Pattern Block Pictures

This week, we started a math unit on 2-dimensional shapes so I started to look up sites my kids could use at home. Then I found the Math Toybox. It's a great site for your kids to make their own pattern block pictures. All you have to do is drag the shape into the drawing area and click to drop. Shapes will snap together at the corners. You can click on them to rotate and drag them to move. When creating pattern block pictures, your kids will be decomposing shapes in different ways, developing visual images of 2D shapes, and finding different combinations of shapes to fill the same area. The work we've been doing at school can also be done at home!

Double Compare and Double Compare Dots

Since the start of school, our math focus has been counting, comparing, and combining. Today the kids were introduced to two games- double compare and double compare dots. Both games are a great combination of all three skills. To help your child, you can be playing this game at home, too. Both games are similar to War. All you need is a regular deck of cards. Deal the cards facedown. Both players turn over their top two cards. The player with the larger total says “Me!” and takes the cards. If the totals are the same, both players turn over two more cards. Keep turning over two cards. Each time, the player with the larger total says “Me!” and takes the cards. The game is over when there are no more cards to turn over. Some variations of the game include: the player with the smaller total says “Me!," play with 3 players, or play with the aces (they can be any number).

Remembering 9/11

It was important to me to acknowledge the 10th anniversary of 9/11. At the same time, how do you address this heavy topic with first graders? Fortunately, Weekly Reader offered a great resource to help me explain the topic with my children. It basically gave me a script that made me feel comfortable. I briefly explained September 11, 2001, shared the National September 11 Memorial & Museum that was built in New York City, and remembered the heroes who tried to help. A coworker also shared an amazing book written by first graders of H. Byron Masterson Elementary in Kennett, Missouri called September 12th: We Knew Everything Would Be All Right. I have to get a copy of this book for my own classroom library. It does a brilliant job of keeping hope and I love that it was written by children with their beautiful illustrations. As tough as this topic is, I'm so happy that I talked about it with our children as we need to remember to have tolerance, to come together at a time of need, and to continue to have hope. We ended our day with a reading of this wonderful book.