I love academic rigor… I really do! So when it comes to math, there is nothing like hands on math learning!
The other day I was listening to Adam Pederson’s vlog at www.TeachersLearn2.com . I just met Adam for the first time in Chicago this year and I loved how down to earth he is. No showboating… just a teacher who loves teaching!I always enjoy his vlog’s but this particular one stood out for me. I loved what he had to say.
During this particular vlog he said “Math is not a worksheet.” Then he said, “I think that is a hashtag.” {I am paraphrasing.}
Anyhow, I looked it up and traced it back to none other than Vickie Plant. Vickie blogs over on Primary Press. She is precious, she is smart, AND she has the cutest little girl that I may stalk a bit on Instagram.
Refocus!
I thought … wouldn’t it be great to gather teachers together to show how they do hands-on math?
So how do I ensure students are having fun and learning at the same time?
Yes, there is direct instruction, but I try to keep that to small chunks. Nobody likes to learn with a “sit and get” type of instruction… YAWN! So it sounds like this:
“Today I am going to teach you how…” Then I show them.
“Now, I would like you to try this with your partner.”
This last week, I worked with a kindergarten class and we worked on addition. They put counters in a cup and “Shake, Shake, Shake.” Then they wrote the equation and used the math talk card.
Each day, the students begged to “play it again.”
Naturally, we don’t start a school year jumping into addition and subtraction with kindergarten. We build our number sense with part, part, whole. Here is an activity from early October. He is writing in his Math Tool Kit. You can read more about this HERE.
Please ignore the dirty shirt and the funky 8. Thank you!
Here we are building BIG numbers!
This is a lesson we used to build up to the concept of counting on!
Sometimes the concept of counting on is tough. When using a number line, some students want to count the spot they are one… verses the hops over to the next number. So we did a little hopping on our own.
(Please ignore my blatant disregard for student safety… ie… hopping with a pencil in here hand. Goodness!)
Once we have this down, we can practice it with stations. You can find this game HERE.
We can play the same game and just change the theme to keep the excitement going! You can find this game HERE.
Other skills we practice during math workshop are number bonds and fact families.
Making Math Tool Kits is a GAME CHANGER when it comes to quickly setting up and cleaning up hands our math activities. Without them, SO. MUCH. TIME. IS. WASTED! You can find out more about Math Tool Kits by reading HERE.
There you have it! This is what learning about math looks like in kindergarten… or at least (in my opinion… it is what it should look like). Math is not a worksheet! I know when things get stressful, it can be tempting to give students busy work (AKA: A worksheet).
Resist!
Your class will thank you for it! Check out some of these other HANDS on LEARNING suggestions!
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
I love this post, and esp seeing the kiddos on videos! I love using your Math products; my Kinders think math = games due to your fun products. Keep up the great work! Q- after rereading the post, my thought is, reading is not a worksheet, either! We are getting a lot of push from above at our school for more of a hands-on reading block…no workbooks or worksheets. can you do another post w/ a reading focus? 🙂
This is such a great idea! Math is my favorite subject to teach and I love using fun, engaging, hands on learning ideas with my kindergarten students! Thank you for inviting us to link-up and share ideas. I can't wait to check out the other blogs! ~Heather 🙂
I love all your photos! The colors are so vibrant! Makes me want to go sit on the floor of your classroom and play some learning games! Thanks for hosting this linky!
8 Responses
Thank you so much for hosting the linky! I can't wait to read through everyone's math ideas 🙂 Jen
What an awesome linky! Almost everything I do is hands on math so I'm going to try to link up soon 🙂
Yukari
A Pinch of Kinder
I love this post, and esp seeing the kiddos on videos! I love using your Math products; my Kinders think math = games due to your fun products. Keep up the great work!
Q- after rereading the post, my thought is, reading is not a worksheet, either! We are getting a lot of push from above at our school for more of a hands-on reading block…no workbooks or worksheets. can you do another post w/ a reading focus? 🙂
I would LOVE to! I could not agree MORE! YES!
This is such a great idea! Math is my favorite subject to teach and I love using fun, engaging, hands on learning ideas with my kindergarten students! Thank you for inviting us to link-up and share ideas. I can't wait to check out the other blogs!
~Heather 🙂
What a great idea for a linky! After all, as the book says, worksheets don't grow dendrites! 🙂 Thanks for the opportunity to participate.
Linda at Primary Inspiration
I love all your photos! The colors are so vibrant! Makes me want to go sit on the floor of your classroom and play some learning games! Thanks for hosting this linky!
Thanks for hosting the linky. I've enjoyed exploring all of the ideas.
✿April✿
✿Grade School Giggles✿