Kindergarten End-of-Year Wrap-Up, 2012-13

We got a really late start last fall, so we are diligently trying to finish up our studies for Life Science and Ancient History. We still have a good month or more to go for each. Insert a big sigh here...lesson thoroughly learned. We won't be starting late again, as long as I can help it. I had planned some extra fun electives for this summer, but they aren't going to happen and I'm bummed. Good news is we have managed to complete our core subjects this past month, as well as Spanish...again.

Here's what we have recently completed and are doing now.

Completed Singapore Math 1B. Started Singapore Math 2A.

Completed Hooked on Phonics: Second Grade. Started Evan-Moor Daily Phonics, Grade 1 and Daily Reading Comprehension, Grade 1. We will start All About Spelling 1 and grammar this fall.

Completed Teach Them Spanish!, Grade 1. Starting Risas y Sonrisas: Spanish for Kids next term. I'm really excited about our new Spanish program, but I'll write more about it later in a future post.

Sylvan Math Flashcards...Perfect for Singapore Math!

It's been a very long time since I have posted anything about Singapore Math. We have just one more week before we complete Singapore Math 1B.

While wandering around Barnes & Noble a couple of weekends ago trying to decide what to spend my $5 Kids' Club rewards coupon on, I came across Sylvan Math Flashcards. I couldn't believe it. Months ago, I had scoured the internet for horizontal addition and subtraction flashcards. The few that I found were not quite right or hard to come by. Sylvan 1st Grade Math Flashcards are a perfect complement to Singapore Math 1A/1B. The addition and subtraction cards are written horizontally and go up to 20. Addition is on one side, subtraction on the other. The 240 cards also feature numbers 30 to 100, place value for ones and tens, number patterns including number lines and skip counting, number comparison, shapes, symmetry, telling time, and money. The only drawback is that the cards are pretty flimsy compared to others. They are a very lightweight card stock (more likely, a heavyweight paper as apposed to a true card stock). As long as a parent is doing the flashing, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I won't be letting Tessa have free reign of them, though.

If you're looking for horizontal flash cards for Singapore Math 1A/1B...these are them!

Graph for Singapore Math 1B, Unit 12

It's been such a very long time since I posted anything for Singapore Math. We took our time with all of the different ways to add and subtract numbers through twenty. If you have used Singapore Math 1A, you'll know exactly what I'm talking out. I'm happy to finally report great success! We moved onto 1B a couple of weeks ago.

We once again pulled out our wonderful Squinkies for Unit 12 - Graphs. Tessa sorted, counted and graphed the inventory of a pretend pet shop.

Download Graph for Singapore Math 1B 12.3.

Tessa graphed the inventory of a Squinkies pet shop. She labeled all parts of her graph and then used star stickers to represent the animals.

Tessa's completed graph.

Math Dice Jr.

We had one of those awkward extra days in math this week. You know the ones...the ones where you've finished every possible thing for one topic, but don't want to start a new topic since you only have one day before the weekend. So, we decided to play Math Dice Jr. by Thinkfun.

Tessa really loves Math Dice Jr. It's so quick and easy to play. There are six jumbo dice...five cubed and one twelve-sided target die. After rolling all of the dice, players try to come up with combinations of the cubed dice that equate to the number on the target die. Players can use either addition or subtraction to create their combinations. The object is to use as many dice as possible in a single combination. The more dice used, the more spaces players get to advance on the scoring track. Math Dice Jr. doesn't come with game pieces, so you get to use whatever you want. We like to use Squinkies.

Tessa used the numbers five, two, four and one to create a combination of four dice that added up to equal twelve on the target die. As a reward, she got to advance four spaces on the scoring track.

Shapes for Singapore Math 1A, Unit 7

Although this page of shapes could be printed multiple times onto various sheets of colored paper, I decided to print them onto a single sheet of white card stock. Then, I strategically colored them the old-fashioned way.

Shapes for Singapore Math 1A, Unit 7

Download Shapes for Singapore Math 1A, Unit 7.

Tessa sorted paper shapes by a variety of attributes. I was proud of her for thinking to divide these into a group of shapes with corners and a group of shapes with no corners.

Enjoying the Final Lazy Days of Summer

Tessa completed Beginning Geography this week. (Excellent resource, by the way. A favorite for sure!) That just leaves Hooked on Phonics and Singapore Math for the rest of summer. Tessa has requested more art, so we'll be doing a little of that too since we have the time. Gymnastics start next week.

We have a vacation planned for mid-September, so we will start our fall schedule a little later than most. Until then, we plan to take it easy and enjoy the final lazy days of summer. Well, Tessa does anyway, I'm still fine-tuning lesson plans for fall.

Today, Tessa gathered "food" and built homes for the critters from her Safari Ltd. North American Wildlife Toob.

It's always fun to see what Tessa comes up with. I thought the big pile of mulch, grass and who knows what else on the lower left was a beaver dam. No, it's food for the raccoon, her favorite animal from this Toob.

Tessa put her critters to work. The moose has the biggest antlers, so he gets the biggest stick.

10-Frame for Singapore Math 1A, Unit 6

10-Frame for Singapore Math 1A, Unit 6

Download 10-Frame for Singapore Math 1A, Unit 6.

Summer School Winding Down

I can hardly believe summer school is already winding down. Our September vacation to Florida is just around the corner. It's difficult not to wish it to come soon, as that would mean ushering in fall too. We definitely don't want that!

