How do 3 year olds learn to read, write, and think “before their time”?

January 8, 2016January 9, 2016 Mama GLeave a comment

I attended a parent-teacher conference for little g yesterday. It was her very first one. She’s only 3 1/2 and sat so still, with her little hands gently folded on her lap and her head slightly lowered for almost the whole conference. I guess it’s weird when people are talking about you. She got a good report. The comparisons started to roll in-She’s just like her sister-easy going, polite, helpful and really knows her stuff. “I have no complaints”.

So, the light conversation becomes about our family and “how did we do it, twice”. g’s teacher is a new-again mom. She has a child that’s a little over a year old and two much older siblings. Things change and was wondering about how these two girls learned so much at home.

I have been having trouble choosing topics for this blog. Her question forced me to find the root of the problem. There is an endless supply of fun learning that goes on here every day, so there should be an endless supply of blog posts, right?

I’ve also been coaching lots of new (to me, not to teaching) teachers. It’s been wonderful and really has forced me to refine what is important about the learning, teaching and leadership, in mathematics and just in general.

Long story short, I think I figured it out. It’s not really about the methods I use. It is so much more about my beliefs about how children learn and grow. Toni (my forever mentor and coach) taught us early on about this and I feel like I have been digging deep into everyone’s beliefs lately. This fall, I have embarked on “uncomfortable journeys” with new colleagues that will help all of us learn more about engaging young people in the art of learning. Just an aside-I view “uncomfortable” as a really positive thing…

So, here are many of my current beliefs. Hopefully in naming them, I can just throw future posts up here and you might understand where I am coming from.

Children can and will learn a whole lot on their own, as long as learning opportunities are available.
Learning opportunities cannot be either “just-right” or well-designed without:
- a deep understanding of the content at hand, including how ideas relate to each other, AND,
- an understanding of about where a child is developmentally.
Time needs to be set aside for learning opportunities that develop ideas well before they need to be used or applied as a strategy independently. (In some cases, I’m talking years!)
If you think about an idea developing over a span of a year or more, little learning opportunities can be tucked into your days constantly. SO, patience is key.
Teaching kids how to think–how to wonder, how to ask questions, how to connect ideas and how to reflect on their thinking-is far more important than telling kids what they should think or how they should apply an idea or strategy.
Autonomy, both social and intellectual, are my ultimate goals for every learner.
Kids learn more effortlessly in the moments that are fun and meaningful.

There is NO POSSIBLE way that the kids would be where they are if I directly taught every single thing that they know to them. Quite frankly, there is just not enough minutes in the day for that!

To go full circle, and link back to the PT conference, I caught myself saying, “Well, I started to introduce/point out/watch movies with isolated written words as soon as they could sit in the boppy chair. I just wanted them to know that the words we say can also be written in print and I expected that they would read in about 3 years from then.” I wasn’t sure if I should keep going, but in my usual style, I kept talking…”When I made coffee holding the baby on my hip I’d narrate life like, ‘I am going to make four cups of coffee. Let’s measure the water. The water reached the fourth line! Now let’s put four scoops of coffee into the machine, ready? 1, 2, 3…’I hope that you get the idea.” I’m not quite sure it was the answer she was expecting.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that what and how your kids learn depends on your beliefs about how they will learn and when they expected to actually know things. I could write numerous posts on this, I guess that’s the simplest way I could say it!

And that’s it. I’m going to click publish before I change my mind or go back and revise what I’m thinking…there’s no time for that either! Hope to write to you again soon.

Card Games for 3-year-olds

September 12, 2015September 14, 2015 Mama GLeave a comment

Do you doubt that your three-year-old can play card games? Don’t doubt it. Just because they might have trouble holding the cards doesn’t mean that they have to miss out on the fun.

Here are some fun games that you have probably played as a child and should play with your kiddies:

Go Fish-the matching way (Big G prefers to play it the “make 10” way)
War (Your kiddies will probably play this in school as “Compare” or “Top It”)
“Up”

We play with cards that go with the TERC Investigations math curriculum. I purchased our set of Primary Number Cards on Amazon. Sometimes we play with 10-frame cards that I have created (just print them out on cardstock and cut ’em out!) or dot cards. I actually have a set of cards with me at all times in my purse-you never know when you’ll find yourself stuck somewhere…

These three games can teach a ton.
Here’s the math…
Go Fish is about numeral recognition and making pairs. Not too sophisticated if you are using the Number Cards. Just imagine how the game would become much more challenging with the Ten Frame Cards. There are different arrangements of the same quantity! You could find a match by using 1:1 Correspondence or by counting and comparing sets (there is a lot that goes into quantifying a set-a future post is coming up about that one!). There is the beginning of some game playing logic and strategy that can develop here too.

