Hands-on math: Ice Cream Shoppe

 My kids have liked playing Ice Cream Shoppe for math lately--and it has a lot of variations for different skill levels. I cut out a variety of construction paper ice cream "scoops" and a handful of brown "cones." (If you need a pattern, this link may help.)

(Our Ice Cream Shoppe is casual: No shirts, no shoes, who cares?)

The kids get to make their own ice cream cones with whatever and how many flavors they like. We can practice

1) addition: how many of each color; how many scoops on two or three cones

2) counting money: one cent for each scoop, ten cents per scoop (for counting by tens), etc. Somehow using real money makes it feel more fun for us!

3) colors, for pre-K students

4) role playing

5) number writing: we keep a dry erase board nearby to write our addition problems, number of scoops, etc.

6) making patterns using scoop colors

For a little more variety, we switch places and I buy the ice cream from them!

My daughter, paying for her ice cream

Lunchtime Laughter

When I remember, I like to add a joke to my first grader's lunch box.  He loves telling it to his friends (as if they need an ice breaker for the dinner hour!)

Usually I just google "riddles" or "simple jokes" the night before and find one that's age appropriate.

Tomorrow's jokes:

Q: I am lighter than a feather, yet no man can hold me for very long.  What am I?
A: Breath

Q: Feed me and I live, give me something to drink and I'll die.  What am I?
A: Fire

One of my favorites from the past:

Q: What does a termite eat for breakfast?
A: Oak-meal

-Julie

Money Math Game

This game was borrowed from Sherry at Living and Learning.  She got it from the book The Penny Pot.

John Isaac (first grade) loved playing the game.  We played multiple rounds at his request.

Sherry wrote on her blog:

 ...a game listed in the back of the book:


"Construct a mat for each player. Collect one die and a pile of coins with lots of pennies.  Each player rolls the die and then receives that number of pennies. Trade 5 pennies for a nickel.  Keep playing and trading up for nickels and dimes. The first player to get a quarter wins."

We happened to have a fancy die that was eight sided and allowed us to reach a quarter quickly.  Eventually we upped the stakes and went to fifty cents.

-Julie

Three quick younger-elementary activities using Microsoft Excel

1) Capital/lowercase Memory. Using a large and easily read font, make an Excel workbook page of the letters of the alphabet in lowercase and uppercase, with one letter in each cell. Make sure you make borders visible for easy cutting. Print out the letters onto cardstock, then cut them up for a Memory/Concentration game to identify and match uppercase and lowercase letters.

Tip: Start with a small number of letters (like 10) first, to avoid the game being overwhelming.

2) The Name Game. Using a large and easily read font, make an Excel workbook page of the letters of the names in your family and/or your last name, one letter in each cell. Make sure you make borders visible for easy cutting. Print out the letters onto cardstock, then cut the pieces up. Ask your child to use the letters to spell out your family's first names.

Tip: To teach name-spelling, try putting the names to the song B-I-N-G-O. My family used it for me, and now I use it for my kids! Trust me, if it works for Breitenstein, it works for anything.

3) Stairsteps. As a spinoff of a classic Montessori activity, print out an Excel workbook page with large-width columns and rows, borders visible (as an option, you can fill in the cells with color). You'll be cutting out a strip of one cell, then a strip of two connected cells, then of three cells, etc. Place the various sizes of connected cells in an envelope, and see what your child does with them (Montessori functions with minimal instruction, in my understanding). If your child needs assistance, see if they can arrange them from the smallest number of squares (or rectangles) to the most (or least to greatest, if you're trying to teach these terms).