Showing posts with label Maths. Show all posts
Wonder Workshops #8: Moms of Wonder
Seeing as May is the month in which Moms are celebrated, it seemed only fitting to me to celebrate moms at Wonder Workshops too!
So we began by talking about our moms, and what we loved about them, what made us feel full of wonder when we thought about them. After some serious silent pondering, a few offered up , "Auntie Karen, that's too hard, we think everything is wonderful about her!" Some sweet ones mentioned how much they loved being cuddled and helped close, or there moms laying with them at night before they got into bed...
Then I told them that although human mothers were completely full of wonder, I had become amazed at how amazing animal mothers were. and so we embarked at looking at what it took to become a mother, the gestation periods of animals compared to a human mother. I had marked each animal and the length of their gestation period in days on pieces pf paper, which each child had to draw out of a hat and keep secret! They then had to break down the days into hundreds, tens and ones, and then had to build the number using the pieces of paper I had prepared. (I had worked out a fairly accurate scale with the strips of paper I had cut). Once they had built it, we stood back and looked at each one and tried to guess what the animal was!
Then we got to work on the serious business of the day - I had loved these heart garlands (excellent tutorial, adn thankfully the great photos mean it doesn't matter if you can't speak the Asian language!) I had seen on Pinterest, and so gathered the supplies and we got to work. I was so impressed with how well the kids, did, considering many of them had never touched a sewing machine before! And I'm even further impressed that I only had one bird's nest in my machine to untangle after 7 kids had sewed! Whilst some were sewing, others were decorating their brown paper bags which were going to carry the Mother's Day gift home in secret! Thankfully, we finished it before any mom's returned!
And finally, a bit of drama. Children got to pick an animal picture from my hand (I used the amazing resources at Animal Planet and Time Photos), show it to the others, listen to the amazing way in which it mothered, and then, they had to act like that animal! It provided much amusement at the end of the day!
Hearts of wonder!
So we began by talking about our moms, and what we loved about them, what made us feel full of wonder when we thought about them. After some serious silent pondering, a few offered up , "Auntie Karen, that's too hard, we think everything is wonderful about her!" Some sweet ones mentioned how much they loved being cuddled and helped close, or there moms laying with them at night before they got into bed...
Then I told them that although human mothers were completely full of wonder, I had become amazed at how amazing animal mothers were. and so we embarked at looking at what it took to become a mother, the gestation periods of animals compared to a human mother. I had marked each animal and the length of their gestation period in days on pieces pf paper, which each child had to draw out of a hat and keep secret! They then had to break down the days into hundreds, tens and ones, and then had to build the number using the pieces of paper I had prepared. (I had worked out a fairly accurate scale with the strips of paper I had cut). Once they had built it, we stood back and looked at each one and tried to guess what the animal was!
Then we got to work on the serious business of the day - I had loved these heart garlands (excellent tutorial, adn thankfully the great photos mean it doesn't matter if you can't speak the Asian language!) I had seen on Pinterest, and so gathered the supplies and we got to work. I was so impressed with how well the kids, did, considering many of them had never touched a sewing machine before! And I'm even further impressed that I only had one bird's nest in my machine to untangle after 7 kids had sewed! Whilst some were sewing, others were decorating their brown paper bags which were going to carry the Mother's Day gift home in secret! Thankfully, we finished it before any mom's returned!
And finally, a bit of drama. Children got to pick an animal picture from my hand (I used the amazing resources at Animal Planet and Time Photos), show it to the others, listen to the amazing way in which it mothered, and then, they had to act like that animal! It provided much amusement at the end of the day!
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| Can you tell the boys much preferred the drama to the sewing? :) |
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| Aragorn was being a killer whale eating the "seals"! |
Hearts of wonder!
Wonder Workshop #7: Shapes
This wonder workshop was inspired by Fibonacci's numbers - a friend had reminded me of the concept over Christmas and it is something I really look forward to exploring with my children...one day, when I, not a Mathmetician, can grasp it more deeply in order to teach it!
But as I was researching it, I began to think about how amazing shapes are.. and thus the idea was born!
We started off with a bit of Shape Sudoku in a sense. I had cut out as many shapes in as many colours as there were children (so in this case there were 9 different shapes, in 9 different colours). They all went into a pillowcase which was passed around the table and then the children had to draw out 9 different shapes. Then came the tricky part. The kids had to try and make sure they had one type of every shape and one of every colour!
This was challenging, no doubt about it, and rather tricky to administer as well - who shares first, how to help the kids to share what they have two of whilst not giving away the shape/color they need to make it work etc. In hindsight, I think it would ahve been better simply use 5 shapes/colours, and to get them to work in teams.
