Numbers in My World

I recently read a book that gave the wonderful suggestion of making a math book with your students called Numbers in My World. After the books are created, the author suggests having the students read and share them. Specifically, have students compare the data in their books with their friend books. I love this idea! I think this is also a fantastic assessment tool. You will see below some of the pages will be easy for some students, but some may be difficult too. I plan on having students do these books at the beginning of the year and the end of the year for their portfolios. I plan to do a follow-up book called  Numbers in My School!

Make a birthday cake for candles.

Draw the people living in your house.

Make your house.

Make a phone/cell phone with the numbers.

Trace your hand and make the amount.

Make your favorite number and decorate it!

The book, I got this idea from is called Teaching Preschool and Kindergarten Math by Ann Carlyle and Brenda Mercado.

Numbers In My World Google 

Numbers in My World

Science Journals and Science Ideas

Last summer I took a Science Class and left feeling excited about teaching Science. I worked on these Science journals, and when I went to use them in the fall, they were a flop! The journal was too confusing for kindergarten, especially for the fall.  So this summer I worked on a simpler version. I made boxes that students could write or draw in.

 In my school district, we teach kindergartens about water and habits. These are set units taught in a chunk of time during the year. I would love to use these journals to incorporate science on a daily basis.

I loved reading about how Jonelle uses her Science Notebooks!

  If you have any suggestion on how you use Science journals, I would love to hear from you!

 click here for cover and page

The other thing that I want to do is have a 

Wonder of The Week

This comes from the amazing book

This kindergarten teacher designated a center in her classroom where the children could think about and respond to a posted question during center time or free time during the day. During the week, children wrote their explanations on a chart below the question. At the end of the week, the teacher set aside "pondering time" where the class participated in "shared research" and could discuss, research, and write about their ideas on a particular question. An example in the book from a child was: "How is money made?"

Incorporate Thinking Maps Into the Classroom Routines

Last month I took a Thinking Maps class and the instructor shared this great idea, the Bubble Bag.

The outside of the bags has adjectives describing the mystery object inside. This would be an excellent way to introduce describing words to kindergartners. You can see the clues on the outside of the bag.  The mystery item was a paper clip.