Category: Education

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

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.

  1. Children can and will learn a whole lot on their own, as long as learning opportunities are available.
  2. 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.
  3. 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!)
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Autonomy, both social and intellectual, are my ultimate goals for every learner.
  7. 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.

Outdoor Math Game~20 Jump!

Mama GLeave a comment

IMG_4732 - Version 2

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.

IMG_4725 - Version 2

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 2so 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

Mama GLeave a comment
dreambox
G was excited to get ready for frog-jump racing by placing decade-markers onto the track.

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 DashboardWhen 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 CrossIMG_4363 - Version 2words 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.