I hope you have been watching the documentation in the Nest classrooms and on the blogs as it evolves to tell the story of the children and their learning. Projects are developing in all classrooms. As I was wandering through the classrooms this week, I saw so much enthusiasm in both the teachers and the children as they were working together.
I was also struck by how much math I was seeing. Teachers are tying the numeracy objectives they have set for their students to the content of the projects by designing activities that challenge children to think in multiple ways. We know that meaningful and authentic experiences boost memory and deepen understanding so that the ideas the children encounter regarding numbers and how they work will adhere more strongly in their brains.
In the drama area, the Sky and Trees sword group has worked with Ms. Chalmers to learn about the size of a knight's long sword. They used measuring tape to get an accurate picture of the size of the swords and marked that on the wall. They also measured their own heights and marked them on the wall. The students used their own bodies to measure and compare to get a more concrete understanding of how long these swords are. The are longer than Sampson but not as long as Ms. Chalmers, for instance. Therefore, 50 is a smaller number than 60 but a larger number than 40. Abstracts become more concrete. Ms. Chalmers has challenged the children in their drafting process to design accurately and to use tools for measuring in their play.
In blocks, the Sky and Trees castle group used blocks to show all of the facts they have learned about castle architecture. Their large and collaborative structure includes a dungeon and battlements and turrets. Using the language of blocks, the children have translated the two-dimensional images in their books into a three-dimensional reality. Here they are exploring some important ideas about geometry. They are developing spatial understanding and problem-solving, as they planned for a massive structure with a limited set of blocks. This is engineering.
The pancake group in the Rocks Class has moved into a period of data collection. They are voting for which of their three pancake recipes each child liked the best. They have discussed how to show these numbers visually and concretely so that they can analyze and compare their results. Comparing is a higher level thinking skill and brings children to a deeper understanding of numeracy, going a step beyond counting and sorting. How many more people liked the fluffy pancakes than those who liked the crepes?
The Rivers Class did more cooking this week with Ms. Kadota. They wrestled with fractions and measuring volume as they worked to create a dough. The children had many conversations about how this kind of measuring works. Here children connected what they know about symbols and what they know about numbers by following a visual recipe. Counting the scoops of flour became important so that the total amount could correspond with the recipe. The children also solved many problems. How do you get a half a stick of butter? How about half a cup of molasses? Which is bigger, a tablespoon or a teaspoon?
Understanding numbers goes beyond being able to say the numerals in order. Children need hands-on experiences to build ideas and to learn how to think numerically. They need play and to muck around in the concepts. They need to try and fail and try again. They need to see relationships and make connections. While the children are learning about knights and castles and pancakes and cookies, they are also building foundations for many concentrations and curricular areas.
