Monday, February 1, 2016

Show Them What "It" Looks Like




Teaching Emma has certainly made my creative side come out.  As we move into math I have quickly realized that teaching her 1+1=2 is not going to be enough.  Memorizing math facts is the easy part, understanding what 1 and 2 really look like will require a different approach.   Emma needs to understand the following:


ONE

1 and




are all the same.


A dozen eggs looks like this

 



And when we have family game night I want her to see 11 instead of 3 dice.


But like a lot of our kids, you better make it fun.  Emma will hit the road on you if she smells work.  For us, the answer for some time has been Task Boxes.  They are super easy to make, you can get extremely creative and they store very nicely.  Task boxes are single, organized activities with a clear beginning and end.  All task materials are contained within clearly defined boundaries-trays, boxes, baskets, tubs, folders or binders.  Each task is presented with visual organization and clarity.  The materials clearly define the activity and help complete the task.  Task boxes emphasize visual learning styles, avoiding the need for auditory processing of verbal directions, an area of deficit for many of our kids.  Emma has really started fighting me on auditory learning (which has always been her strongest area) so I am cutting her a bit of a break and mixing it up a little.

We started with 0-8 sorting which was a great success.  We will slowly move up the ladder.  Maybe combining two for her to add or subtract.





From there we moved to Under, Over, Left and Right.






I picked up the little pink containers at the dollar store, 4 for $1.  The cards are index cards cut in half with cheap stickers stuck on them and laminated.

You can pick up a very inexpensive laminating machine here.  We have had this one for over 2 years and I have certainly put it to the test and it is still holding up great.

Here is the best bang for your buck I have seen on laminating sheets and laminating pouches.

When the fun is over they fit nicely in these little containers from Wal-Mart.



Shoe boxes are just as effective.  Get creative and have fun.











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