Structured Play

My little joey is a great counter but we are working on identifying the digit that represents the number. We started by drawing a tree on a large sheet of paper. I knew to include him in this process. If I had drawn a cute tree and had apples all set up he would not want to participate but including him in the process ensured his willingness and excitement.  We drew the tree and some apples, his name and some numbers . At the bottom I drew "baskets" with numbers in them. Then I pulled out the apples I had ready with numbers on them. I told Joey we were going to pick the apples from the tree and put them in the basket on the matching digit. At first he said, "no, you do it." To which I complied. I did it from number 1 to 3 when he stopped me to finish for me. He is very much an observer. He needed to see what I wanted not just hear directions. He happily matched the numbers from the Apple to the basket time and again. Then he told me what to do and praise...

Today we sampled a little candy corn for the first time then made a big piece of candy corn! I cut out the shape of a candy corn on a black piece of construction paper. Next we ripped construction paper in white, orange and yellow. Jake loved ripping up the paper. He thought it was fun after I initially showed him how. I then drew lines on the black paper to separate the sections and covered one section with glue. Jake knew what to do and got busy filling it up. I made sure to tell him to fill the space completely so that there was no black showing through. I showed him the candy again and asked if he saw any black. This helped him understand what completely covered looked like. He did one section at a time and filled the section pretty well. We had motivation with a view pieces of candy corn! This is a cute little project and by ripping the paper it makes it a little different and really fun!

Today we used Pretzel M&Ms to do a little math today. I started by having him sort the M&Ms by color. We then counted the number of M&Ms in each circle. Next we counted the M&Ms all together.  Lastly, we ate the M&Ms! I had him count them as we subtracted the M&Ms by eating them. He cannot count backwards yet but he did not mind recounting each time he ate one of the candies!

Today we started our Structured Play time by reading Apple Countdown by Joan Holub. This is a great counting book. We did some counting practice as we read. It is important that I do not push Jake but keep him wanting to count so I do not make him count on each page. After reading I cut an apple and allowed Jake to pull out the seeds with a pumpkin carving knife. He is very interested in helping in the kitchen and always wants to help cutting. I decided to teach him how to use a knife safely. For starters I have him use this rounded edge knife. It is not sharp on it's end and the edges are rounded. It is great for sawing instead of slicing. Jake used his knife to pull out the seeds of the apple. The story told us that an apple can have between 5 and 10 seeds so we lined up our seeds and counted them. Our apple had seven.

For our number practice we took a pile of apple cards and five bowls (could not find baskets to suit my need). I printed the numerals 1-5 and set them in front of the bowls. Next I had Jacob put apple cards into the bowls. One apple for each number. This made him have to recognize the number and then count out the apples.  The numbers were in order so it wasn't too difficult. He was able to identify the numbers and correctly count out the apples. After he did the task I had him take out all the apples and line them up to count.  There were 15 apples which was perfect for him to have to count because he can successfully count to 13 on his own. This works out because it is just above his level. He will count without frustration but still be pushed to a level above where he is performing. As the month continues we will add bowls/baskets and apples to continue the practice. 

We lined up our animals to do a little counting practice. Jake a is great counter and we are really working on 15-20. He has almost mastered through 20 but needs just a little more practice. We pulled out Little People animals plus a few random others that we have. I have really stressed pointing at the object that he is counting. He tends to count too fast and lose count. Pointing helps slow him down but does not cure him of  losing count. It is all a process. I have found that it is good to have different numbers of objects each time we practice counting. He was always assuming there was 20 of everything so he would speed count to 20 without paying any attention to what was there to count. Another important skill to practice is having the toddler move the object after it is counted. If using coins or small objects it makes it much easier to know what has been counted. This is not something that is known, it must be taught! If you are working on numbers below 20, just work ...

Today we did a little in house fishing! This is a great coordination activity. I tied a string with a magnet on the end to a stick. We used those as the fishing poles (one for both of us). I then cut fish out of foam. I drew faces and scales on the fish. I just clipped a paper clip to one end to provide the metal.  I put these faux wood mats down for both of us. We each had our own and they represented our boats. We stood on our boats and fished over the side.  Jake had to really try to catch a fish. He had to dangle the "fishing rod" over the fish in just the right spot. He tried to bend down and use his hands but I told him he could not do it that way. And he quickly figured it out.  He caught all his fish and we counted them before throwing them back in. As we caught the fish a second time we named the color of the fish we were catching. This activity then took a step further and we "cooked" up our fish and ate them up. This was so much fun! We...

Ten Little Fish by Audrey and Bruce Wood, is a fun counting book! It fits in perfectly with our theme this month! I made number cards to go along with the book. You can find these attached to the Monthly Theme Plans . After reading the story, I pulled the cards one at a time and talked with Jake about the number and how many fish they represented. In my teaching career I found that so many children could recognize numbers/digits but did not have number sense and did not know the value of digits. My attempt with Jake is to really teach number sense.  Next I mixed up the cards 0-5. I then asked Jake to find the number I called out. He did great finding each number card without difficulty. I was so surprised that he did so well I decided to take it just a little further. After asking him to find 3, I asked how he knew that was the number three. (I wanted to see if he was using the fish to help identify the digits). He said, "Don't you see? One, two, three fishies....

Today we read Dr. Seuss' One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. After enjoying the story we did a little number practice. I printed an activity from Living Life Intentionally . They have some great theme units over there and I picked and chose a couple activities this month. You can find their Seuss Packs here . For Jacob, I traced over the numbers and used Touch Math dots to help with the number recognition. I discussed Touch Math on this post- click to read more .   I asked Jacob to count the dots then to put the same number of goldfish into the bowl. The activity only goes to 6 which is perfect for attention span and interest. Jake did this without difficulty and enjoyed the process. It is a fun way to practice number recognition a number sense. 

I decided to do a little practice with numbers and number recognition with Jacob. He doesn't love numbers and I think it is because he knows it is "work." I thought I would use this large die to distract the fact we were practicing a skill. I found the die at the Dollar Tree in a package of two for a buck! I had number cards that I drew dots on each number. This process is called Touch Math. Touch Math is a multi-sensory approach to learning number sense. While teaching I found real success using this approach with kids that were having trouble with number sense. I decided this would be a good way to start numbers with Jake. Each digit has dots representing the number value. Great way to develop number sense but also a great strategy to use with addition and subtraction. I had him roll the die, count the dots, then find the number card that matches. With the die, I let him throw it around the room to really help keep him engaged. He loved it and it was great pra...

Today we practiced counting by using trucks to count. I figured using the trucks fits our Monthly Theme but it also sparks his interest. He does not like to do activities where he is told to do something. He rather just 'play.' So by using trucks he thinks he is just playing but we can actually practice a skill. From my teaching experience, I found that children have a hard time remember which items they have counted when counting numerous things. To combat this I have Jacob move the items as he counts them. This works great when counting trucks because we can make it that much more fun by making the engines roar! When we are counting items in a book or an item that cannot be moved I make sure he points to them. This helps him remember which he has counted and which are left to be counted. Instilling these skills early and consistently will help with number association. I pulled out 5 trucks to count because Jake is counting to three on his own so I want to work just above hi...