Mathematics and Preschoolers VIII

Well, introducing the Classic Balance Scale with Bears, from www.discountschoolsupply.com, yesterday made me realize that I haven't talked about measurement yet.  At the preschool level we want to introduce vocabulary that goes along with measurement and then the majority of our hands-on activities are going to be nonstandard measurement. 

So let's start with vocabulary:
It's starts as simple as "big" and "small".  Here are some other vocab that I use regularly, not in any specific order.
long, longer, longest
big, bigger, biggest
small, smaller, smallest
medium
tall, short
narrow, wide
measure
ruler, tape measure, scale
weigh
perimeter (actually this is used daily.  We glue "around the perimeter" of the shape.)
heavy, light
equal, same
more, less, fewer
couple, dozen
yesterday, today, tomorrow, week, month, year
about, approximately
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Some vocab for specific activities:
cup, oz, tbs. etc
time, minute, hours
inch, foot, yard
Fahrenheit

So what is nonstandard measurement?  Simply put...it's measuring without using an actual ruler, tape measure, scale etc.  Our goal is to "introduce" measurement.  Does that mean we never get the rulers and tape measures out.  Absolutely not.  We get them out for free exploration or for practical purpose when it's part of our verbal problem solving (please talk your "problems" out so your children hear how you are solving the problem...this is priceless!).  We just don't expect them to measure something and tell us how many inches, cm, etc an object is (some children will and that is just fine!). 

Children love to measure with their body.  Talk about how when we measure we have to use the same size object and they must be put one after another.  You can show how it works on a ruler. 
   * Sid the Science Kid: Exploring Measurement is an excellent DVD for preschoolers as an intro.  After watching this DVD they'll want to measure a room using their complete body.
   *  You can measure how long objects, let's say a piano bench, is by measuring with a child's hand.
   *  Measure how long the sandbox with their feet, one foot in front of another.

All those manipulatives that you are using for patterning, counting, sorting and etc can be used for measurement also!  (As long as they are the same size.)  Linking cubes, plastic links, inch cubes, blocks, crackers, craft sticks, dominoes,.  And check your toy shelf...what can be used there? Once you show a child how to do this, you'll begin to see it in their own play. Presently we have our Cracker Barrel Checkers set out.  Do they play checkers?  No.  They do use them for 1:1 activities, matching colors, patterning, measuring and so on.

The maraca is 3 dominoes long.

The window is 19 checkers wide.

Another manipulative that works well for measuring is the Gingerbread Sort and Snap.  We purchased ours from www.discountschoolsupply.com.  I take that back...we got our from www.amazon.com with free super saver shipping :-) but you can purchase from Discount.

The rhythm sticks is approximately 5 gingerbread people long.

Another activity we do with multiple themes are use our mini accents that has been purchased from www.trendenterprises.com.  I laminate mine for durability.  Here's a picture from our pumpkin theme, they were measuring themselves.  This particular time they also had a sheet with blackline pumpkins along the one side with the same numbers and they drew themselves starting at how tall they were at the wall and working down to the number 1 pumpkin.  Then they had a fill in the blank sentence that they used our number stamps with "I am _____ pumpkins tall!"

Using inch worms that are actually an inch long works nicely to introduce actual rulers. You can put 12 inch worms along a ruler to show 12 inches.  I just google an image and make it an inch in my Print Shop, copy and paste a bunch, print on cardstock, laminate and cut out. Here is an example of one inch work you can find if you google it. He's a cute little bugger!

Another cute way to lead into actual rulers are to make nonstandard measurement rulers first by using craft sticks.  You can easily make it theme related by using foam shapes or stickers.  

The block is about 4 faces long.

I don't typically use yarn for measurement except for those circumference introductions (measuring around a pumpkin, for example) or if a child is interested in maps and scales and so on.  But here is an activity we did awhile back but plan to do here again soon.  You can get a lot out of this activity if you plan it just right.  :-)

Use a theme related object or have the children choose an object to measure.  Then cut off yarn strips that are longer, shorter, and approximately the same size.  Then together as a group sort them.  You can write the words with the children (teaching them print concepts), you can remind them about longer, shorter, and same by drawing corresponding lines under the words.  You can arrange it so that when you are done you can review, long-longer-longest, short-shorter-shortest, and equal.)  Also, one skill I look for is the ability for the children to look at a set of three and tell me that there are three there without counting them...so that is why I chose 3 yarn lengths for each category.  :-) 

