Kindergarten brought their collecting baskets to the woods, ready to embark on a nature adventure. The closer we got to our outdoor classroom, their excitement grew and grew. Once there, children moved freely around the forest, collecting small, medium, and large leaves of various colors and types. Children shared about their own leaf collections, and… [Read More]
Rainy Day Math
“The only way to learn math is to do math.” Paul Halmos On a rainy Friday afternoon when you have been stuck inside for days, it is hard to hook your students into a lesson of any sort. What is a teacher to do! We haven’t had recess, no woods day, no fresh air inside… [Read More]
Collecting for Fact Families
This week, first graders went to the woods with collecting on their mind. Sitting in the outdoor classroom in the crisp air students were asked to work in teams to gather natural objects that we could use as manipulative’s for math time. Some groups chose to collect leaves, some groups chose to collect sticks, and… [Read More]
Measuring What’s Wild
This week our 4th graders headed out into the woods at our Principal’s home to explore and learn about Maine’s natural environment. Seeing the kids outside was energizing. They came alive, running, hopping, and skipping. They wanted to inspect at everything!! They were fascinated with mushrooms and different tree varieties, and crossing a rushing brook… [Read More]
Millions of Leaves, Thousands of Leaves, ONE HUNDRED LEAVES
It’s autumn, the colorful leaves are falling in the outdoor classroom, and 2nd graders need practice with skip counting, flexible addition/subtraction strategies, and using models to show their work. I had noticed that the concept of 100 was not yet solid. Students were using millions and thousands to describe much smaller amounts. To address their… [Read More]
Windows and Wondering
Oscar Wilde once said, “Two men look out a window. One sees mud, the other sees the stars.” What do you think a class of curious Kindergarteners sees when they look through a window in the woods? Can you imagine what kinds of math opportunities a window can provide? I put 4 meter sticks down… [Read More]
Interested in bringing math learning outside?
Interested in bringing math learning outside?Free Virtual Workshop Series for K-6 EducatorsRegister Interested in bringing math learning outside? The natural world can be used as a catalyst for exploring numeracy concepts in fun and healthy ways. Doing math outside can include using natural materials to represent math problems, finding math in nature, and applying math… [Read More]
