Chapter 3 is about Getting Started. To read the original post and the links of other bloggers who joined in this virtual study, go here.
- I started and introduced a few games at a time.
- I loved having my students work with a partner. We changed partners about once a month.
- I love dice! They can be used for so many skills.
- The same can be said for all the Oriental Trading and Target Dollar Spot erasers, I have collected over the years. Change the counter and it instantly becomes a "new" game. :)
- Kids requested games that they wanted me to keep. I also instantly knew when a game was a flop. I got the "I'm Done" teacher.
- My original plan to have each tub categorized by standard was too overwhelming for me. Numbering the boxes was easier.
- I was able to incorporate Common Core Standards as well as teacher "the book" all year long.
- Math Work Stations became easier to plan as the year progressed.
- I loved that I could incorporate games that perhaps, my kids did not have at home like Connect Four, Hungry Hungry Hippo, puzzles, etc. They each had mathematical value in our classroom.
As I plan for the upcoming year, I know that I will "tweak" things about Math Work Stations. I plan to reread the book again this summer to see how I can fit some skills in more frequently like geometry and measurement.
Happy Teaching and Learning!
I'm Mrs. Parker; a wife, mother and a lifelong learner. I am blessed to be a kindergarten teacher where I get to laugh, learn and play alongside my students. My blog is a reflection of my journey as a teacher.
I love the idea of the erasers making things "new"! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Fun in Room 4B
I followed the book study last year and tried to incorporate it through the year. I'm glad you're revisiting because I want to start the year off with Math Stations this year. Thanx
ReplyDeleteI followed the book study last summer then got the book and read it so quickly. It's fabulous! I will definitely use it next year but I too need to add games and tweek some. Thanks for the link to last summer's posts. I'm going to re-read some of those too.
ReplyDelete_Chrissy
First Grade Found Me
I also followed the book study last summer. I was scared to say the least to start out the year with the 10 Math Stations! I started slowly with maniplatives and modeled new games slowly...this was for me as much as for the students! It went great!!! I also used numbers for my stations with pictures of the students. My problem was that we did one rotation a day and so my changing of the stations were not all at once...some times it ended up changing one a day for a few days. This made it hard for use with my seasonal games.Did you do two rotations a day? And did you change all stations the same day? If so, how did you model the new skills?
ReplyDeleteWe only had time for 1 rotation. I did change many of the stations every few weeks. To avoid the long introduction, I tried to play games that I wanted to put in MWS whole group
ReplyDelete