Thanksgiving Week Activity: Make Placecards (and practice handwriting too!)

The idea for these cute turkey placecards came from Frugal Family Fun Blog. Valerie made them by cutting some flower-shaped sticky notes in half to form the tail feathers of the turkey. I didn't have any of those, but I did have some scrapbooking paper which I cut into a similar shape.

We used a half-circle of brown construction paper and some yellow sticky-backed circles. He drew on the snoods and glued on some googly eyes.



He had an interesting place to put his sticky circles to keep track of them.

We will go back and paint the snoods red once the glue has dried. In no time he had made a whole rafter of turkeys.

(He didn't even realize that he was practicing handwriting.)

Letters to Santa on St. Nicholas Day, December 6

2010

2011

2010

2011

2011

2011

Other fun St. Nick Day activities:

Crafts, Information, etc at Saint Nicholas Center

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Making Handwriting Fun (and Phonics, Too!)

I don't like to buy handwriting curriculum beyond kindergarten. I think they are boring and feel like busy work. But students do need a lot of practice. We do copywork, and when a little older, written narrations and dictation. Meanwhile, though, I like to find fun ways for my younger students to practice their handwriting.

This is one of my favorite ways of making handwriting exciting. Crayola makes some markers called Color Switchers. These markers have two ends. At one end, you can write just like a regular marker, but if you use the tip at the other end, whatever was written with the first color magically changes to a new color!
I write whatever words I want the student to practice on a sheet of paper.

Then he takes the other end of the marker and traces over the word as carefully as he can.

The more careful he is, the more he is able to switch my red to his yellow.

Today Quentin was very curious about "silent-e" words, so we talked about how the "e" changes the other vowel from a short to long vowel but then I used the markers to show which letters were silent. We would trace over the letters to sound out, changing their colors from red to yellow, and then left the "silent e" yellow. He had fun writing his own words for me to trace and sound out.

For his reward for work well done, I let him color pictures with them.
But after he was finished, I put them away so that they would be special for our next time writing with them. 

Links: 

• We Don't Need No Education/Discovering Montessori English Link-Up



Assessing K-2 Math Skills:Part 1: Pre-Number Concepts

We are now well past the half-way point in the school year, and I usually like to give some sort of assessment testing so that I have a concrete measure of what my students can and can't do. I know that I am with them teaching them everyday and have a pretty good handle on what they do and don't know. I am so much a believer in the child progressing at their own pace, but I also like to feel that I know where they are so I can know very firmly where we are on the path of learning. You might see different skills in the many assessment tools that are out there, but most elementary students are expected to know skills in these three areas:

1. Pre-number concepts include Counting by Rote Memory (in a variety of groupings), One-to-One Correspondence, Conservation of Number, Instant Recognition, Counting Backwards, Estimation of Objects, Numeral Recognition, Numeral Forms.

2. Operations concepts includes the child’s understanding of simple addition and subtraction operations at the concept, connecting and symbolic levels. The child’s ability to find solutions to simple addition and subtraction problems through visualization is also assessed at this level.

3. Place Value includes the child’s understanding of the regrouping process, building numbers greater than ten using manipulatives at the concept, connecting, and symbolic levels and regrouping while adding and subtracting.

My teaching style is one of as little workbook pages as possible and as much interesting, hands-on games as possible. I feel that assessment shouldn't be any different. Your child should not feel like he is being tested but like you two are playing games together. Don't expect to do all of the assessment in one day. It would burn you both out. Take your time. And whatever happens, do NOT feel bad for what your child does not know. Cherish what he does know and think of what he does not know as fuel for your future activities. Take it all at your and your child's pace. This first part covers Pre-number concepts only...the others to follow.

Counting by Rote Memory: Start off having your child count by rote (without objects to count) as far as he can. If he can make it to 100, have him count by 2's, by 5's and by 10's.

One-to-One Correspondence: Now make 3 groups of objects (counters, beans, blocks, whatever you have on hand): 4, 8 and 12. Ask your child to pick one of the groups and count them. If he has no trouble with the one he picks, ask him to count the next higher. If he counts 12 successfully, put them together and see how far he can count. If he picks a pile to large for him to count, ask him to count the next smaller pile.

Then ask the child to count the objects again, beginning with a different object than he started with. Next ask the child to count the objects again, this time indicating the last object to be counted. If the child can comfortably count five objects in any order, increase the number of objects.

Instant Recognition: Place four groups of objects on the table: a group of 2, 3, 4, and 5. Say quickly to the child, “Point to the group of (three, five, two, three, four, five).” The child’s responses should be instantaneous. Do not allow the child time to verbally or physically count the objects.

Conservation of Number: Make two rows of about 10 objects so that they are placed in one-to-one correspondence. Ask the child if there are the same number of things in each row. Spread out one of objects in each row of objects to make a longer line. Now ask the same question, “Are there the same number? Why?" Can he explain?

Counting Backwards: Ask the child to place seven objects in a row. Have him count them. Cover one object and ask the child to tell how many objects there are now. Continue to cover the objects until there are no more. Can he counts backwards without counting the objects each time? Can he count backwards by more than one object at a time?

