Counting to 100 - Stair Step Style

I recently ran into a retired K-1st grade teacher having a garage sale. I basically bought out her sale. She had lots of math materials. One of my findings was these stair step math cards. I've decided to use them to work on counting to 100. Lexy counts to 30 independently, and she can count to 100 with transitional help. So, I really want to take time to help her understand the pattern of counting and what makes up a number.

I've decided to take it very slowly by starting off reviewing 1-20. I want Lexy to understand the teens as 10 plus a number. These stair step cards are broken down into groups of numbers 1-12, 13-20, etc. First, she put 1-20 in order and then matched up the individual numbers over the top. We would say each number as we covered it.




After putting the numbers in order, she used base 10 blocks to put the correct amount above each number. Without me asking her to, she made these into an AB pattern. She was able to notice that each group was one step higher than the previous...like stairs. She also saw that each one would end in a different color than the previous one had.

After she did 10-11, I brought out the group of 10. I showed her how we could replace the 10 individual blocks with the one long group of 10. For numbers 11-20, she used the group of 10 plus 1,2,3, etc. This was a great way to review the concept we practiced with our number boards talked about here.


We will continue on to 100 by adding a group each time. Next will come 21-30. She will use the base 10 blocks to make the numbers above each group. We will also continue practicing counting by 10s.

Math Monday: Random Thoughts and Homemade Number Board

Well, I had a really off week last week. I wasn't feeling well, and we had lots of random things pop up. So, needless to say, we didn't get nearly as much accomplished as I had hoped. But, I did manage to do a lot of THINKING about next year's plans.

I've gone back and forth in wondering whether to purchase a curriculum for Math or not. I've done a lot of reading up on preschool math standards, etc. while trying to make my decision. I am the kind of person that likes to have a plan to follow. I like schedules and organization...even though I have to work very hard to stay scheduled and organized.

I've looked and looked for a detailed checklist to follow for introducing math concepts, but haven't found really what I'm looking for. Everything that I have found shows that we're way ahead of the game as far as what a preschooler should know for Math. But, that doesn't help me to know where to go next. So, if anyone knows of such a list, please let me know.

As of now, we do a lot of living math. Lexy helps in the kitchen A LOT! We play games, do simple addition/subtraction, and read a lot of math books. Lexy seems to learn best this way, so I think I'm going to stick to this for next year. I'm looking into purchasing "Family Math for Young Learners" just for some ideas. Again, if anyone has used this and has an opinion, I'd love to hear.

Another thing that I did manage to accomplish last week was to make a homemade number board. I saw the idea for this here. Lexy does pretty well counting to 30, but I wanted to spend some time reviewing the teen numbers.

To make the boards, I just used cardboard and stencils. The number 10 is written 9 times, and the numbers 1-9 are written once on seperate cardboard pieces. As a review, I would say "10 and 1 makes 11. Can you make 11." She would place a 1 on top of the zero. Then, we went on down the board.






Here, she is playing teacher to her stuffed dog hitting the numbers with the hammer and saying the name.

Lexy enjoys manipulatives like this. After we use them together, I leave them out for her to play with. She likes to play teacher to Josiah or whoever will listen.

I also discivered a "new-to-me blog" last week. I spent several hours late into the night checking out The Homeschool Den. It was packed full of ideas for Math and preschool activities in general.

Math Monday: Counting by 10s to 100

We spent some time this afternoon working on counting by 10s to 100 and recognizing numbers over 30. We used a book from the MathStart Level 1 series called "Leaping Lizards."

After reading the book, we acted out the story using our counting worms (I do not have 50 lizards). First, She grouped the worms into groups of 5. It was interesting to see that she grouped them all by size.
Next, she paired each group up with another group to make a group of 10.


Then, we counted the worms and labled them with these 10s cards. I first saw these cards on Monkeyin Around.

And, of course, we had our own "leaping worms" show.

We also spent time playing a variety of games with the 10s cards. She enjoyed memory, but it was pretty easy since she could see through the paper. We also worked on number recognition. Lexy was pretty antsy this afternoon, so we did a lot of movement activities..."Run and put the number 40 by the front door." Or, "Touch your ear to the number 50."

Lastly, she put the numbers in order from 10-100. She was able to figure this out simply by the pattern...one, zero, two, zero, three, zero, etc.

We've been having a lot of fun with these MathStart books. If anyone is interested in "Leaping Lizards" here are some more ideas for this book.

Math Monday: Lots of Math Books!

We've had a lot of fun with Math books this week. We checked out every MathStart Level 1 book that our library had. Earlier in the week, we read Beep Beep, Vroom Vroom and worked with patterning. You can read more about that here. Lexy has had fun reading the other MathStart books, but I plan on doing a more in-depth lesson with each book. The two books coming up are Leaping Lizards and Mighty Maddie. If you haven't checked out the MathStart books, be sure too...unless you share a library with me, because I have them all :)

I also checked out a Pre-Readers Counting and sequencing Literacy Kit from the library. Most of these books ended up being below Lexy's level, but Josiah enjoyed them. He loves books, so this was great for introducing counting and numbers to him. Unfortunately, he usually doesn't want me to read to him. He wants to read it himself. So, I try to sit next to him and point things out if he'll let me.

The literacy kit contained Bear pattern and sequencing cards. Lexy enjoyed finishing the patterns.

Josiah enjoyed matching the colors for about 5 minutes...until he discovered that putting the bucket up to his face and making noises was much more fun!