Well, measurement is beyond just length, height and width but that is what we focus on the most.  We do cooking activities on occasion. Wanted to do a weekly one but it just doesn't seem like there is enough time in the days!  Weight and capacity is often through sensory exploration and as time goes on you'll know when to keep quiet and when you can slip in a question or statement to help scaffold their learning.  At the preschool level, time pretty much is about yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  When we do things (day/night), the order of the schedule-"We'll eat after centers." "Mom will be here after nap." and so on.  Money can be introduced but remember that Kindergarten teachers typically begin teaching about money and time the 2nd half of the year.  For example, Caleb is just now learning about money.  They really get into in 1st grade.  You can do simple coin recognition activities and do some counting with pennies (1s) and if you wish you can practice your skip counting (10s, 5s) with dimes and nickles.  in general, just have some plastic coins and money out for their dramatic play.  We also have a game called "ALLOWANCE" that is lovely for Aaron (7-8 years old) but Caleb does just fine with some help (5 years).  I do not recommend it for preschoolers.

As you can tell, I can go on and on but time doesn't allow.  So we'll let this be all for today! 

Mathematics and Preschoolers VII

The terms "more", "less", and "equal" are important mathematical vocabulary. Did you know that you are actually teaching children to analyze when you are comparing sets? Everything we teach our preschoolers is setting the stage for more complex skills. We want children to be able to look at objects/sets and see differences and similarities. We also want them to understand what the terms "more", "less" and "equal" mean.

For the most part, I slip in the question about more/less informally with any type of set comparison activities. It works well for them to predict what set has more or less or if they have the same. Then use 1:1 to compare the two sets. Putting them next to each other in a row.

         Double Sided Counters             Magnetic Two Sided Counters

 

http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/        http://www.amazon.com/

These double sided counters are something on my wish list so that I can do more formal more/less activities. I've always had good intentions when I said I'd just spray paint a set of dried beans to make my own 2 sided counters but it always gets pushed down on the priority list. Lakeshore's product is a bit more expensive but I believe the counters are larger, more durable and probably more of them in a set. However, I do like the ones from amazon.com also. They are magnetic so they are less likely to move when we are comparing. However, they seem smaller, thinner and perhaps a little less durable. But might work fine for supervised play.

I do introduce the signs that go along with more and less. The equal (=) sign is usually already introduced as we use it with our addition and subtraction activities. In the next picture you can see the sign I made for introducing the sign. It's a green alligator mouth. They turn it so the alligator eats the largest set. We also used our Penny Toss Mats here to help us create sets of apples (apple theme).



At http://www.squidoo.com/Hands-onLearning they have something very similar but use a deck of cards and a whole alligator. Either way works.


I also use our teddy bear counters and scale to explore with more or less. They predict which set of bears is more/less and then they get an instant visual. We do less with counting because this set is the weighted set. I have used it with other manipulatives that are of the same weight and then we compare and count the sets.


The red and blue covers are removable so that is nice also. It was purchased through http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/, called the Classic Balance Scale with Bears.

Other ideas for More/Less:
* Two Styrofoam bases and fake flowers. Or 2 vases and fake flowers. Children love arranging flowers. In the past we did something to incorporate mathematics into dramatic play (flower shop).
* Save and wash/dry apple seeds or pumpkin seeds and then provide a simple mat with two blackline apples or pumpkins. They can grab a handful of seeds and place one set in one apple/pumpkin and another handful in the other. Then count and add the appropriate sign (<,>,=).
* Any type of manipulatives, as mentioned in past blogs, or snack items can be used for more/less activities. Sometimes it's nice to give them a set, such as a strip of linking cubes, and ask them to make one that is more or less instead of always comparing them.
* Magnetic trains- "I have a train that 3 cars long, can you make one that has more cars?" "Choo-Choo"-drive around the track.
* In water play have two similar containers and use colored water so they can easily see the water line. When they have both containers filled at different levels, slip in the question "which one has more water?"
* The Elefun game is kind of neat for an activity like this. Catch the butterflies in the net and then make two lines to compare who got more and less that round.

http://www.amazon.com/
* Provide a bowlful of pom poms, dice, pair of tweezers or small tongs and an icecube tray. Roll the dice and use the tweezers to put the pom poms in the top row of the icecube tray. Roll the dice again and put another set underneath. Using only two colors (may with to have two bowls) helps to keep it from getting confusing. Compare by sight and also by counting.

Happy learning!