Dot-to-Dots

Since I am still working with small groups, I added in a new math menu choice for children working independently.  Since it is still very early in the school year, I need a choice that children will feel confident taking on without a lot of instruction, but one that gets them practicing skills.  Dot-to-dot puzzles meet this criteria beautifully.  Younger students do puzzles with numbers 1-20.  Olders do puzzles with numbers 1-100.  Sometimes I've included puzzles that count by 2, 5, or 10.  Here everyone is working on ordering numbers, but doing a task that they consider fun, and dare I say, un-school-like.
Someday I will probably have to break down and buy a good dot-to-dot book, but for now, I make do with puzzles I've collected online.  The french site http://www.pointapoint.com/ is my main source.

Counting Books

Worked on making our own counting books today. Above you can see samples from a first grade book with digits and pictures and a second grade book with pictures as well as number words in complete sentences. (One note about the first grade picture-- the child was working on the number five page as I snapped the shot. He does know his numbers, he just isn't finished yet!)

It was really interesting to listen to the children chat as they worked. One of my second grade boys spent a lot of time explaining to the first grade pal sitting beside him the difference between the first and second grade assignments.

Big Collections and Small Collections

Counting and estimating are tasks that both first and second graders need to work on. To differentiate this work, I offer "big collections" and "small collections" for students to estimate and count. Today's math menu included the choice to work with these collections--just odd batches of items kept in ziplock bags--old keys, spoons, plastic shapes and doodads. The "small collections" for younger children number between five and twelve items. The "big collections" for olders number between fifteen and fifty. The worksheet accompanying the tasks asks students to record "what I had" and an estimate and an actual count. A few of the younger students who were anxious about recording "what I had" in words, drew a picture of the item in that space instead.