If you have Unifix cubes make 8-10 stacks with different numbers of cubes in each stack. Line the stacks up in a row. Point to one stack at a time and ask him to tell you how many cubes are in each stack. Note if he needs to count each stack every time or if he or she finds the total by counting-on or counting backwards from previously counted stacks.

Estimation of Objects: For this next one you will need three identical small jars with different amounts of objects inside them. There should be a pattern to the quantity — e.g., 25, 50, and 100 objects. Ask him to estimate how many beans there are in jar A. Then say to the child, “If there are (his estimate) beans in jar A, then how many beans do you think there are in jar B?” And finally say, “If there are (his estimate) beans in jar B, then how many beans are in jar C?” Allow him to pick up the jar and look at the beans inside before he or she gives an answer.

Numeral Recognition: For this one you will need cards with the numerals 0-20. Beginning with numerals 0-10, scatter the numerals randomly on the table. Ask the child to point to each numeral card and say its name. If he comfortably identifies the numerals 0-10, then repeat the process with numerals 11-20.

Writing Numerals: Show the numeral cards one at a time, out of order and ask him to write the numeral on a blank piece of paper. Date his work and save it in his or her file folder. It’s fun to compare his progress throughout the year. It’s also rewarding for him to see his growth.

Making Handwriting Practice Interesting

Begin practicing writing letters or numerals by looking at cards posted on the wall standing about 5 feet away, tracing the shape in the air with fingers extended. These cards can be made easily, the first part of the letter is purple and they know to begin with this part followed by the last part of the letter, which is drawn in green. After they had traced in the air a few times, then have them trace the letter in in the palm of their other hand. Have them hold up their hands high enough so that if they raise their eyes slightly, they can see the large letter card just over their hands.

"...learning of the alphabet should be made a means of cultivating the child's observation: he should be made to see what he looks at. Make big B in the air, and let him name it; then let him make round O, and crooked S, and T for Tommy, and you name the letters as the little finger forms them with unsteady strokes in the air. To make the small letters thus from memory is a work of more art, and requires more careful observation on the child's part." -Charlotte Mason, Home Education, vol 1 pg 201

It can be most pleasurable to use a sand tray to write letters or numerals. If they had trouble such as making the letters or numerals backwards, they could trace them in the air as we had done before, and then go to the sand tray immediately.

"A tray of sand is useful at this stage. The child draws his finger boldly through the sand, and then puts a back to his D; and behold, his first essay in making a straight line and a curve."

-Charlotte Mason

Use frosting in tubes on graham crackers!

Write with fingerpaint on waxed paper. The waxed paper is translucent enough that you can slide a paper with writing guides under it for those still working on correct formation. If you do not have any fingerpaint you can make some with laundry starch and food coloring. It made a very runny fingerpaint that tended to bead up on the waxed paper, but worked fine for practicing writing in a new way. If you have any leftover paint out for free-play painting after formal lessons.

You can use any time of cookie dough for rolled cookies or you can add extra flour to regular cookie dough to make it stiff. Have them roll it into snakes and form them into letters or numerals. I found this great icing made specifically for cookies in squeeze tubes at the store. The instructions on the icing say for you to knead the tube for 1 minute before snipping off the end of the tube. This kneading is great for strengthening finger muscles! After the cookies have baked and cooled have them trace the letters or numerals with the icing. Yum!

I know this looks like I am just trying to introduce my poor homeschooled kids, who have never eaten in a cafeteria, what cafeteria food looks like, but actually they are practicing making numerals in the pudding. We still have a lot of reversals, so we need extra practice with making numerals and what can be more fun than doing handwriting in a hands-on messy way, and then get to eat chocolate pudding afterwards!

sources: Math Their Way,
Mary Baratta-Lorton

links: We Don't Need No Education Language Linky

Handwriting Practice with Chocolate Pudding

I know this looks like I am just trying to introduce my poor homeschooled kids, who have never eaten in a cafeteria, what cafeteria food looks like, but actually they are practicing making numerals in the pudding. We still have a lot of reversals, so we need extra practice with making numerals and what can be more fun than doing handwriting in a hands-on messy way, and then get to eat chocolate pudding afterwards!

Handwriting: Make a Game of it!

For some reason children love to write on chalk and whiteboards, so they don't resist practicing writing as much if you allow them to do it on a whiteboard. We were practicing numerals so I have numeral cards on the wall to help them, if they have problems remembering how to form the numerals. They took turns picking the numeral for each other. With their dyslexia and dysgraphia, both James and Sam still have trouble forming their numerals (and letters) correctly, often writing them backwards. Games and fun ways of practicing always help older children accept the extra practice they need.

Writing in the Air

"...learning of the alphabet should be made a means of cultivating the child's observation: he should be made to see what he looks at. Make big B in the air, and let him name it; then let him make round O, and crooked S, and T for Tommy, and you name the letters as the little finger forms them with unsteady strokes in the air. To make the small letters thus from memory is a work of more art, and requires more careful observation on the child's part." -Charlotte Mason, Home Education, vol 1 pg 201

Handwriting Practice without Paper

An effective and interestingin way to practice handwriting is by first tracing letters, or in this case, numerals in the air and then on their palms. Start by only doing two a day.