I am really ready for spring. I'm ready for warm weather and t-shirts. I'm ready for my kids to spend the better part of the day playing and exploring outside. Unfortunately, we've had snow for the last week. And it's still coming down. So instead of staying stuck inside, I decided to embrace the cold and take school outside! So last week I took my kids outside to do math in the snow. It was a nice change of pace, and a good excuse to get out of Keep Reading...
Football Themed Addition Game {FREE!}
One skill that I have spent a lot of time on with my first grader this year is addition and understanding number bonds. While I don't necessarily think all addition facts need to be memorized, I do believe that knowing how to make ten is important and worth the time to explore and learn because it is such a useful problem solving strategy. So today I am thrilled to share a game that is focused on learning and recognizing the number bonds of ten Keep Reading...
Exploring Numbers With Magazine Cutouts
As I shared recently, I'm focusing on the numbers 1-20 (especially 11-20) with both of my kids right now. I want to help them see and understand the numbers as 10 + ___, rather than simply memorizing the names. I also want them to be able to order and compare these numbers. After spending some time working on place value and "building" the numbers 11-20, I used this fun and incredibly simple lesson to practice working with these numbers. Keep Reading...
Building the Numbers 11-20 {Free Printables!}
After spending quite a bit of time exploring the numbers 1-10 (through counting, number bonds, and subtraction), I am now focusing on the numbers 11-20. Though my daughter can recognize and name the numbers, she does not really understand what they represent (i.e. she does not yet understand place value). To help reinforce the fact that the numbers 11-20 are equivalent to 10 + ____, I've created some fun printable pages to model these numbers Keep Reading...
Weekly Math Freebie Round Up!
Welcome to the weekly round up of math teaching freebies! There are so many great teaching resources out there, and I want to help you find them! Check back every week for free resources for grades K-12! Have a fun teaching resource to share? Send me a link! Kindergarten-2nd Grade: This post at Life Over C's has a HUGE list of free addition resources! There are games, clip cards, sorts and more. And I LOVE these fun number puzzles from Keep Reading...
Math Art: Learning about Circles with Bubble Prints
There are lots of different ways to explore shapes with your kids. So why not get creative? (And gloriously messy?!) Because I love using art as a way to teach and discover math concepts (and because it helps me to be intentional about letting my kids get messy and creative, something that I do not naturally want to do), I decided to make a batch of bubbles and let the kids "paint" with bubbles. We then used our creations to talk about circles Keep Reading...
Skittles Count and Compare! {FREE Printable Pack}
As kids begin to learn their numbers and count and understand cardinality (the number of items in a set), they will then be able to compare things. This becomes evident early on if you have more than one child, because they are quick to notice if brother or sister "has more than me!" While serving as referee in those sibling squabbles over more or less is not fun, this is an important math concept to master! And it starts with hands-on visuals Keep Reading...
Fall Addition Facts Practice! {FREE Printables!}
One of the earliest math concepts students learn is addition. This is an important concept for so many reasons! A strong foundation with addition and fact fluency will pave the way for students to understand subtraction, multiplication and more! And while there are many strategies for helping kids understand and learn addition facts, one that I have been spending a lot of time on with my daughter is number bonds. And although we have started to Keep Reading...
Weekly Math Freebie Round Up!
Welcome to the weekly round up of FREE math teaching resources here at Math Geek Mama! I love finding fun, high quality teaching materials for you so that you can teach with confidence without breaking the bank! Check back each week for more freebies, or subscribe to my email newsletter and never miss out on anything! :) Kindergarten-2nd: This acorn math game is a great, hands-on way to let kids practice counting and number recognition! Keep Reading...
{FREE} Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins Board Game!
As you may know, we love reading at our house, and I especially love using children's literature to teach math. There are so many great and engaging books out there, and while reading and discussing them is a great way to talk about math with your kids, I love taking the learning a step further! A book that we've had fun with lately as we prepare to go to the pumpkin patch is Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins by Dianne Ochiltree. This book is a great Keep Reading...