Keeping Track Can you keep track of the questions asked? If you are asked someone else for a 5 then you must have a 5. If I have a 5 too, I can ask you for it!
Eye on the End Game If I save my Wild Card, I can win if I have only one other card!

War is about magnitude. Which set is larger or smaller? Again, if you change the cards, the game becomes more complex. This is a complete game of chance, so the use of strategy is pretty much out here. Sometimes we call it, “Who has more?” and then when we have a tie we yell, “Who has more WAR!”. Big G wants to add up her cards for a war, but little g and I just compare the third card we put down. Winner takes all.

“Up” is about the sequential order of number. Big G and I play “I Doubt It” (ummm, you might know it as B*llsh$t), and when we do, little g likes to be on my team. To make a version she can play, we just deal out the cards and try to go up in order. We place them face UP, in a line as we play. By the time we are done, we have a looooooong line of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 0, 1, 2, 3…until we have all four sets. Sometimes we even try to put the families together and learn about the sets that complete the deck. If it’s your turn and you don’t have the next card, you can use a wild card to “pretend” it’s the card you need. That way, little g learns about what a wild card can do too.

What card games do you play with your child? Are any of them old favorites?

Growing Fun! Hairy Harry Project

August 18, 2015September 14, 2015 Mama GLeave a comment

Growing a “Hairy Harry” is one of my absolute favorite silly projects. It’s super simple and satisfying.

Here’s what you need:

an old stocking, cut the legs off (keep it long-you’ll need the length to reach the water)
grass seeds
planting soil
a jar
some buttons or other doodads
straight pins

Directions:

Cut off the stocking leg.
Put a handful of the grass seeds in the toe.
Put lots of dirt inside. It’s easier if one kid holds the stocking open a bit for this part. Keep pushing the dirt down and so it looks like a round head shape, you could mold it a bit.
Tie a knot at the base of the head.
Turn it upside down and place it into the jar (so the stocking leg falls in).
Get creative and use buttons, cut up foam sheets, or other cool stuff you can find to make a funny face.
Lift up the head, put water into the jar, then place the jar back on.
Rename Harry. Ours are named Skipper and Funky Hair-a-letta.

In my classroom, we’ve made these to get ready for our first How-To writing unit. There was a little trade book that inspired this fun, but I can’t find it anywhere to give the authors credit. We’ve even dressed them with felt around the jars. If you do, be sure to keep watering them-you might not notice when the jar is running low! Please share yours if you make one! We would love to see!

Outdoor Math Game~20 Jump!

July 12, 2015September 15, 2015 Mama GLeave a comment

After (un)officially taking this past week off, toward the end of the week I realized that we took it really, really easy in the intentional learning department. Before leaving for the sprinklers on Friday, I decided to sketch out a gameboard that I could recreate on the floor of the park. I lost the little draft, which had some well placed numbers. It didn’t matter much-we still had fun.

The object of the game is to jump on as many squares as you need, adding on smaller quantities to make 20. Now, you might be thinking, “Hey, you want me to play this with a Kindergarten kid?” My response is, “Yep, sure do.” Here’s why-it’s not meant to be easy. It’s not meant to be for extra making 10 practice. It might be practice for a 2nd/3rd grader, which is also good.
My goals here are to have G to:

become more fluent with using the making 5s facts;
understand the really small quantities (building blocks) that can make up 5s and 10s;
use the make ten facts that she knows (she hasn’t learned how useful they can be yet!);
think of 20 in different ways (four 5s, or two 10s, or two 5s and two tens); and,
to develop strategies to keep track of the jumps (here’s where thinking in 5s and 10s is useful!).

We played a few times.

I went first. After my turn, she wrote what I did, just because she wanted to.

As predicted, keeping track during her turn was tricky. As first G started with 1s and 2s and got lost in what she was up to IMG_4728 - Version 2 so she started over. She asked me if I could keep track on the side, so I did this time only. Here’s how it went down.

She jumped on 2, then 4. Said, “That’s 6.” Oh, I can jump on another 4!” She hopped over to a 4.

I restated what I saw as I wrote, “So you jumped on 2 and then 4. That got you to 6, then you saw a 4 and jumped all the way over there! Why did you want to land on a 4?”

“Cause then I’d get a 10.”

“Hmmm, that’s cool, you can use your make ten facts? Whoa.”

So far I had written:

2 + 4 + 4

Then I said, “So this altogether makes 10?” I wrote parentheses around the expression as I say that.

