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Math for kindergarten


Janeway
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I am completely unsure what to do here. I have a bunch of manipulatives so I am considering just making stuff up with them and doing everything hands on. I am not the most creative, but if I spend time thinking about it, I can likely come up with plenty of ideas (especially with the help of Google).  I have also considered buying a workbook to go along with it. Problem with the workbooks I see, they are often just pictures of things I would rather do hands on. So why do a workbook with pictures of coins or pictures of clocks when we actually have coins and toy clocks and real clocks and so many counter things and real rulers and so on.? But I am considering getting some sort of workbook to go along with whatever we do. Any suggestions? I would like us to get started right away as he keeps asking to do his math. He can already count and I just realized he knows some multiplication facts. He seems to have a great memory and when I am quizzing his sister, he now answers, often before her. That does not mean he is ready for multiplication, it just means he has a great memory.

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I use the Singapore Essentials that's been mentioned. I also have C-rods that I use following the instruction at educationunboxed.com

You could probably fly through the Singapore books pretty quickly. I actually use them for PreK and start Math Mammoth 1 in kindy.

I like having a book at that age to practice writing numbers and reading symbols. MM has a lot of picture manipulatives that you can use with real manipulatives, but then I know what to actually teach and the proper sequence.

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You might look at the Kate Snow books. I used the Preschool Math at Home last year and loved it. It was all games and hands on ways to instill math skills for a preschooler. I haven't actually looked at the addition facts one, but I am sure I woutld like it if it is similarly written. It sounds like you might like it too for some guidance of the games to play with your manipulatives. 

Personally I like a lot of hands on too, but I need the daily guidance of lesson plans, and have always just used Rod and Staff 1st grade math for K. Each lesson uses manipulatives (felt board pieces that you make) for the adding and subtracting along with visual posters and cards and such. I just incorporate the rest of my manipulatives into the lessons. So when we do clocks, we use my teaching clock (and a real clock marked with the five minutes around the edges is above her workspace too.) I use coins on coin days, not just the workbook pages. The curriculum gives me the lesson, but I work our hands on into it each day, adding plenty of learning posters and games and such that go with the skills being taught daily. I know myself and know I could introduce topics, but would not be able to build the daily skills in at the level that the curriculum does. Having the lesson plans made up for me each day helps me stay accountable to getting all of the daily counting and skills in that I might leave off parts of. But I definitely need the hands on with it and shake things up by adding in games and calendar time and other mathy things into the mix too. 

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On 2/12/2020 at 3:22 PM, questionlover96 said:

Thanks for the ideas! I’ll have to check them out.

We also have a clock, a handful of cubes, a colorful abacus, a toy for shape sorting from my childhood, games and some workbooks too. I love teaching preschool math. To teach them about money, I will use real coins. How do you teach money skills to a auditory learner? Tips and hints welcome.

What are the games like? And visual posters and cards are a good idea too. I might also order some notecards to use. All helpful educational app recommendations and suggestions needed. I also plan on using some homeschool math sites to consolidate their understanding and skills and to assign homework. Speaking of it, what did you do for homework? The current plan is to give out homework once a week. I need some friendly advice and support when it comes to setting homework tasks. I do not wish to overwhelm them. One difficult piece is enough I think. 

If you want an abacus look into the Al Abacus by RightStart. It has several features that make it much more useful in the long term than a regular abacus.

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On 2/12/2020 at 4:22 PM, questionlover96 said:

Thanks for the ideas! I’ll have to check them out.

We also have a clock, a handful of cubes, a colorful abacus, a toy for shape sorting from my childhood, games and some workbooks too. I love teaching preschool math. To teach them about money, I will use real coins. How do you teach money skills to a auditory learner? Tips and hints welcome.

What are the games like? And visual posters and cards are a good idea too. I might also order some notecards to use. All helpful educational app recommendations and suggestions needed. I also plan on using some homeschool math sites to consolidate their understanding and skills and to assign homework. Speaking of it, what did you do for homework? The current plan is to give out homework once a week. I need some friendly advice and support when it comes to setting homework tasks. I do not wish to overwhelm them. One difficult piece is enough I think. 

I wouldn't hold too tightly to the label "auditory learner," especially for a child so young. While certainly many people have a style of learning they prefer, most learn well with several styles, and certain tasks are best suited to certain methods of teaching. For example, teaching shapes is going to be probably visual, though tactile elements fit well and stories could be incorporated. Shoe tying is best taught by physically practicing, though some kids benefit more from first watching parents demonstrate several times and others appreciate stories about squirrels running around trees to help them remember the steps of shoe tying. The idea of teaching money using real coins is good. The more ways you present things, the better your child will learn, and you also will learn even more about how your child learns. Your particular cold would likely love you telling her stories about characters earning money and spending it, but if you also draw little diagrams of those characters and their actions, it will help her grow as a learner. Practicing using diagrams, even if it's not the easiest way for her to learn, will help her later when there is a topic best communicated through diagrams. 

Regarding homework, just go into things ready to be flexible. It sounds like you are planning on having a strong home/school split, which works well for some people. Others, including myself, find it more natural to not split things up that way, so we may do half a reading lesson in the morning and half right before bed, or do a math lesson after lunch and play a board game involving counting after dinner, but we don't call one of those ”school" and the other "homework." It's all just ” teaching our kids.”

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