Daily math warm ups are intended to be a quick number activity warm up their thinking. They are not meant to be something that takes a long time. Warm Ups: Number Mingle: leader calls out a number and children form groups of the number Same But Different: show different number pictures of the same number such as four ways to show the number 5. This can be used also if you begin with a question of the day. Counting Circle: children choose leader, they count from 0-10 and back down to 0. The person who is 0 sits down. This is an elimination game This or That. Leader calls out a yes or no questions. Children move from the left to the right depending on the answer yes or no. Quick Images: Leader flashes a dot number and students name number. Leader can ask what two numbers to they see?  Daily math frameworks are intended to offer repetition of familiar concepts like adding, composing or decomposing. Students work independently with a learning partner . Frameworks: Counting Collections ......

Nature Sorting Along with this beautiful weather we have increased the amount of time we spend each morning in our outdoor program. We have added drawing and writing to our forest frameworks and added a few new math games.  I wanted to share them with you in case you are looking for a refresh. 1.      Roll The Ball: materials include number cards using cardboard so they are not blown on windy days, bocce balls and a piece of twine for a line. Each student has 3 rolls. Students take turns rolling the ball over a number. If they roll over the number they get to take the card. After each student has had 3 rolls they add up their cards to see who has the greatest number. 2.     This and That: this is a easy game and I often use it a lot in the fall as we are getting to know each other. Ask a yes/no question and students move the the side which matches their answer. They move back and forth as you ask each question. i.e.: do you eat blueberries, do you sleep in ......

We have been spending most of our mornings in the forest and enjoying this beautiful weather. Our forest mornings this spring are Mon, Tues and Wed while Thurs and Fri are spent at the beach with my partner. I have added a link to my May Calendar for you in case you are looking for ideas. Lots of photos for this month have already been uploaded to my instagram account. May Forest Calendar Reggio Kinder Instagram I plan my calendar based on observations, reflection and collaborate with my colleague. Much of what we do is connected to the learning frameworks in the classroom.  Currently we have been working on a project about how we support each other as well as following an interest in who we share the forest with. Thanks for stopping by,...

I use a lot of thinking routines in Kindergarten and this is one of my favourites to do in our outdoor program that my colleague and friend Alex shared with me. She loves math play and can be counted upon to share her new learning with her teacher friends. This routine is called Which One Does Not Belong. It is. enjoyed by the children because these is not one answer. It provides them with the opportunity to think about which object does not belong and then share their thinking with the group. There are many, many learning opportunities with thinking routines when used consistently with students. If you are new to this routine then a helpful site is Meaningful Moments. I have included the link below. Meaningful Mathematics...

We love our Wonder Wagon and couldn't imagine doing our outdoor program without it. The wagon was purchased along with some outdoor resources, using a Go Grant from HCTF.  go grant link The wagon is collapsible, light weight and was purchased from Canadian Tire. (at the time we actually purchased 4 of them for the primary team).  I use a small crate (donated by a family) to corral our journals and read alouds. Each student has their journal in a water resistant bag from Dollertree. We use baskets for our drawing tools and sidewalk chalk. We also have two sit-upons from The Outdoor Store for guests to use as they sometimes do not have waterproof gear.  We also include hand sanitizer as children eat their morning snacks and sometimes lunch at the beach.  I have outdoor kits which we use for art, math, science or literacy as well as  outdoor games that we purchased from HCTF or received free through their Wild School workshop.  Resource HCTF link...

It's that time of year again when our early learning team invite upcoming kindergarten parents to join us for a hour. Our goal is to provide parents with information on a typical day in our nature play based kindergarten program, which includes an outdoor program. We also want to ensure that families have time to collect the gear that their child will need such as a hiking back backpack, muddy buddies, water proof boots, merino warm layers, hats, mittens, light containers, light water bottle, etc. We provide a short slideshow sharing highlights of the nature program, set up a table with outdoor gear, learning kits, our wonder wagon (and its materials). We provide families with a brochure which includes the gear, lunch kits, water bottles and photos of our outdoor classroom. We also provide a MEC backpack for families who need support which I purchased using a grant from the Vancouver Sun. We want to ensure that families know that they are welcome to join our program as a guest, sup......