Fraction Match-up Game

First off, I apologize for not posting lately.  We have had (and still have) a long term visitor from overseas.  My husband's sister is visiting for a month or so and we are all transitioning with the new body in the classroom!  It is like VIP day everyday for "Auntie".  (VIP day stands for Very Important Person).  The Montessori school that the children attended did this once a year and the child was able to invite anyone that fit into that category, so it wasn't just limited to parents.  It could be grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc.  We have implemented that in our classroom a few times a year so that "daddy" can be a VIP.  It is hard for him to understand all the lingo I use until he sees it in action.  I think it also helps him to see where all of that money is going for materials!  The budget is always being pushed to the edge with materials.  There is always something to make or buy to enhance the children's experience in the classroom.

 

Ok now for the Fraction Match-up Game:

 



 

 

I have really been slacking with the idea of making so many fraction materials.  I started making an extra set of fractions up through tenths about a year and a half ago and have still not finished.  My hubby was cutting them out two Christmas breaks ago and then life happened and we moved and I couldn't tell you where they are.  So...needless to say I broke down and spent the money on these.  This sparked me to then get some fraction presentations together.  I took the information that My Boys Teacher had on her blog about her fraction cabinet.  She has the dream fraction cabinet that I think I will never have.  I can't find a storage cabinet like hers.  I am using envelopes right now for my presentations and that seems to work fine for Kui.  Maybe by the time T-Man is ready for them, the fraction section will look like hers.  Ok, enough jealousy for the moment. 

 

I started Kui off with this fun match-up game to just get her excited about fractions again.  It was very simple to print off, color-code, and put together.  She now has a new excitement for fractions and has been willingly (as in choosing them herself) doing presentations for adding fractions.  We are definitely behind since she is still doing same denominators, but at least that part of her planner is not growing dust anymore like her geometry! (That is another story altogether!)

 

The game has four columns: Word Form, Number Form, Fraction of a Group, and Fraction of a Whole.  She then matches each picture up under the corresponding column. 

 

Here is what they look like all matched up.

Then she can turn them over to see if the color codes are the same for each set. 

 

This game has really proven to be something that has worked for her.  I am pretty hard core when it comes to her math and I tend to be a little rigid.  I was hesitant to introduce this to her because I thought it was too easy and she would just keep choosing it.  However, the fact that is was a bit of a challenge, but not too much actually encouraged her and now she does not find fractions so overwhelming.  That teaches me!  Duh....Montessori IS all about following the child right?!