Our First Full Week in the New Year

We have had a great start to the new year as we have started a new writing unit and a new math unit.  Below is a recap of our first 7 days back into the classroom.

Math

The common theme in our math lessons this week was all about the number line, a very important and useful tool in math!  The children helped build a number line from 0-10 as a child took steps along a marked path on the rug.  Then, as a class, we practiced counting the forward and backward sequences.  We then continued with the number line the following day and the children had to determine the missing numerals in the sequence using positional words such as before and after to describe the relationships among numbers.  For example, the children would use the following language when describing how they knew where a particular number went on the number line:  6 comes after 5 or 5 comes before 6.

One of the last lessons had us playing a game called Read My Mind, which exposed the children to the words greater than and less than as they tried to guess the number in someone's mind.  I'm hoping to play this game again with the children this week and videotape it to share with you as this would be a great game to play at home with your child!

Math Stations Introduced this Week

Scrambled Numbers One to Ten

In this partner game, the children lay out the number cards 1-10 face-down in a straight line in random order.  The card with 0 on it is placed at the beginning of the row.  The partners take turns selecting a number card and determining where it should be placed in the number sequence.  After the partners have all the numbers in correct order, the children practice counting forward and backward.

Fives Up

In this partner game, the children are taking turns selecting a ten-frame card and seeing if they can use that particular card with any of the other cards that are face-up to make 5.  They can use as many cards needed to find combinations of five.  For example, a child may decide to use 2 and 3 to make 5 or 1, 2, and 2 to make 5.  This is a great game that focuses on composing and decomposing to 5.

Number Corner

Calendar Grid

This month's calendar markers provide opportunities for children to explore and record different ways to decompose 3, 4, and 5 using buttons in a piece of clothing.  Using these markers will help develop the children's understanding of how a set of objects can be broken into smaller sets without changing the total.  For example, 3 can be broken down as 2 + 1 or 3 + 0.  The children are introduced to number trees.  Here are four number trees that may be used to represent the different decompositions of 3.

The children have started using numbers, words, and pictures to show how many of each color button there are for a particular day.  Take a look below at some examples of what the children have done.

Calendar Collector

This month we are collecting Unifix cubes in three different colors- red, yellow, and blue.  Each day the number corner helper spins a 3-4-5 spinner and takes the designated number of cubes out of the sock box.  The cubes are sorted by color, counted, and compared.  The results are recorded using recording strips.  At the end of the week, the cubes are counted to determine how many of each color were collected along with comparing what color had the greatest amount and what color had the least amount, and then all the cubes are counted to find the total.  At the end of the month, each week's collection will be combined, estimated, and counted to see how many cubes were collected for the entire month of January.

Days in School

We are continuing to keep track of the days we've been in school using ten-frames, links and a number line.  The children are also completing an activity that has them determining and discussing how many more dots are needed to fill the ten-frame using Unifix cubes.

Computational Fluency

The children are practicing matching quantities shown in a five-wise arrangement on ten-frames with quantities shown in a pair-wise arrangement.  Later this month, the children will use finger patterns to explore doubles combinations (1+1, 2+2, 3+3, etc.).

Number Line

The children are introduced to counting intervals as Hap, the grasshopper, hops on the number line starting at zero in the activity Name My Number.  The children will also play a new version of Hide and Seek with Hap that will reinforce comparing numbers on the number line as they begin using the greater than and less than symbols.


Writer's Workshop

This week we began our new writing unit Writing for Readers.  In this unit the children will learn new strategies for making clearer, richer stories and helps strengthen the conventions and mechanics of their writing.  This week, the children learned the importance of making sure there are spaces between their words so that their writing is easier for others to read.  We also reviewed what we knew about writing true stories, stories of their lives, using the anchor chart we created in October.  Lastly, we looked at how we can make our pictures more meaningful and how using our drawings can help us plan and rehearse more meaningful stories.


Snowmen at Night: A Fun Read Aloud and Art Project

We read the book Snowmen at Night, along with the other books in the series, during the first few days back at school.  The children loved seeing what the snowmen would do during the night, which sparked a discussion of what they would do if they were a snowman at night.  We also had a dissuasion about why the snowmen in the story were drinking cold cocoa instead of hot cocoa.

After the book, the children completed an art project and writing prompt based on the book.  Ask your child what he/she would do if he/she was a snowman at night.

Lastly….

On Wednesday, we had another school wide celebration for filling the school wide beehive.  For this celebration we had a Jazzercise inspired celebration.  We gathered in the gym and did some movement activities to some fun, upbeat music.  Take a look at the video to see how we got our bodies moving first thing in the morning.