3D Shapes

A few weeks ago, we revisited 3D Shapes.  We previously had this activity using cards and our paper models.  They were a hit!

My son never showed interest on 3D shapes and neither was I.  All I could ever remember was those grueling memorization of formulas in my Engineering class. I never liked geometry LOL.

Because the papers are now gone, I bought wooden 3D shapes in Absorbent Minds.  I bought the small one as we don’t have enough storage here.  Well, he was quite into it this time.  I have to explain why there are called 3D. We made basic shapes (squares, rectangle, circle etc) by pressing the wooden 3Ds on a playdough.

          

Next we tried forming the shapes using craft sticks and plasticine. I’ve seen this activity multiple times in other blogs and thought it was easy to make. But I was wrong! LOL.  They were actually hard to form :) But nevertheless Mavi and I enjoyed it.  We laughed hard each time a shape is broken LOL.  The plasticine didn’t hold the stick that much. I wonder if marshmallows would be a better alternative?

          

Linking to:

Montessori Monday
TGIF Linky Party
Teach Beside Me
Preschool Corner
Teaching Mama
I Can Teach My Child
Home + School = Afterschool!

How to Teach Addition to Preschoolers Using Number Bonds

We’ve been practicing and learning addition using "Number Bonds" for the past days.  We are taking a break from our Golden Beads Addition and exploring another approach to spice up our math lessons.  It’s a surprise that after these activities, Mavi was able to memorize most of the "number combinations", the concept introduced through "Number Bonds", thus the ease of performing addition for him.  We’ve done a couple of math activities before and I was surprised that these activities accelerated his math skills.

How to Teach Static and Dynamic Addition to Kids

In this post I am going to present how to do static and dynamic addition using the Montessori Golden Bead Material.  I purchased our Golden Beads at Absorbent Minds UK and I am happy of the learning material despite of the high price.  These materials can also be purchased in any Montessori Shop or in Amazon.

How to Introduce Numbers to Toddlers (Ages 1 to 3 years)

I am sharing this as I have received multiple emails from fellow Mommies, asking how did I introduce numbers and counting to Mavi. To answer your questions, here are  the Math-related activities I gave to Mavi when he was about one to three years old. Note that the timeline of the activities here are not in order.

1]  Familiarization of Numbers using playdough. We made number symbols using PlayDoh.  I first introduced 1-9 and as we progressed we did 10 to 19. I shared our Numbers and Letter playdoh mats last year, FREE Numbers and Letters Playdoh Mats.

2] Number matching puzzle.  This is one activity I kept on repeating.  You can check out this number matching puzzles in Amazon

• The Learning Journey Match It! Counting
• Melissa & Doug Self-Correcting Wooden Number Puzzles With Storage Box (40 pcs)

3] Matching number symbols to objects.  I randomly made this using a cardstock.  As you look closer, I just draw the objects and then used water bottle caps for the numbers. He loves those water bottle caps! 

4] 1 to 1 Correspondence.  Again, I just made the graph.  He counts the number of circles (with the number symbol on the side) by putting a stamp on it.  Here, I showed him that the number represents the amount of circles present. There also learning materials in Amazon that can help reinforce this concept. My favorite are these:

• Excellerations Peg Number Boards
• Lauri Number Puzzle Boards & Pegs 

5] Numbers and Stickers.  Oh how my son loved this!! I cut out pieces of paper, write a number on the upper left side and place the same number of dots.  Then Mavi and I would count along as we cover those dots with stickers.  After which point to your child that the number of dots/sticker is represented by that number symbol.

6] Pin Colored/Counting Wheel.  I honestly forgot the source of this material but this is one of our favourite.  I labeled wooded pegs with numbers and colors so we can match them with the ones in the wheel. (If you happen to know the source please leave me a message!)

7] Montessori-Inspired Activity.  The concept behind here is similar to the Montessori Numbered Spindle Box.  I used plastic cups and craft sticks instead.  Labeled the cups with numbers and asked Mavi to place the correct amount of sticks in each cup.

8] Do a Dot Markers.  Now this is not necessary but I just have to mention that we love these markers and we love using it in counting!  I still have these markers which I bought in Singapore in 2011.  I can't wait to use them with Vito.  You can get these in Amazon US, Do A Dot Art! Markers 6-Pack Rainbow Washable Paint Markers.

9]  Homemade version of Montessori Number Rods.  So I made number rods using foam and used magnetic numbers for the symbol.  This helps a child develop an understanding of the quantitative relationship between numbers.  Here's the link in Amazon US if you are thinking of buying one, Montessori Counting Rods.