(2+4+4)

She kept going. She added on as she jumped around. 2. “That’s 12.” 3 “That’ll get me 15.” After much deliberation, she jumped on the 5, seemingly taking the easy way out by then. “A 5 will get me 20. Write that down!”

I wrote with her, saying that I couldn’t quite remember what she had jumped on. She remembered, 2 and 3 got me another 5 and then I did a last jump of 5. So 10 and 10 make 20.”

Yes! Mission complete. Now we can play again-I might rearrange the numbers a bit next time, but this was quite effortless and successful!Read More »

App Review! Dreambox and Montessori Crosswords

July 1, 2015August 18, 2015 Mama GLeave a comment

Here are two of our favorite apps-we have many around here. Although there is current research stating that young children should not use technology, I can’t fight using it. I love it. The kids love it. And they learn a LOT from it. Everything in moderation, right? (I hope so-at least I tell myself that letting them use technology is at least better than feeding them non-organic berries.)

Yesterday morning, it was clear that G needed some alone time, which means that little g must do something different. While G played Dreambox to practice some math, g tried a (new to her) app and LOVED it. I mean, adored the app. And, it’s good.

Dreambox.com is a bit pricey, so we turn the subscription on during the summer and when it’s absolutely freezing outside then turn it off at most other times. What I like about it is that it uses all of the familiar mathematical models that she uses in school, like the rekenrek, 10 frames, closed and open number lines. It also adapts to your child, so be sure not too help or the program will become too hard for your child to use alone. You child will need some mouse/trackpad skills for dragging items for sure. I’m pretty sure that you could use it on an iPad if you have a newer one, ours is too old for it to run.

There is a parent side to the site to let you know how your child is doing. Here’s how it looks…

Dreambox Dashboard When she started way back when, we were building really small quantities out of even smaller units, counting or subitizing amounts of objects. A lot has changed since then. As your child plays, you might feel like many games seem the same. What happens is that they are actually changed ever so slightly which is SO important for the gradual release of a scaffold (helper). There are some great free resources on the teacher page! Try ’em out! http://www.dreambox.com/teachertools

If you want to use the entire program for the summer, you can purchase one month and get one free if I recommend you! Email your name and email address to dani@bigglittleg.com if you are interested!

Montessori Crosswords for $2.99 is a bargain if you ask me. Basically, it tells you to spell a word, gives you a space for each sound (sort of like an elkonin box), and you can drag the letters in. You can touch each space so you can hear each sound. While g was playing the game she said, “Wow, see Mom, LOOK!!! I can spell words!” She was absolutely proud of what she could do all.by.herself. Very cool.

As a celebration, there is a super fun design that you can play around with by swishing your finger all over the place before completing the next word.

Starting Summer Reading Off Right…

June 27, 2015August 18, 2015 Mama G4 Comments

…by starting immediately.

It’s the first day of summer vacation and yes, we already started the first series for the summer. Junie B., here we come! G ended Kindergarten as a pretty strong level L, but her inferencing needs some work. I wanted to choose a series that was funny, because she needs funny. And I wanted her to feel connected with the character-one who is pretty opinionated and outspoken-just like G is. But, here, in this series, Junie B. is outspoken in school! (Hubba wha?) G is certainly not the same kind of kid in school as she is out of school it seems. Which is really the norm from my experience, but it really bothers me!

The series is a level M, which means that she will need support. I read the first half of first book aloud, and now I feel like I have a sore throat, but I could tell that it was worth it, and she is totally into it. What’s cool is that the book has 3 paper dolls, which I was reminded, “could be used to act out the stories after we read them”. And we will.

Fun posts about what we do with the series to boost comprehension to come. Happy summer reading! What books will you choose?

Luna Innovations meets Big G, little g!

June 27, 2015August 18, 2015 Mama G2 Comments

Little g is being “smothering” on the 1st day of summer vacation. Big G already had enough!

We are extremely excited for the summer around here! I will no longer answer, “Not yet!” to the question, “Is it time to get G from school yet?” I answer that question about 4 or 20 times a day, when I’m not working anyway.

I’m also happy to reply, “No, not today,” more often then not to the question, “Mom, are you have to go to work today?” Little g likes to ask questions. That’s a good thing.

Today is the day that I reinstate this blog. I have about 40 unpublished pieces (that you obviously can’t see) that I worked on here and there, but for some reason, never perfected. Which is a problem for me. I am a project starter, but often become too consumed in work projects that I never finish personal projects! So, I am re-framed the purpose of this blog in my mind as a work related aspect of life and set some goals for the use of it-hence the Luna Innovations part. Luna is my LLC’s name and I have some plans for it. Hope that you’ll join me and see what it becomes!

