Early Math Counts

I’ve never been a huge fan of “canned” lesson plans- I always found that curriculum that felt more “organic” and “emerging” from the children was better.  Now that I am older and wiser, I know that lesson plans cannot only be useful but can create a structure to your curriculum WITHOUT compromising an “emergent curriculum”.

One of the most interesting and, hopefully useful aspects of the Early Math Counts website are the lesson plans that were designed to be easy to use and simple to execute with materials found in your manipulatives area or simple materials you probably already have at home.

Today, I wanted to take a look at that part of the website.  If you click here you will see that there are drop-down boxes that will help you narrow your search for an appropriate lesson plan.  You can choose your lesson by age group, material, or concept.

Let’s say you went to the Dollar Store over the weekend and while you were there you found a large set of boxcar-type cars that you know that your kids will love, but you also want to connect to a math activity.  You could go to the drop-down list called “Find Math Lessons that Use” and when you click on the drop-down list you will see cars as one of the items.

The lessons can be printed on one page (all of the colorful details are taken out so they are easy and cheap to print) PLUS there is a “Letter to Parents” included with each lesson that can be adapted to suit your particular needs.

We would love to hear what you think about the lesson plans in general, or if you have tried any of them specifically.