Partitioning Five In Early Math

In the Premium Coloring Club today, you'll find a craft that integrates with the Rainbow Ducks (one of our free counting rhymes).

Mother Duck tucks the 5 rainbow ducks under her wings to sleep. You can use this craft to help your students begin to think algebraically. They can become aware of the number 5 and its constituent parts - 5&0, 4&1, 3&2.

Before your students glue their craft talk about how there are 5 babies altogether.

Let them play a few games where they hide a different number of little ducks under each wing and then explore the missing number to different combinations.

If your students need more help partitioning the number five you may like our Five Frame Math Pack!

Let students play in pairs with counters before they glue the baby ducks. 

One student can hide ducks under the wings and the other student can guess how many are on the other sides, after one side is revealed.

Embedded in this task is an element of logical thinking - introduce students to some mathematical language - if …… then ….. (if there are 3 ducks under this wing then there must be 2 under this wing)









Once they have played this game a few times, record on a classroom chart the different combinations that make 5. Refer back to it as the week goes on. Play other math games where students have to make groups of objects in quantities up to five. 

I'd love for you to come to my free and virtual math workshop on playful math - if you've not signed up yet, find out more here!

If you are not yet a member of the Pond Coloring Club - we'd love to have you! Find out more HERE

SHARE:

Finger Play, Numbers

Easy Student Desk Name Tags

We have a growing range of fast-prep desk name tags for your students' desks, cubbies, lockers, books or equipment. Just print and write their names or type in the text-editable Powerpoint file provided to you! 

They are clean, uncluttered and have been designed to coordinate with other items in our classroom decor range. 

Here are some from our pineapple set! If you have a request for a theme, be sure to let me know. 

Name Activity Idea for Kindergarten 

Early in the year when your kindergarten first start school, make 2 additional sets of these name cards when you are prepping your classroom. Learning the names of their peers is a special and important part of these early school days. 

• flip through the set and display them so students can see the names of their new friends as you call them
• leave the 2 sets available in a learning center and let students match them up
• use them in fast transition periods when you need to select a student for a special task or responsibility - hold the card up instead of saying a name - this will help in name recognition for students still learning to read

Find our name tags over on the website.

Find more classroom decor over on our website to help create a beautiful, happy learning space!

Find more pineapple themed teaching ideas there too!

SHARE:

Classroom Decor

Funny Fish Craft

 Funny Fish Craft for Fine Motor

Over in the Premium Coloring Club (craft library) we've added a one page funny fish! Your little learners can get valuable fine motor practice and you will have loads of lovely fish for a beautiful classroom display!

The fish has nice big clear shapes to cut. There are bumpy lines to trace for handwriting practice. Create a flip-flap fin by folding the fin point and applying glue just to the tip!

Here are some ideas:

To color:

• use pencils to color and markers to trace
• use watercolors to paint and crayon to trace
• apply glitter glue or gel pens for detail
• glue shiny sequins to link to a reading of The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

I think they would also be lovely dangling from the classroom ceiling on fishing line! 

If you're not yet a member of the Pond Coloring Club, I'd love to have you included! Be sure to read all the details over on our dedicated site or feel free to email me with any questions you have!

SHARE:

Craft for Kids

A Line of Lemons with Legs

Over in the free Coloring Club library today I added a one page craft -Lemon Cutie! It's summer here in Australia and I've been enjoying lots of summer fruit smoothies and salads. 

I also recently updated the fruit classroom label collection to include cherries, lemons and peaches! Now 10 fruits altogether to organize and brighten your learning space!

Your children can make their lemon cutie just for fun by:

• cutting the big clear solid lines
• zig-zag folding the legs
• gluing the legs to the lemon

Why not paint instead of color!

Create a line of lemons once the whole class has completed them!

• talk about other words that start with the letter l
• count the lemons in the line
• talk about lemons - describe them and make a list of adjectives
• practice writing the letter l in light yellow pencil or crayon (lemon)

If you are a Premium Coloring Club member you can also find this 'find the l's' coloring page. Students find the lemons who have a L leg and color them in. A fun letter identification activity. 

If you are not yet in the Coloring Club I would love to have you! Find out all about it here!

<

SHARE:

Craft for Kids, Letter Recognition