Happy Summer to you All!

Calendar Routines at Home

April 30, 2013September 14, 2015 Mama GLeave a comment

G has loved the morning calendar routines since day one of her Preschool (for 3 year olds) experience. In fact, the morning routines are about the only part of her school day she’ll tell me about in detail. Because she goes to school 2/3 days a week, we were finding a need for a way for her to keep track of her days home and in school. Or maybe I was just wanting a break from being asked, “Is today a school day, or no?”

Last year, I fell in love with this week-long dry erase calendar the moment I saw it hanging on my friend’s Kindergarten door. She used it to post the week’s events for the families to see. At the time, I thought, “That would be a great way to let G know what she was doing each day (which babysitter’s house, a day off for mom, a party). Then I told myself, “I can make one myself and laminate it, no need to buy one.” Many months later, I broke down and bought it. Of course I never got a chance to make one! It is really one of the best routines we have in the house because it is really useful!

Pros:

Penmanship practice-lots of chances to write those pesky 2’s!
Shared writing-sharing the pen to let G do what she can and what she needs some practice on independently while I write the really hard stuff (or the stuff that she’s “too tired” (lazy?) to write.
Encoding-wonderful opportunities to connect sounds to letters.
She now understands the cyclical concept of a week a bit better than when she would just do the sing-song about the days of the week that she learned in school.
She can find the week that she’s up to on a calendar. She also refers to the calendar if she needs help “spelling a number”.
She can synthesize what she knows about the “real” calendar, the songs the knows about months and days, and the week long calendar to figure out when a month ends and a new one begins.
It’s creative! G makes up all sorts of days for us to spend together. At first I was nervous that she’d write activities that would be impossible to do. Instead she writes pretty general ideas-“fun”, “paint” and the newly invented “dot day” where you can do just about anything that includes a dot of some kind.
The best perk is that I don’t have to remind her about what’s happening and when (which used to be a constant job because she can be a pretty stubborn kid).

Implications for parents and teachers-

If you have a “calendar” or “morning” routine, make sure that you are NOT the one doing the work for the children.
Choose a routine that is meaningful, helpful and developmentally appropriate.
If the routine becomes a drag, drop it.
Correct mistakes kids make if the mistake actually matters or if the correction will help the child grow as a learner in the future. For example, I did not correct G when she wrote “parc” for park. As long as she knows what it says, it serves the purpose of why we do this routine. Also, it’s wonderful that she is writing ending sounds on words, so for that reason, the c stays. Now, if she wrote school on the wrong day, I would correct her because it would matter a great deal if we showed up for school on the wrong day.
Use a calendar the REAL way it’s used. We don’t write the date on a calendar day-by-day, why do it like this in school? Real calendars don’t have patterned shapes on the dates either. It has numbers and events. Keep it simple if you want the kids to learn about why and when the tool of a calendar is useful.

First Real Steps!

April 25, 2013April 30, 2013 Mama GLeave a comment

On Thursday night, April 25th, little g took 5 REAL STEPS without even realizing it! Big G saw it too! She was so excited! Now I know that it’s just her fear keeping her from walking more.

Remember teachers, as this happens, YOUR jobs are on the line. Think about it.

April 18, 2013April 30, 2013 Mama GLeave a comment

I really hope that a LOT changes before Big G hits 3rd grade. After proctoring last year’s math exam to 5th graders, I’ve seen enough. Those kids had come so far. I taught them in first grade. I remember how hard they worked to learn how to read and speak English well. I saw how well they overcame so many of the struggles they once had while taking the test. Did this evidence show up in their scores? Not the last time that I checked. I saw the look of defeat on their faces. They worked SO hard and just couldn’t understand why, in their 3rd year of taking state exams, the test becomes harder each time. They knew full well that had done everything they were asked to do up until this point and looked so confused about why they were having such difficulty. All this stress for such in unimportant outcome is so unnecessary. There is NO good information that comes from the data that teachers receive. The scores DO NOT inform their teaching. Their scores DO NOT help them meaningfully group students, understand fully what their struggles are (or even what they are good at). It only tells us about how well they take a test and how likely they are to receive a similar score the next year. And that’s if the test doesn’t change. You may think by what I post that I am against children taking exams. I am not. I am against the weight given to these particular exams. I am against certain administrators in certain schools who tell their teachers to “test prep and then test prep some more” all year long. I was lucky to work in a school community where this was not the case. Even when the best schools try to make the most out of this imposition of testing, the trickle down of anxiety and the development of negative self-worth happens despite a school’s best efforts to protect students from it. I just can’t see any positive benefits to any of it.

a little learning each day goes a long way

Author: Mama G