Then it was time to make our own shapes. Our first was a 3D ball, that would look lovely for parties or Christmas. Simply, cut strips, put a thingy (those things you punch through paper and bend those legs over on either side? Sorry, it's been a long day on my computer!) in the top. Let me show you:
Stunning hey? And then we made another shape out of home made plastic! It was incredible to watch what vinegar did to milk - and what my imagination did with that knowledge! Had I ever eaten vinegar and milk together? Had I inadvertently made plastic in my gut?!
I'd highly recommend doing this outside, as the making of the curdled milk, the pouring and straining can be quite messy. It was full of wonder as the curdles formed so quickly, and I was full of wonder at how smooth and supple the girls managed to make theirs, whilst the boys were somewhat bobbly! They then cut their own shapes out of the plastic.
And finally, a bit of FUN! Building towers out of toothpicks and mini-marshmallows. The challenge was to see who could build the tallest tower, after talking a bit about how engineers use shapes to increase the strenght of structures. Despite mentioning how triangles are stronger than squares, many squared structures were built - and quite tall as well!!!
Happy days of wonder!
But as I was researching it, I began to think about how amazing shapes are.. and thus the idea was born!
We started off with a bit of Shape Sudoku in a sense. I had cut out as many shapes in as many colours as there were children (so in this case there were 9 different shapes, in 9 different colours). They all went into a pillowcase which was passed around the table and then the children had to draw out 9 different shapes. Then came the tricky part. The kids had to try and make sure they had one type of every shape and one of every colour!
This was challenging, no doubt about it, and rather tricky to administer as well - who shares first, how to help the kids to share what they have two of whilst not giving away the shape/color they need to make it work etc. In hindsight, I think it would ahve been better simply use 5 shapes/colours, and to get them to work in teams.
Then it was time to make our own shapes. Our first was a 3D ball, that would look lovely for parties or Christmas. Simply, cut strips, put a thingy (those things you punch through paper and bend those legs over on either side? Sorry, it's been a long day on my computer!) in the top. Let me show you:
Stunning hey? And then we made another shape out of home made plastic! It was incredible to watch what vinegar did to milk - and what my imagination did with that knowledge! Had I ever eaten vinegar and milk together? Had I inadvertently made plastic in my gut?!
I'd highly recommend doing this outside, as the making of the curdled milk, the pouring and straining can be quite messy. It was full of wonder as the curdles formed so quickly, and I was full of wonder at how smooth and supple the girls managed to make theirs, whilst the boys were somewhat bobbly! They then cut their own shapes out of the plastic.
And finally, a bit of FUN! Building towers out of toothpicks and mini-marshmallows. The challenge was to see who could build the tallest tower, after talking a bit about how engineers use shapes to increase the strenght of structures. Despite mentioning how triangles are stronger than squares, many squared structures were built - and quite tall as well!!!
Happy days of wonder!
Tag :
Maths,
Wonder Workshops,
Mastering Maths
As a homeschooler, there are golden days, when the way you want to teach something inspires your children, and they get it, and with glee they realise they ahve learnt something..and then there are days that are just plain horrid! This post is about one of those golden days, a golden moment about Maths!
Aragorn who is 5, has a wonderful heart and a curious mind, but writing, recognizing letters and numbers etc is not yet something that comes naturally to him yet. I'm thankful I have the option of homeschooling him because I really can do things at a pace that would suit him, and it's much later than his brother.
But this morning had that feeling to it. The feeling that he wanted to learn something noteworthy, something big. So...out came a baking tray, and some jelly powder (nothing like an incentive!) and these fantastic number rhymes...
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| we'll move onto pencil much later |
0 - Around and around we go, when we get home we have a zero.
1 - Start at the top and down we run, that's the way we make a one.
2 - Half a heart says "I love you". A line. Now I've made the number two.
3 - Around the tree and round the tree, now I've made the number three.
4 - Down and across and down once more, now I've made the umber four.
5 - The hat. The back. The belly. It's a five. Watch out it might come alive ! (Aragorn's favorite. I hear him chanting it when he thinks no one's listening, and he loved drawing what he thought a five might look like - complete with Viking Helmet!)
6 - Around to a loop, number 6 rolls a hoop.
7 - Across the sky and down form heaven, that's the way we make a seven.
8 - Make an s then close the gate, now I've made the number eight.
9 - Make an oval and a line. Now I've made the number nine.
10 - One egg laid by a hen. Now I've made the number ten.
