Hi everyone,
The sunny weather is helping with the distraction from the restrictions.
As the weeks go on it can be harder to engage in formal workbooks with your chilldren, and that is ok too. It’s hard to imagine how we can re-create the summer term in the classroom at home especially as we head into June. But today I wanted to focus on Ready Set Go Maths and how to incorporate it at home.
Ready Set Go is a Maths programme for Junior and Senior Infants and teaches Maths concepts in a hands on, fun way. It focuses on number work, counting, sorting, matching and patterns.
Counting
Try to include counting activities as you go through the day, counting steps as you go for a walk or going up and down stairs. Counting up as you go up the stairs and counting backwards going down the stairs. Counting together as you go for a walk, taking turns to count forwards and backwards. Get older children involved by counting in 2s, 3s etc to practice their tables.
Sorting and Matching
Get your younger children involved by helping to set the table at home, or playing with a tea set. Can they match a cup to each plate, a knife to each fork. Get the children to match lego blocks or sort the blocks by colour, by size. Let the children chat to you about their sets and get you to tell what sets they have made. If you are matching cups and plates try to have uneven amounts and then ask your child what do you have more of? what do you have less of?
Sorting and Matching is a fantastic approach to develop problem solving skills and could be encouraged for older children too. Ask them to sort lego blocks by size and colour such as small red bricks for two properties or three properties flat, red, large blocks. Can you solve a puzzle by choosing a block and then get your children to ask questions to identify your secret block, is it red, blue, yellow? has it 4 dots? 8 dots? etc.
Patterns
Another easy activity to incorporate at home is to create a pattern. You could use spoons and forks to create a pattern on the kitchen table. You could start the pattern and ask your child to continue it. You could ask the child to start their own pattern for you to continue it. You could use lego blocks, your child’s tea set and other toys at home to create your patterns. Record your child’s patterns by taking a photo and challenge them to remember it the following day and recreate it or to create a new pattern.
For older children they could also create patterns for their younger siblings or challenge each other to begin a pattern for another sibling to continue.
Getting your children to work together may be challenging but maybe they could have some fun to work together and challenge each other.
Hopefully these activities will be helpful for you during Distance Learning, if you have any questions about this post send me a DM.
Stay Safe
Aistear Muinteoir
Aistear Múinteoir 