How To Make First Graders Fall In Love With Math: Take One

It's no secret, I love math. I have been gifted in mathematics since I can but I never really loved learning about it in school. This year I have made it my goal to get my students to learn and LOVE mathematics.

It all starts with the large group lesson at the beginning of my 60 minute math time. Today my students learned about tens frames. I mapped out two tens frames on butcher paper and allowed my students to work as teams to make the numbers I gave to them. Since we were using only one tens frame, I asked the children to create numbers (in no specific order) from 0 to 10. They went bonkers!! Firstly, the activity got them out of their seat and had them all participating and, secondly, they were enthralled in the spirit of games and competition! These kiddos have so much fun being kids and learning at the same time.

Then our last 30 to 40 minutes is devoted to math workstations. Currently, my students are working out of three drawers of differing subject areas all containing 3 to 5 "games" for the kids to play. Our counting drawer currently hold Skip-bo, 2 boxes of Chutes and Ladders (which involves counting forwards on a hundreds grid) and skip counting pages. My student think that they have died and gone to heaven whenever I announce that it is workstation time. "Yay, I love playing games Miss Post!" is what they always tell me and boy to I have them fooled!! My next drawer contains Tens and Ones Place Value "games" that I found on TeachersPayTeachers, My students play memory all while learning fundamental number sense skills. My final drawer is strictly devoted to comparing number (greater than, less than, equal to). The card game War is a clear favorite amongst my kiddos. Did you know that you were comparing numbers when you played that game as a kid?!?! Neither did I! They also love working with their "alligator" mouth (Popsicle sticks which are colored green topped with googlie eyes) in workstations.

"Can we play now Miss Post?" I love that they are always asking to work in math workstations even if they think that it is playing, I know that they are learning way more than they could ever imagine!

I'm back!

Well, it has been almost a month since I last posted and it doesn't feel like it has been that long. In fact, I've been living in Colorado for a little over 2 month! (WHAT!?!?!) My Michigan days seem like eons ago and I can't remember a time where I wasn't teaching students.

Let's talk Colorado for a minute, I am in complete love with this state. We enjoy all four seasons here with almost 100% sunshine! There are people here from all different walks of life, all different state with completely different backgrounds that all seem to coexist in one city. And there are niches to fit all of these walks of life. While the Springs can get tiresome after a long week at school, a drive to Denver for Taste of Colorado or Breckenridge for Octoberfest can be just the remedy you need!

I have also been completely blessed with new-found friendships this past month. It's hard to move far away from home and these friendships that I have made have lessened that hardship. These friends that we make become our family, our stabilizing beacons in these unfamiliar places and for that I am every grateful.

Oops...I should probably mention my classroom and teaching as of late. As I was told to expect, I have had more students move in and out of my classroom this past month than I have had in my whole semester student teaching! I have dropped 3 students and added 1. Now I am not going to sit here and GUSH about how amazing my students are like they were perfect angels, they are kids. But I will say that I always wake up looking forward to school in the morning and seeing my students. They challenge me, oh do they challenge me! One "Hulked-out" on my classroom, many cry every day, some days I have students who are downright mean to each other but they all have hearts of gold and are incredibly intelligent (although some showcase this talent more than others). And I can confidently say that I have created a LOVE of math in my students. YAY!! That was my one goal this year and to have the kids so excited about math so early is incredible. Tomorrow's blog will be my insider tricks to inspiring the love of math within my First Graders. Until then, stay classy!