Hands On Counting

I don't know who had the most fun in math this week; me or the kids. One focus of my math class is teaching one to one correspondence with numbers. For the older kids I found a tool from Lakeshore. Frogs on a log. It was a hit.

One of my star pupils showed off by using the frogs to add and then counting the total in her head and then choose the right number from a field of three. Way to go!!







For the younger ones I found Touch Math to be a good hands on approach to numbers.

Each number has a corresponding number of dots. The kids get to feel the shape of the 3D plastic numbers and then count the dots.

Conifers and Deciduous Trees

Science was about leaves and trees. Students were shown the difference between conifer and deciduous trees. One young man reached out and kissed the conifer needles. Ouch!!! He said it best, Hard Day.

We learned that deciduous trees have leaves that make food for the trees. In fall since the days begin to shorten the trees shut down food production and get ready for winter. The leaves turn colors and fall off the trees. Leaving the tree bare.

The fun came when the kids got pretend that they were the wind. A power link, wireless switch, fan and fall leaves can brighten the day of a child.

Sticky Week in SMAC

Last week was a totally sticky week in SMAC. The subject was apples. We talked about how apples grow. We discussed pollination and bees. Then finally we picked the apples and cooked them. Stickiness  came when we performed a science experiment. I asked the question "Does an apple feel the same after you cook it? Or does it feel different? It was fun watching the kids while they observed the feel of the apples. I have to admit that some of them really did not think the experiment was worth having to touch the squishy apples. I loved it, though my fingers were sticking together. After the experiment the students were able to choose if they would like to taste applesauce, apple juice, or an apple slice. The kids thought this was the very best part!

 

Fall is in the air!

This week science was all about the season of fall. We reviewed what a season was and watched as the earth as it revolved around the sun. One student knew what a season was. When asked "what is a season"? He immediately replied open season. Good work Dad, you trained him well.
We discussed events that happen in the fall like cold weather, fall leaves, apple picking, and starting back to school. A favorite with most of the students was pretending to drive the remote control school bus. I think some of them make excellent drivers!!

Transportation beware! New drivers on the loose.

apple counting in math

I do  love a good Dr. Suess book, how about you? This week in math students read "Ten Apples Up On Top" as the book was projected on a large screen. We played right along with those silly characters and counted apples. Students identified numbers 1-10 and counted out the apples in a one to one correspondence. Our younger classes played some intellitools games in which they practiced the concepts big and little and more and less.