In the "routine" section I mentioned ordinal numbers, which is how we say the date. I used the cards when they were first made to play a group game on the floor, and said I needed help putting them in order. They were excited to think they were helping me and patiently waited for their turn. We then practiced saying the numbers in and out of order as I pointed to them. When we cleaned up, I would say a child's name and depending on what I knew of their math ability, I would say a number for them to give me which showed that they knew them in any order. (I put them in order as they gave them to me so they still felt like they were helping) :) Just a simple game brought many smiles!
The focus for this month has been on data handling and understanding and making graphs. We have done worksheets but I tried to come up with ways of making it more interesting for them and engaging. We stacked blocks together while making a "block" graph of our favourite food, animal and anything they could think of. I then asked questions such as, "If two less people liked ice cream what would be the most popular food?" (this also taught new vocabulary as popular was not a word many knew) We worked for a few days on this chart and in the bottom right you can see what they learned or worked on altogether: graphing, counting, adding, subtracting, taking turns, being creative, fine motor skills, explaining data, writing neatly, writing their names with a capital, measuring with rulers, all months of the year in order in English, their birthdays along with discussing ideas with friends. I also asked them not to pick a favourite colour or activity because their friend did and they listened, which shows that they are not afraid to give their honest preference even if it is different that their friends'.
As I've stated, it's always nice when they ask for the learning games I bought during inside breaks or when they first arrive. This is one of their favourites and it is also one of the most difficult! They roll the dice and then have to answer the multiplication question on the piece they land on to stay there. If I'm playing with a group who are not ready for that we add the numbers instead.
When I bought this ball, I wasn't really thinking what I would use it for other than to roll on the floor or play with in an empty space at the back. However, I decided to write numbers on the white parts. During this game, I threw the ball to a student and whatever numbers their thumbs landed on they had to either add or multiply. What I asked them to do depended on what I knew they would find easier so that they were not embarrassed in front of the class. They then choose a friend to roll the ball to until everyone had at least one turn.
