Thursday, October 18, 2018

Stamp Game - Static and Dynamic Addition

Today, Nito worked more with the stamp game.  He learned the concept of dynamic addition.  For those of you who are new to the stamp game, it is simply an extension or moving more from the concrete to the abstract.  This material allows for the introduction of how to write the problem on paper along with using symbols.  Like other addition and subtraction work, we will have static and dynamic equations for the child to practice.  Static equations do not involve carrying or borrowing.  Therefore, dynamic equations will involve the child carrying into the tens, hundreds, or possibly thousands column for addition.  Regarding subtraction, this might entail the child having to "Borrow" from his neighbor "Mr. Ten", or "Mrs. Hundred" to find the answer.  Below is an example of each:

STATIC ADDITION:

Here is a picture of the set of equations that we use for the stamp game.  It breaks the equations up for the child depending on what they are working on.  The answers are on the back which help create independence for the child.
 
The stamp game can be used for all four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).  This is the material, which again is color coded for the child. Hence, green is for units, blue for tens, red for hundreds, etc.

The stamp game also has specific paper to make it easier for the child, but you could easily make this yourself or use graph paper.

Here is what the equation card looks like.  Again, these equations are fantastic because they are color coded for the child.

I have Nito write out his problem on the paper before he begins to set up his material on his felt mat. 

Here is the problem laid out in the beginning.  He first sets out the top number. 

Then he lays out the second addend underneath.  (If you click on the picture, the card with the number will be easier to see.  I'm sorry if there is a glare.) 

This picture shows that he starts with the units.  So he pushed his 1 unit up with his 8 units since he is adding.  Then he counted all of his units again to find that he had 9 units altogether.  

Then he recorded his answer for the units.

Then he continued with the tens, and so on.

Recording his answer as he goes.
 
When he is done with the problem, he turns the equation card over to check his answer.  Yay!  He got it right.  (The SG in the left hand corner indicates Stamp Game.  We have additional equations for the Golden Bead Material (GBM) in the same box so it is helpful to have them labeled.)

DYNAMIC ADDITION:


Nito set up his problem in the same manner as if doing static addition.  He laid out his first addend.

Then he laid out the second addend below.

He pushed his 6 units up with the 7 units.  Then he starts to count them.

He stopped when he got to 10 and then replaced the 10 green unit squares with a blue 10 square shown above.

Now the blue 10 unit was put at the bottom of the tens column and the units column now has the remaining units, which is 3.  He then recorded the 3 units on his paper.

He continued with pushing the tens together, counting, and recording his answer.
 
When finished, he checked his answer.


Thursday, October 11, 2018

Fall art project


Well, I finally made some time to do art with the children.  Woo hoo!!  It seems as if art and music are always being pushed to the side.  However, the joy on the kids face along with Nito's comment has really encouraged me to make more time for this creative outlet.  He whispered to T-Man, "This is going to be so cool!". Kui also leans toward the creative side and I was happy to allow her to take some of her school time to make her artwork.  In the past, I felt like it was a "waste of time" because it was just messy and they never learned anything.  But to the contrary, they learned quite a bit in the process. 

First off, they had to learn patience!  I am only one person and there were 5 children wanting to paint at the same time.  Secondly, they were able to learn the names of the colors (young ones) and how to mix them to create secondary colors.  The younger ones were also able to work on their pincer grip. Not to mention that the older ones needed to know how to draw a tree.  After we cleaned up, it was a great segway into the seasons of the year and why the leaves fall off of the tree in the first place.


The project was quite simple.  We were making a fall tree with different colored leaves.  I picked up a few canvas' at Michaels, bu otherwise I had all of the supplies.  The "paintbrush" was simply 8-10 q-tips secured with a rubber band.  The kids thought this was pretty cool and it was chunky enough for the younger kids to hold.  I chose a few colors of paint that would represent the colors of the leaves as they change.  I splurged and went ahead and bought gold paint while I was at Michael's!  

Here is Mumbs making her leaves for her tree.  I turned the canvas upside down in the hopes of her actually getting the leaves on the limbs, but as you scroll down to the bottom, you will see that she was quite successful with her "leaves".

Bubs painting the base of his tree.

Nito decided to mix several colors together and create grass for the tree.  I tried to stop him before the entire canvas was painted green so that is why only half is painted.  He played it off like he wanted it that way and is very happy with the finished product.

Kui was having too much fun and went a little wild with her leaves.  Her explanation is that it is the beginning of Fall and most of the leaves are still on the tree.  I actually like hers better than mine (of course the teacher had to do one as the model right?!)  However, mine will not be showing up here on the blog.

Below are the finished products.   Kui's is the one at the top of the post.
Nito

Mumbs

T-Man

Bubs



Wednesday, October 3, 2018

We are BACK!

So....it has been quite some time since I have posted.  Another baby has joined our family and we are still in a waiting game with our classroom.  It is under construction AGAIN!  This time, we are putting tile down to avoid any more delays in our schooling if our cool pipe wants to burst again.  I have to admit that it is quite frustrating and a huge disruption to our school year.  However, I am trying to stay patient and joyful in the meantime.  So, for awhile, the pictures that I post will be from my main living area, not the classroom.  Once we are back in business, I will post a new tour of the classroom. 

Just to keep you up to date, here is a run down of the ages of children we have:
Kui - Upper Elementary
Bubs - Lower Elementary
Nito - Primary/Transitioning into Lower Elementary
T-Man - Primary
Mumbs - Toddler
The baby - Infant

Let me first tell you that homeschooling Montessori is quite the challenge, but it absolutely can be done.  I have met my fair share of challenges, but the connection with the materials and the children always bring me back to why I do this in the first place.  For example, I was in sort of a slump with the classroom situation, but I was able to present T-Man the spindle rods, Nito the stamp game, Bubs the number base board, etc. and I instantly had my joy back!  My husband even commented on how joyful I was that day when he was working from home. 

I hope to break down some new presentations this year, especially for Elementary.  In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the week.

T-Man is working on the cards and counters.  

Mumbs is doing what every other toddler does.  Destroys the environment!  Who doesn't love a good game of matching up the color tablets after they have been dumped upside down?  Actually T-Man saw these later and sorted them all out.  So, maybe there is some good that comes out of the chaos?!?!

Kui is doing some good ole review on the decimal board.  

Bubs is working on an outline using our writing program, IEW.  See that post here.

T-Man's work with the number rods and cards.  I think he had some help from Bubs (who was trying to get out of his own schoolwork!).