(I seem to have saved these without their source, so if these belong to you, please forgive me and let me know and I will give credit where credit is due!)
But look at this face - isn't it wonderful! A very proud little boy!
Maths seemed to naturally become the master of the day after that. We started playing some Maths games with a pack of cards. Our curriculum is Singapore Maths, and this is the first year I've had the teacher's guide. In it are suggested games for each unit, and we had such fun I'll give you some simple suggestions too!
Remove the face cards from the pack and deal them out between the two (you can easily adapt this to play with more children should you need too) players. Then each player draws two cards from their pack, and puts them face down on the table in front of them. They can either add them, or subtract them, or use them as tens or units ( ie a 3 and a 9 could be 39 or 93. If you choose this, it might help to let them do this in secret - otherwise the other player who may be older or better at strategy can easily adjust his cards to win!). Then the player with the highest/lowest/larger/smaller (whatever you decide) number takes all the cards. The person to win all the cards wins the game. I called it war, and the boys loved it, trying to destroy each other! Boys..she smiled!
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| Aragorn counting the diamonds and clubs |
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| King Arthur winning yet another round! |
Tag :
Maths,
Maths Moments - June & July 2011
As many of you know, Maths is not my middle name. Ask me the themes in any novel, the difference between juxtaposition and an oxymoron, how to trace a character's development and I'm sorted. But Maths? Inward groan!
Being creative and teaching it in an inspiring way is my challenge. And King Arthur, being the first of our children to walk this journey, is challenging me to the nth degree. So here are some moments snapped over the last couple of months of trying to make Maths fun...well, let me rephrase that - interesting at least!
So pray, do tell. What do you do to make Maths fun?
Being creative and teaching it in an inspiring way is my challenge. And King Arthur, being the first of our children to walk this journey, is challenging me to the nth degree. So here are some moments snapped over the last couple of months of trying to make Maths fun...well, let me rephrase that - interesting at least!
So here we have the boys just beginning their game of "Shop, Shop" (creatively named don't you think?!). King Arthur more often than not is the banker, and has 'pretend' money (a granny's gift from the Crazy store) but all in the right South African denominations. Whoever plays can chose any kind of shop - I usually end up having the food market, complete with snacks from the kitchen! We have a book shop, various toy shops, and once I even hosted an ice-cream shop! The boys can open and close their shops as long as they post a sign saying they'll be back soon, and they encourage each other to come and buy things. They'll often have sales too. It's a great way of doing simple adding and subtracting (and perhaps some business skills?!). We've also done this in the past with the Pick 'n Pay full promotional spreads from the local paper, by cutting out all the foodstuffs and having a bakery, dairy etc etc.
Another spin off of this game is re-creating a restaurant at home - I'll dress up as the maitre d', and then present the kids with a menu (hint - do this on nights when you don't have dinner in mind, and are trying to make something out of nothing! Like an option of scrambled eggs or boiled eggs or toast etc), quickly whipped up with some sketches. I expect the same manners as if we were really in a restaurant, and I present them with a bill at the end. If they can add up what they ordered correctly, they don't have to pay (can leave the table without normal chores). If they make a mistake, they help clear or wash up or something light hearted.
Singapore Math blocks - these have presented us with hours of fun and are a really worthwhile investment. You can get these sheets as well to create your own patterns, or just have fun making endless symmetrical patterns as King Arthur does.
The spare change jar. Now there have been seasons in our lives where this jar has remained empty as every penny has been accounted for, and there are seasons where the small change accumulates. This month gone by was a month to take stock and sort it all out. So King Arthur painstakingly counted all the coins, and wrote down his estimation. Then he had to get the right amount of each denomination into each bank bag, and then we took it to the bank (a lesson in and of itself!). The highlight was changing it to paper money, and the kids all being treated to an ice cream with the money!
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| Belle lending a helping hand! |
Tag :
Maths,
Monster-Grabbing Maths
King Arthur has developed somewhat of an aversion to workbooks and being taught maths out of a book - which leaves me a daily challenge of creativity... (not to mention some work ahead of me on attitude and habit training!)!
Here's a glimpse of how I made maths creative the other day -
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| Recycling milk bottle tops, we wrote numbers on them. Where the lid was a darker color, we used masking tape |
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| Then we placed them on the floor, and he got his 'monster-grabber'... |
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| Then he found them and picked them up! |
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| Bonds of 15 |
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| Bonds of 19 |
I think this would work well on a number of levels, even using tongs from the kitchen! Perhaps tweezers and smaller counters would increase fine motor skills too? He had fun today, doing Maths, and for now, that's all that counts!
