Blog Archives

Problem Solving and Expectations.

2/28/2014

In 1989 NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) developed a set of standards for mathematics as a framework to guide each state in developing mathematical standards.

We use these standards as part of the framework in creating our preschool math curriculum because these standards are established, research-based and designed by professionals “dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of mathematics” and “to ensure the highest quality mathematics education to all students”.

We had a very successful day solving word problems. The chocolate chip cookie cereal we used might have something to do with that! Today we were solving with manipulatives (the cereal), but soon we will begin to increase the children’s repertoire of problem solving techniques. I can't wait!

Notice that each child has her own visible workspace. This is an often overlooked necessity when working with young children. Studies have shown that high expectations produce higher accomplishment in the classroom, but we can not have high expectations without providing the materials the children need to meet our expectations.

Example: If I had given everyone the chocolate chip cookie cereal without the "workspace", one child would have the cereal under her legs, one would have his behind him, one would have hers beside her, one would have his cereal in front of three other students, and two might have their cereal in front of them. By the time we got organized and found everyone's cereal, I would have lost their attention and there would be very little math problem solving.

By using a visible workspace we have freed up our time and our minds for higher level thinking.

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More Letter Sounds!

2/26/2014

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We practice letter sounds A LOT. Here, the children are stamping the letter that makes the beginning sound from the picture (spider, list, lion fence).

An individual activity like this works as an assessment, so that the teacher can keep a running list of what the child needs help with.

While we do not need to conduct formal assessments every day, we must always be assessing whether or not our students are understanding the concepts we are teaching. If we move on before the children are MASTERING the concepts, we are creating frustration and confusion.

Our goal is to practice these letter sounds until they are committed to the child's long term memory. As these activities get easier and easier, the begin to turn into 'rote' learning. Once they become 'rote', the children can commit more of their brain to higher level thinking and problem solving.

Mastery Learning: You don't practice until you get it right. You practice until you can't get it wrong.

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Working on the Short "A" Sound

2/22/2014

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Our preschoolers working on the short ‘a’ sound. These children are cutting out "aaaa" pictures and gluing them to a lowercase "a". We try to add a fine motor component, like cutting, to our activities every day.

We use the lowercase letter ‘a’ because the lowercase letters are more frequently used and therefore more important for children to be able to recognize and write.

I always refer to it as ‘the aaaaa letter’ (drawing out the short ‘a’ sound, as in ‘alligator’) to prevent confusion.

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Pennies and Nickels, Oh My!

2/21/2014

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More ways to practice counting!

Sometimes in Small Group, we open a “store”. These children are rolling a die to earn money. At the end of the round, they can exchange pennies for a nickel, and go ‘shopping’.

This is one way that we practice counting and one-to-one correspondence. It also helps us learn (and remember) that a nickel is worth five pennies.

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Figure-Ground Discrimination

2/21/2014

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Figure-Ground discrimination is a component of visual discrimination. It is the ability to distinguish a shape, letter, or a number from its background.

Children who have difficulties with Figure-Ground discrimination may have trouble finding their place on a page, reading graphs/charts, and finding details in a picture.

In this game, each child receives two cards with overlapping numbers on them. We take turns spinning the spinner, and every child with that number on his card traces it with his finger.

Yes - we managed to sneak “numeral recognition” into this game, too!

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Matrix Math!

2/20/2014

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Math is much more than counting! Good math instruction should lead your students to higher level thinking and problem solving.

These children are working on matrices (plural of “matrix”).
In a matrix, each row shares an attribute, all the same shape OR all the same color, and each column shares a different attribute.

A matrix is just a very high level of sorting/classifying. It’s kind of like an EXTREME Venn diagram.
These children are figuring out precisely which color/shape goes in a given square.

This was our first time working on matrices, so I helped them think it through by asking questions (What color needs to go here? And what shape? Can you find a card with that shape and color on it?) but these children are doing all their own work.

Impressive, I know!

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Art - La La Loopsie!

2/20/2014

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First, we practiced making loops on butcher paper.

Next we chose whether our paper should be TALL or WIDE (vocabulary building!) and then began drawing loops with our pencils. We traced our loops with Sharpies.

We erased our pencil lines.

We used crayons to add some color to our loopies. I contemplated using “mixed media” for this project, but ended up just using the crayons today.

Voila! Our finished project.

Notes: Mixed media rocks because it gives the children choices and chances to IMMEDIATELY compare the feel of crayon vs marker or the look of marker vs watercolor.
However, I just chose crayons today.

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Process Art - Rainbow Prints!

2/20/2014

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One of the really great things about open-ended art is that it doesn't take a ton of direction - just give the kids supplies and let them create!

For this project, we did rainbow printing. I set out trays with each of the colors of the rainbow on them. We actually have a bin of cool-shaped objects that we use for various art projects, so I picked out some neat ones, put them on the trays, and let the kids experiment. Some of the objects we used are combs, toy truck wheels, contact lens cases, bubble blowers, and some things that I can’t even identify…

When kids are doing projects like this, we build their vocabulary by narrating their actions - “I can see you have a BIG GLOB of green on that bubble blower.” “It’s really neat how you’re keeping all of your colors separate from each other.” “I like how you chose to blend your colors together with the comb!”

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Teaching Creativity for Educators and Parents

2/16/2014

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A short psychology lesson for early childhood educators and parents:

One of the arguments AGAINST positive reinforcement is that it can only be used to improve rote learning (memorization), not creativity. This is simply not true.

Positive reinforcement is GREAT for teaching creativity; you just have to learn to reinforce the creative!

Example: In the first photo, the child used the unifix cubes in a way I’ve never seen them used. Unifix cubes only attach together ONE way, but Alex figured out a way to build a three-dimensional elevator with them! This may not seem like rocket science, and it’s not. But it IS CREATIVE. Alex chose to use these blocks in a way that he’d never seen anyone else use them!

Okay, so… He did something creative, how do we reinforce that? We’re going to use our words, and we’re going to point out IN PARTICULAR what we like about what he did.

Alex, that’s really creative!
What a great idea you came up with!
I’ve never seen anyone else build like that with the unifix cubes; that’s really neat how you did that!
That’s a really DIFFERENT way to build with those cubes, neato!

Photo 2 is probably the kids’ favorite way to build with the unifix cubes - as LOOONG as possible (also very cool, and deserving of positive reinforcement)!

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Geometry Throughout the Classroom

2/16/2014

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How do you fit the Geometry Standard into your preschool classroom?

Patterning Blocks! Let kids manipulate different shapes. Ask questions about the different shapes. How many sides does the hexagon have? Are they all the same length?

Art! Let kids explore different shapes - this ‘circle art’ is great for young learners who are just learning their shapes.

Building! The kids need to be able to experiment with different three-dimensional shapes. This is a great math concept because the kids can actually SEE that it takes more blocks to build the longer side of a shape.