Seventeen Pumpkins

2 Nov 2022

There were seventeen pumpkins, all in a row. I walked into the kindergarten room a few minutes into the math block, and I tried to get my bearings quickly. I…

Five Little Pumpkins: Kindergarten Conjectures

31 Oct 202231 Oct 2022

It's Halloween! This morning, the kindergartners were reciting and acting out "Five Little Pumpkins." Five little pumpkins, sitting on a gateThe first one said, "oh, my, it's getting late."The second…

The Learning that Led to Today

19 Apr 202219 Apr 2022

"You aren't these kids' first teacher, and you won't be the last."-Jennifer N. When I was an early career teacher, teaching 4th grade, I wanted to teach my students everything.…

The Ramadan Calendar

6 Apr 2022

Friday, April 1st, marked the first night of Ramadan. On Saturday, April 2nd, we began our daily fasting ritual that will last for the entire month. Beyond fasting, Ramadan is…

Kids Mathematize the World: Arrays

30 Jul 2021

It's fascinating to observe how my children mathematize the world! Where do they see mathematics? How do they interact with it? Doing Puzzles in a Ballgown This morning, my 5yo…

Debate in Kindergarten: Building Appreciation for Ten Frames

20 Jan 202020 Jan 2020

If we want students to harness the power of visual representations -- to own them -- students need to understand why that representation is important.  Visual representations can be elegant…

Cultivating Mathematicians… of All Ages

21 Nov 201921 Nov 2019

Original published for @autismplusmath 's Guest Blogger Week at: cake.co/c/kyVnSVj"I mean, you know... I'm not a math teacher," said Jessica*, who teaches Kindergarten. She didn't whisper this confession in an…

One of Favorite Games: The Skip Count Game

30 May 20196 Jan 2020

This game is part of my "simple but high leverage" collection of games that are flexible, engaging, and easy to prep. Others include Number Boxes and the Answer Is... I've played the…

One of My Favorite Games: Number Boxes

29 May 20193 Feb 2023

This game is part of my "simple but high leverage" collection of games that are flexible, engaging, and easy to prep. Others include The Answer Is... and the Skip Count Game. I…

One of My Favorite Games: The Answer Is…

28 May 20196 Jun 2019

This game is part of my "simple but high leverage" collection of games that are flexible, engaging, and easy to prep. Others include Number Boxes and the Skip Count Game. I have…

Mathematical Connections in a Kindergarten Science Unit

18 Mar 201915 Mar 2019

"I'm sorry, we're only loosely doing math today," Jessica apologized as I walked into her kindergarten classroom. "We're deep into our structures unit in science, and I'd like to keep…

Talking about Geometry in Kindergarten, Part 2: The Shape Hunt

5 Jan 20196 Feb 2022

Talking helps us make sense of ideas. Talking helps us synthesize our ideas. Talking helps us communicate our ideas. We want to get this kindergarten class talking -- a lot…

Talking about Geometry in Kindergarten, Part 1: Same or Different

4 Jan 20196 Feb 2022

  Talking helps us make sense of ideas. Talking helps us synthesize our ideas. Talking helps us communicate our ideas. We want to get this kindergarten class talking -- a…

The Museum of Rarely Used Math Manipulatives: What Do We Need?

20 Dec 20185 Feb 2022

Today in Kindergarten, we used Attribute Links to play Name My Rule. We sorted shapes based on properties (number of sides, number of 'points,' size, color, etc.). Attribute links are…

Counting to 10 in Danish: Learning from Students, Colleagues + the #MTBoS

23 Jan 201727 Nov 2018

I started this post yesterday, and then read a blog post by Kyle Pearce that filled in some of the gaps in my own thinking. Once again, I feel indebted…