10]  Ordering numbers.  So simple, we used magnetic numbers and I just wrote the numbers 0 to 9 on a piece of cardstock for the control chart.  At first Mavi would match the magnetic numbers to the numbers in the cardstock.  As we progress, I made him match the numbers in order of what is written. We would recite the numbers after each activity.  Repetition of this activity will help the child understand the concept of ordering and counting.  Here are some suggested links if you want to get your own magnetic numbers:

• Melissa & Doug 37 Wooden Number Magnets in a Box
• Roscoe Learning 124 Piece Magnetic Numbers and Counters Math Skills Set

11] Number Crafts. Oh the first activity on numbers!! Expose them to number symbols similar to your alphabets.  You can do this by doing crafts or reading books together.

12] Number Flashcards.  Oh we found a way to make our flashcards useful.  We counted those pictures on the flashcards using counting chips. My son loved this!!!
 
These are all easy to prepare math activities and I hope that I was able to give you enough ideas to bootstrap your math learning journey with your young one/s.

Happy Sunday!

Reading and Writing Numbers

I make it a point to make our Math a little bit interesting for Mavi. Yes, like some kids, he doesn't like Math (yet). So whenever we do Math activities, I try my best to put some twist into it to make it more interesting for him.

For example, this case he's learning how to write and read 3 digit numbers (hundreds). As I mentioned before he has no problem with reading, but writing hundreds and thousands seems off for him.  Like, he writes 324 as 300 24.   So this activity aims to help him practice how to write the numbers properly.

I setup six container box and filled it with the number tiles from our Stamp Game.  I also added a paper strip into it with color coded lines to guide him where to write the hundreds, tens and ones digit (same color with the tiles).

 

He's ecstatic to open each box and uncover the total number. 

             

Arranging the tiles per column, he counts the hundreds (red), tens (blue) and ones(green) then write those numbers in the paper strip.  Then we practice reading the number, pointing that the zeroes are left behind.

 

Surprisingly, after finishing the 6th box, he asked if could do more Math.  So I took out our worksheet and work on some addition problems and I made him use our cube links.

  

He has an audience you see.

 

I observed that he only used the links when dealing with big numbers (tens) but otherwise, he uses his hands :) 

And there goes our brief update for our Math activities. I am still planning what to do this June and I promise to share my plans once I'm done.

For more Math-related activities: Follow Pinay Homeschooler's board Math Ideas on Pinterest.

Ciao!

PH Math for May

I've been assessing my Mavi's progress in mathematics for the past days.  Math is the least of his interest as of the moment.  So during our Math hiatus, I was checking my list and so far he knows and understands everything on it.  In fact he is way beyond his years according to his teacher.

Now as summer vacation is approaching I'm thinking that we should be a little bit more serious with Math this time by being religious to our schedule :)

So for May here's what we're going to have for Math:

Skip counting.  We started with 2's and next will be of 5's and 10's.

Here we are using the beads in our Decanomial Bead Bars with Box and the number tiles from our Hundred Boards for the label.  He pointed out "Mom, it's just a pattern!".  Of course, he's referring to the 0,2,4,6,8 :) And that's what I wanted to instill in him... that in Math some concepts is all about patterns!

   

After the beads and label activity, I made him skip count all the way through 100 and counting it backwards as well.

 

Number Symbol and Quantity (Tens)

Here we're using the same materials.  My objective here is for Mavi to master the identification of number symbols and its equivalence in quantity. 

Activity 1:  Place the correct number of beads, given the number symbols.

Activity 2:  Identify the number symbols,  given the quantity.

 

Activity 3.  Writing the number symbols.  Mavi has no problem writing the numbers from 1 to 100.  But it's a different story when it comes to hundreds and thousands :)

Number Symbol and Quantity (Hundreds)

The same activities with the tens but here we are using our Bead Material and Wooden Small Place Value Cards 1-9999 .

Activity 1:

Activity 2:

Activity 3.  Mavi is still confused writing the hundreds and thousands.  When he wants to write 321, he writes it like 300 21, similar with 1100... he writes it 1000 100.  Now this is pretty normal but I just think that we needed to practice more on this during our spare time.

Hundred Board with Control Chart. I am still on the process of exploring hundred board games.  I have collected a few ideas from fellow homeschool Moms and I can't wait to try it with Mavi.

PS. This post includes affiliated links

The Golden Beads Layout

 

Just wanted to share our recent work with the golden beads material.  I've been contemplating on purchasing these for a long time and I was convinced by fellow Mommy Montessori bloggers that these materials are worth a try.  Actually, I was convinced because now I have two kids to home school. So definitely these are worth-it!

I am using KHT Montessori Math Album in our schooling.

In a nutshell, I introduced the beads (unit, tens, hundreds and thousands) with their corresponding number symbol.  My son loved this.  He was able to tell the difference between the quantities of each number symbol.  He's like "The thousand is soooo heavy!"