Tessa finished up both Lollipop Logic, Book 1 and Evan-Moor Everyday Literacy: Science, Grade 1 this week. She is totally bummed...to the point of crying about it. Luckily, we still have 3-4 weeks of Evan-Moor Beginning Geography left. That should tide her over until we embark on many new journeys this fall. We are still plugging away at Hooked on Phonics and Singapore Math.

Cards for Singapore Math 1A, Unit 6

Singapore Math 1A STD ED, Unit 6 requires several different sets of cards. Most are pretty generic and can be used for various other lessons and activities as well.

Number Cards for Singapore Math 1A 6.1.1 Lesson

Download Number Cards for Singapore Math 1A 6.1.1 Lesson.

Number Word Cards, 11-20 for Singapore Math 1A

Alternate word cards in an easier-to-read font are provided within the same file as well.

Download Number Word Cards, 11-20 for Singapore Math 1A.

Dot Cards, 1-10 for Singapore Math 1A - For creating numbers up to 20.

Download Dot Cards, 1-10 for Singapore Math 1A.

Number Cards, 1-20 for Singapore Math 1A

Download Number Cards, 1-20 for Singapore Math 1A.

Cards for Singapore Math 1A 4.2.5 Game

Cards for Singapore Math 1A 4.2.5 Game

Download Cards for Singapore Math 1A 4.2.5 Game.

Squinkies Make Fun Little Math Manipulatives!

One of our favorite math manipulatives are Squinkies! Among their many uses, they are perfect for making Singapore Math stories. If you have a child who loves these little plastic critters as much as Tessa, you know it doesn't take long to accumulate a couple hundred of them. While preparing lessons that require making math stories, I simple riffle through our Squinkies bin and match up a few handfuls that are easy to group into stories.

Tessa loves using Squinkies as math manipulatives!

Right now, Tessa's working on learning subtraction facts. The seven Squinkies above easily make several different subtraction stories.

There are seven animals. Four are dogs. Three are cats.  7 - 4 = 3

There are seven animals. Three are blue. Four are pink.  7 - 3 = 4

There are seven animals. One is a baby. Six are adults. 7 - 1 = 6

There are seven animals. Two are wearing hats. Five are not wearing hats.  7 - 2 = 5

Pretty fun, eh? Next time you dig one of these guys out of the couch and threaten to throw the whole lot in the trash, toss them into your math bin instead. We also use the over-sized balls that came as part of the Squinkies McDonald's Happy Meal toys as quick containers to hold the groups of regular-sized Squinkies that we use as math manipulatives.

Number Line for Singapore Math 1A 3.3.1 Lesson & Game

Here's a number line I created for the Singapore Math 1A 3.3.1 lesson and game. (3.3.1 = Unit 3, Chapter 3, Lesson 1, which is on page 30 of the Singapore Math Primary Mathematics 1A STD ED Home Instructor's Guide.)

For the number line game, I had Tessa choose a Squinkies figure the night before without telling her why. (I like to keep her in suspense. Makes school more fun that way.) I was thinking a critter would be good, but no, she chose Ariel in her wedding dress. I pretty much had to choose Eric for myself then. So much for the cute little green dog with spots I had my eye on. I covered a blank die with pieces of cut up file folder labels and wrote +1, +2 and +3 on them. Sticking them on a regular die would probably work just as well.

Number Line for Singapore Math 1A 3.3.1 Lesson & Game

Download Number Line for Singapore Math 1A 3.3.1 Lesson & Game.

The game directions technically call for a 0-10 number line, but including the zero forced the number line to be too small for an 11" x 8.5" sheet of paper. It's easy enough to set the counters/game pieces before the one and play that way.

Ariel and Eric prepare to hop down the number line.

Flash Cards for Singapore Math 1A 3.2.2 Game

Unable to find the exact materials I needed for the Singapore Math 1A 3.2.2 game, I ended up creating my own. (3.2.2 = Unit 3, Chapter 2, Lesson 2, which is on page 27 of the Singapore Math Primary Mathematics 1A STD ED Home Instructor's Guide.) They were a bit of a pain in the rump to make, so I thought I'd share. The free downloadable PDF file includes flash cards for all addition facts through 5, +0 and +1 as well as all corresponding answers. (See chart on page 25 of the aforementioned Home Instructor's Guide.)  You may wish to tailor what you print to best fit your needs.

Flash Cards for Singapore Math 1A 3.2.2 Game

Download Flash Cards for Singapore Math 1A 3.2.2 Game.

For a shorter game, print pages 1-7 (expression cards) and 11-17 (answer cards), then weed out the duplicate reversed order expression cards. (See chart on page 25 of the aforementioned Home Instructor's Guide. This will print expression and answer cards for the first three columns.) There will be a few extra cards at the end of each printed group. Discard those too.

For expression cards only, print pages 1-11. Discard the answer cards that print out on the last page. (See chart on page 25 of the aforementioned Home Instructor's Guide. This will print the expression cards only for the entire chart.)

At one point, Tessa ended up with a BUNCH of answer cards. I really thought I had shuffled better than that.

The entire deck looked as though it might be a bit much for Tessa, so I decided to use the cards for the shorter game the first time around. We went ahead and used them all the second day. It went well enough, but she was a bit antsy by the end. Me too! Overall, Tessa really liked this game.

Blank Number Bonds Worksheet

Found this wonderful blank number bonds worksheet by fivej's when Tessa started studying number bonds a couple of weeks ago in Singapore Math 1A. Thought I'd share. It's so nicely designed!

Blank Number Bond Worksheet by fivejs.com.