Math Books!

We have daily Math class from 9-9:45 every day.   Kindergartners are now using the Singapore Math Program workbooks at least 4 days per week.  We are currently only working on our books at school and only as a group, since we are currently learning about how the books work and how we use them to learn.  Children who have completed pages are allowed to move on to the next page if need be. Books are not going home at this time; the children's skills are not yet to the point of independence with their books; they are learning how to read a problem, thoughtfully sit with it and approach it with focus. This is the foundation for the children of their long term relationship with the Singapore system. It's a crucial stage in the process. 

At first glance the math books look "easy" but accuracy, mastery, and neatness are also incorporated in our goals.

We are  practicing recognizing page numbers, cutting out pages and needed icons in the back of the book  for pasting assignments.  The first few assignments focused on  counting and discriminating skills.  We are discovering that the Singapore program allows for multiple answers and open- ended ways of thinking about a problem.   It is also designed for children to acquire new skills while building on prior knowledge  (color and shape recognition and basic number recognition.)   It furthermore allows for practice with forming and writing numbers.  

Other math lessons are more hands-on and incorporate our manipulatives table items.  We began the year creating patterns (AAB) and attempted more sophisticated arrangements as the month progressed  (AABC.)  Shape recognition included a unit on Tangrams that we will also revisit from time to time.  We also sort, sequence, and practice counting  using one to one correspondence.    Our "Inch Worm" (see blog entry) activity is just one example of the type of measurement activities we do.    In the month of September we used a rain gauge to keep track of the rainfall.  During this activity the children made predictions, graphed results, and charted data.