More Fire Safety Fun
Could we ask for a more beautiful fall day ? As the wind blew and the leaves fell the meaning of ” fall ” came to life for the littles. There is a book called ” Winter is Coming ” where Winnie the Pooh spends a whole day looking for ” winter .” He heard it was coming and thought it was a person . If you ask your child that concept of seasons changing probably has not quite sunk in. At three and four years old we wouldn’t expect that yet. That is why many times the children hear me notice changes in the weather and I might say ‘ the leaves are falling . It seems like only the colored ones are falling now. ” Or I might say ” The wind is cooler. I think the season is changing . Fall will be here soon. That is when our weather changes. ” We certainly enjoyed the weather today. One of the organized games we did outside today was a fireman’s ladder game. The kids jumped with two feet from one rung hole to the next. We had cards inside each opening so they counted as they jumped. Learning one to one correspondence is a skill we work on through play. It becomes more fun when it is a game that involved gross motor.
We had another mommy hang out today. I think the littles will tell you that they LOVE visitors !
Inside we played two more games at small group. The first game was sorting hot and cold pictures. Is a stove hot ? Is an ice cream cone cold ?
We also played a math game with cards. On each card were fire trucks and numbers. We counted the trucks and found the correct numeral. Would it be more fun and easier to just count real fire tucks or blocks ?YESSSSSSSS!!! But how could we match the numerals ? ( As I think of this I know a way! Too late ! Maybe next time! ) It was still a fun game for them and we were able to work on counting, one to one correspondence and our numerals.
We have many opportunities to practice math concepts throughout our day. Our classroom is one big learning center where stands of mathematical concepts and terms are woven through our day. Math and numbers become real with is is used in the littles every day experiences.
In blocks we use terms like long, short , small and tall. In the dress up room the table is set with one plate, one cup and one set of silverware per chair. When we go out the gate from inside we count our friends. When we look to see if there is a spot available in a center we count how many friends are currently playing . When we do our question of the day we can count and make comparisons.
How do you use math at home ? How can you be more intentional ? Do you identify numbers on your neighborhood mailboxes ? When you cook do you make comments about terms like 1/2 or full or empty? Other things you could do what home would be say ” I need napkins for supper. I need one for each person that lives here . Can you count to see how many people live in our home? ” When buttoning a shirt you could have your child count the buttons with you. You can count how many red cars you pass on the way to school. Adding math to our lives is fun and easy.