It was a rainy November day and I wanted to add some nature to liven up our indoors on this gloomy day. Thankfully I had squirreled away some oak leaves, perfect for some engaging building 10 practice!
I drew dots (in 10 frame formation) from 1-9 with sharpies on the oak leaves. Then I gave my students each a leaf and a number rack. On the top row, (after counting the dots) they showed the number on the leaf. On the bottom rack, they showed how many more beads were needed to make 10.
I discovered after a sad marker mishap, that oak leaves are the absolute best leaves for this project. The sharpie does not bleed through, they don’t curl, and are tough enough to be passed around to other students.
The kids found this to be challenging, but engaging. They asked if they could try this again and practice it until it became easy! It was amazing how frustration levels stayed minimal, some of the kids decided that they actually could do it and shared their tips with those around them! Amazing!!!
Maggie Corlett, Meroby Elementary, Kindergarten
