This is an important step in children’s understandings of measurement, which can be reinforced by laying these inchworms out next to a ruler to show that they really are one inch each.

It might be fun to introduce the “Inchworm Song” as well.  If you don’t know/remember it, it goes like this.

“Inchworm, inchworm, measuring the marigolds
You and your arithmetic, you’ll probably go far.
Inchworm, inchworm, measuring the marigolds
Seems to me you’d stop and see how beautiful they are.

2 and 2 are 4, 4 and 4 are 8, 8 and 8 are 16, 16 and 16 are 32.”