Here is a list of the Math books that were great for introducing numbers and counting with Josiah:

Fish Eye: A Book You Can Count On (Ehlert, Lois)

Baby einstein: See and Spy Counting (aigner-Clark, Julie)

My Numbers (Emberley, rebecca)

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (Christelow, Eileen)

Fun With Numbers (gibson, ray)

Pooh counts to Five (Parent, Nancy)

Numbers (Anderson, Sara)

What Comes in 2s, 3s, and 4s (Aker, Suzanne)

Numbers (dorling, Kindersely)

One, Two, Flea (Ahlber, Allan)

Over in the Meadow (voce, Louise)

Ten in the Bed (Ellwand, David)

Five Little bats Flying in the Night (Metzger, Steve)

Many Hands Counting Book (Granstom, brita)

Lexy enjoyed the Usborne "Fun with Numbers" book. She practiced dividing things evenly. She divided bones among the dogs and fish among the polar bears. There were many more activities that we haven't got to yet.

Weekly Update: April 12-16

We had a very random, yet busy, week this week. I was busy planning for a Mommy and Me class that we hosted at our house. The planning and the class took up several mornings, but we still fit in some "school" time in the afternoons.

Math: We finally got around to playing with our homemade Math Fries. Lexy really enjoyed this. We took turns ordering fries and counting the correct number to put in each box. We will continue using these to practice counting. I'd like to begin working on numbers above 30.



Also, I decided to try some books that were recommended over at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns. I went to the library and checked out every MathStart Level 1 book that they had! I spent several days looking over them myself before I introduced one to Lexy. I REALLY like these books, especially since Lexy enjoys reading so much.



The first book we read together was Beep, Beep, Vroom, Vroom! This book focuses on recognizing patterns. It is about a little sister that likes to play with her big brother's cars. Throughout the book, the cars are lined up in patterns. After reading it, Lexy played with her little brother's cars. She made patterns of her own.

To continue working on patterns, we played with Sequencing and Counting Bears from Learning Resource. These come with pattern cards that have four different levels of difficulty. She enjoyed finishing the pattern.

I plan to continue with the MathStart books. I'm not sure if I'll do one a week or every few days. I'd really like to get our own copies that way they can become a part of our home library.

Another book that was recommended by Natalie was "Missing Math: A Number Mystery" by Loreen Leedy. I checked this out and added it to our library basket to read whenever she felt like it. She really enjoyed this book and asked for it several times throughout the week. I found her following Josiah around on several occassions trying to read it to him or sitting by herself reading it and talking about the missing numbers.

Science: Lexy has recently been asking a lot of questions about bodies. So, we checked out more books from the library about the human body. I'm putting together a unit as we go. I plan on doing a seperate post about the specifics. But basically, the big ideas that I'm wanting her to come away with from this unit are:



1. We were created uniquely and with wisdom by God in His image

2. Our bodies are made up of parts we can see (external) and parts we can't see (internal)

3. Each part has a specific function (We'll talk about these, but I'm not sure how much she'll retain)

4. We need to take care of our bodies by eating healthy foods, exercising, and getting lots of rest

5. Our senses help us discover the world God created



I am getting many ideas from the Human Body Unit at Refined Metals Academy. Again, I'll post more specifics in a seperate post.



Here is Lexy filling in her body that I traced with chalk on the driveway.

Phonics/Handwriting: We are continuing to work with "Get Ready for the Code." She knows all her sounds and is very good at determining beginning sounds/letters. So, most of this is review. I'm debating on whether to skip ahead to "Get Set for the Code." I've been sticking with it, because it does have a lot of handwriting practice which has been helping her.



At this point, I just want her to enjoy writing and completing the books. So, when she wants to do it with a giant rainbow crayon...I'm okay with that :)

Sensory Tub: It's been awhile since I've posted about our sensory tub. I haven't switched it out as often as I would like. They have enjoyed this month's tub. It is filled with seeds, shovels, rakes, pots, and fake flowers. I bought two big bags of bird seed and squirrel feed, because other seed was much more expensive. However, I did buy some individual packets of some vegetable seeds and scattered them in. I left the packets there that show what those seeds look like. Lexy enjoyed looking through the seeds to find specific types.



Other: We hosted a Mommy and Me class at our house which was lots of fun. If it didn't take so long to get pictures on here, I'd add more. Here is one of Lexy painging a Spring picture. Many of the kids enjoyed painting on the easel!

Bible: My husband does our Bible planning now. To go along with our Science unit, he is doing a Bible unit on God making each of us special. I'll do a seperate post with more specifics about this when we get into it more.

Math Monday: Math Fries

This was a fun and easy activity to put together today. It can be used to review numbers or to practice simple addition/subtraction facts. I went to McDonalds and asked for some unused french fry containers. Then, I bought a pack of yellow sponges for around $1. I cut the sponges to look like french fries.

I would like to place some velcro on the french fry containers, but haven't had the time to do that yet. On the boxes, place whatever you would like to review. It could be anything from numbers 1-10 or review higher numbers. Have your preschooler put the correct number of fries in each box. To practice simple addition/subtraction facts, just replace the numbers with the facts.

Lexy really enjoys playing store. So, I plan to use these to role play and review math. She will be the cashier and I will order a box of fries. She saw me make them and is anxiously waiting to play!

To find some more preschool math ideas, check out Joyful Learner.

Math Monday: Measuring Water

We had a short getaway to the family cabin this weekend. While we were down at the lake, my husband came up with a spontaneous math lesson. Way to go, Alex!

He showed Lexy how to find the depth of the water in different areas around the lake. They used a long wooden board and stuck it in the water until it hit the bottom. When it came back up, they checked to see where the water line was. Then, each of the kids stood next to it to see if the water would be over their heads.

Lexy had fun taking the board around to different areas to see how deep the water was. She found that it was over her head even at the dock!

To find some more math ideas to do with your preschooler, check out Joyful Learner. She has just started a new math link up called Math Link. When I have any new math ideas to share, I plan to start posting them on Mondays.