One math concept that often stumps students is subtracting with borrowing (or regrouping-whatever you'd like to call it). There are lots of concrete and hands-on ways to teach this concept so that it makes sense to kids, rather than expecting them to memorize a procedure. In the past, I have used base ten blocks or dimes and pennies as a model, which worked well, and I highly recommend teaching this in a conceptual way when introducing it to 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...
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...
Grow a Christmas Tree Farm! {FREE Math Game}
It's no secret that I love literature based learning. And while it might seem obvious to use literature to teach reading, comprehension and grammar, I think it's just as useful and engaging to use literature to teach and explore math! And so, at this time of year, when we are reading stacks and stacks of Christmas books, I'm constantly looking for ways to incorporate math into our holiday festivities. Today I'm sharing a Christmas Tree Farm math Keep Reading...
Decorate a Christmas Tree! {Number Sense Activity}
I recently wrote about a fun and simple way to increase number sense and help kids think creatively about numbers. The "Build a Turkey" Number Sense lesson was so popular that I made a similar activity for Christmas! I was so excited to create this activity, I went a little overboard purchasing Christmas clipart. So if you like this, be sure to check back throughout December for more Christmas learning activities and printables! This Christmas Keep Reading...
Equal or Not Equal? THAT is the Question!
In mathematics, an equation is a math sentence that shows two expressions that are equal. Understanding that these two expressions must stay equal is foundational as kids begin to learn Algebra. It is also important and useful as kids begin to write proofs or solve more difficult problems, because sometimes an expression is not written in a convenient way. But re-writing it in a way that is still equal (i.e. doesn't change the problem) is an Keep Reading...
“Build a Turkey” Number Sense Activity {FREE Printable}
I recently shared this number sense activity from Creative Family Fun. I love this simple activity because it gets kids thinking outside the box, and forming connections between number representations, place value and more. As I thought about ways to do this with my kids, I thought it would be fun to do something similar with a "Thanksgiving" twist! This "Build a Turkey" number sense activity is great because it allows kids to be creative, and Keep Reading...
Weekly Math Freebie Round-Up!
Welcome to the weekly round up of math teaching freebies here at Math Geek Mama! Every week I share the best FREE math teaching ideas and resources so you can make math fun and engaging for your students! Have a freebie to share? Send me a link! Kindergarten-2nd Grade: There are two cute Fall freebies in this post, including one to work on greater than and less than! This is great hands-on practice that can be used again and again (and Keep Reading...
Disney Math: Recognizing Numbers with Cars!
I'm SO excited to share our last "Disney Math" activity, because that means we are ready to go to Disney World! I've had so much fun looking for ways to incorporate Disney fun into our homeschool day, and my kids have really enjoyed it too! Today I'm sharing a simple activity that I was able to adapt to use with both my kids (kindergarten and first grade), to work on recognizing numbers with Cars. (Although we used Cars from the movie, any Keep Reading...
FREE “Sir Cumference and All the King’s Tens” Activities!
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE teaching math with engaging books? Well I do! And some of my favorite stories are the "Sir Cumference" books by Cindy Neuschwander! All of these books weave important math ideas into a story that captures kids' attention. Today, I'm sharing FREE Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens Activities, including an easy print and play place value game! *Please Note: Some of these links are affiliate links and help Keep Reading...
