N is for numbers!

Our first day back after break went smoothly.  :-)  We ran out of time for some things since they both had a lot to chat about but conversations are important too so that is just fine. 

Today I planned to do familiar activities...typical of what I do after a break.  Just gets us back into the routine, etc.  Much of what we did today are activities I have posted about in the past so will refrain in repeating.  Here's a couple "new" activities we did that used familiar materials.

Number/Letter Sort w/ Playdough

 

First I worked with them to create long snakes to make the numerals 1 through 9.  They are coming right along with snake making.  :-)  Each child had a different color playdough so that allowed for a pattern to be created/reinforced.  Then I went through a selection of playdough letter/number stampers.  If it was a number they stamped the correct playdough number.  This was very much enjoyed.  :-)  If it was a letter, I stamped where it would go in the number words.  We repeated "a number we can count with; a letter we can read/spell with".  They really stayed engaged until right up to the end when all the numbers had been stamped but there were a few more letters.  So next time I'll make sure that I leave a number stamp until the end!  Ha!  There was a reach here because we had to put the numbers up high enough on the table so that there was enough space to work right in front of them...so next time...we'll do it on the floor.

Odd/Even Numbers Wok and Roll

            Excuse his reach...we did correct the situation.  :-D

 One can often add a concept to a game you already have.  Here I used our Wok and Roll game to add a task about odd and even numbers as well as incorporate a bit of fine motor.  I used stickers to label the vegetables with numbers.  We talked about the labeled odd/even bowls and on a whim I used M&M's as manipulatives to match up buddies to find out if the number was odd/even.  We didn't go through all the numbers...only about half.  It would have been very time consuming and I don't think they would have stayed interested much longer so I would rather stop them when their interest is high.  :-)

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

A "special" we did today that really had nothing to do with numbers but I wanted them to have the opportunity...they love this book and so when I saw it on our library's New DVD shelf I picked it up.  We did talk about characters and how many there were in the book vs. in the movie.  We also clapped out each of the characters names.  Slipping things in like that is always beneficial! 

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