  

We also learned how to compose and read bigger numbers! I made a printable of this but my son showed no interest. However when he saw this large number cards, he can't stop using it!  He loves creating his own number.... but somehow still confused on how to read it :) 

 

Well there are a lot of ways to practice composing bigger numbers and one of which is simply writing it down on a paper and have your child recreate the it using the number cards. 

  

Because the beads arrived in the time that my son has a better understanding of quantities (we previously practice making ones and tens), he was able to create this massive layout on his own.  I swear, I just left him and he did all the work in one sitting!

Completing the units...

 

Working on the tens...

 

Then the hundreds...

 

And thousands. Unfortunately, I only have 9 wooden thousand beads so he finished it till 4000 :)

 

It was impressive indeed! How I wish I purchased this early on.  But anyway, there are still a lot of work to be done with the golden beads. We'll be exploring those in the days to come.

This is so exciting!

Linking to:

Montessori Monday
TGIF Linky Party
Teach Beside Me
Preschool Corner
Teaching Mama
I Can Teach My Child
Home + School = Afterschool!
Natural Homeschool's Montessori Linky

The Short Bead Chain (Squaring Chains)

I've been searching high and low for affordable bead squares here but unfortunately, there's none.  So I decided to make my own square chains using our decanomial beads.  Supposedly, I'm going to form them using connectors like suitable tie wire but again, none is available. 

So what I did here was to use the ever reliable contact paper. It was tricky though.  What I did was lay the beads flat on the table, attach a strip of contact paper and then I carefully turn them on the other side to completely cover the other side of the beads with the rest of the contact paper.

And this is how they turned out!  So far so good :) 

Surprisingly, they were sturdy LOL.

 

Here, I am presenting to Mavi how to identify the square of a number (because they will form a square).  He's more interested in the skip counting rather than identifying the square of a number.

 

The next time we tried, we worked on squares of 1 to 5 and we use the bead chain paper we got from Montessori Print Shop (free) to record the square of the numbers.

This is a good introduction for skip counting and a wonderful visual exercise for squaring.  But for now, we'll just proceed with the skip counting disregarding the squares as Mavi isn't interested on it yet.

Happy counting!

Linking to:

Montessori Monday
TGIF Linky Party
Teach Beside Me
Preschool Corner
Teaching Mama
I Can Teach My Child
Home + School = Afterschool!
Natural Homeschool's Montessori Linky

Perfect 10 Snake Game

We are doing a lot of snake game for the past few days.  My son is now loving it unlike the first time he encountered it wherein he kept on complaining how tiring it is to count.  This time, he loves transforming his "jungle colorful snake" to "tiger snake".  For those new to Montessori,

Materials we used here are:

• Decanomial beads
• Black and white beads
• A mat
• Melissa and Doug Magnetic Alphabet box

So here Mavi made his own.  I made sure that the beads will make a perfect 10 just to demonstrate that the two numbers when combined will make 10. 

So here, we are replacing the colored beads (beads that makes a 10) to the golden beads.  The picture on the right is for the control of error. I am showing Mavi that the bead combinations form ten.  In this case: 6 (violet) and 4(yellow), 1(red) and 9(dark blue), 2(green) and 8(brown), 5(light blue) and 5(light blue),  and 7(white) and 3(pink) all makes a 10 (golden bead).

         

As I mentioned earlier, we've been doing this multiple times this week.  Here, I focused on two combinations only:  8(brown) and 2(green),  and 7(white) and 3(pink).  Because the snake is composed of repetitive combination of those beads he immediately memorized that those combinations make a 10.  In the middle of the snake, he did not bother counting... he just replaced the designated combination with the golden beads.

       

Same goes when we tried 9 and 1, 4 and 6 and, 5 and 5.  At the end of each activity, I showed him the equations that we can form out of those combination.  But of course, we will explore more of this "addition snake game" as we progress.

      

We are now starting our random snake game, and that's where the black and white beads will be useful.  They are basically used as a placeholder for the remaining beads after you have counted 10 beads (see the picture below). So here, we replace the colored bead into a ten bar (remove the blue and yellow beads) and add the 3 black beads to represent the remaining yellow beads (unaccounted).

 

This is just an overview of how we play the game. There's more into it actually with the snake game and we'll explore it one step at time.  I am not really good with words, so if my post is not enough, and if you need demonstration or an album, there are lots of it in the web.

All in all it was very effective, effective in a way that you will get the child to come sit with you and play and at the same time learning without getting bored.

Now, who says math is boring??  Happy Friday to all!

Linking to:

Montessori Monday
TGIF Linky Party
Teach Beside Me
Preschool Corner
Teaching Mama
I Can Teach My Child
Home + School = Afterschool!