Dear Friends… Enjoy the rest of your summer, and please remember that all my Lessons for Families and Resources are available to you at kathyaproberts.com. Be well. Be safe. Kathy
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
Mathematicians often know lots of mathematical facts, but more importantly, they think about math in different ways. These problems provide opportunities that encourage our children to work systematically. They also offer the chance to focus on reasoning and problem solving. ************************** THREE BALL LINE UP Age 5 to 7 Two children are playing with three balls,… Read More
THE PAPER DOLLS
A little girl and her paper dolls go on amazing adventures in this picture book by Julia Donaldson. This a lovely story about imagination, memory, and links between generations. THE PAPER DOLLS Julia Donaldson – Author Rebecca Cobb – Illustrator And her mother helped her make some paper dolls. “They were Ticky and Tacky and… Read More
THINKING AHEAD
These activities are intended to encourage our children to think strategically. To become expert, you need to think ahead, test and modify your tactics as you go along. ******************************************* MULINELLO QUADRUPIO This board game from the late Roman empire, originated around 5th or 6th century AD and was discovered in street excavations. It’s similar in concept to noughts… Read More
OLD PEARL
A young child deals with the sadness of losing a pet in this gentle, sweet story about to how nothing can take away what lives in our heart. **************************** “But sometimes friends have to say goodbye…” OLD PEARL Wendy Wahman – Author and Illustrator Theo loves feeding the birds. All the birds. But he… Read More
PUZZLE BRAINWORK…
This activity is an opportunity for our children to strengthen their ability to visualize. Visualization is required in two ways. First, our children must plan ahead so as not to leave impossible spaces. Second, they must try to turn each piece in their ”mind’s eye” to decide which is needed for a particular gap. COVER… Read More
PIGEON MATH
“Pigeon Math” is about a pigeon who is trying to tell a story. Telling a story about pigeons should be simple. But what’s a narrator to do when the number of his feathered friends is constantly changing? A series of humorous events keeps happening, causing the pigeon to restart the story. Can our storyteller use math… Read More
SAME OR DIFFERENT?
Same or Different? activities are opportunities for our children to focus their thinking on a desired mathematical concept. These tasks strengthen communication, reasoning and constructing arguments in relation to mathematical ideas. *************************** Same or Different? FLOWER POWER Look at the two pictures. What do you notice? 1. Talk about how pictures A and B are… Read More
YOU MUST BRING A HAT!
The only rule for attending this party was … you MUST bring a hat. But what if you didn’t own a hat? Will bringing a monkey wearing a hat be enough? Find out in this tale that builds to a gloriously quirky, hilarious ending. *********************************** “Mounting exasperation, preposterous rules, and just plain fun make this party… Read More
PUZZLES and TEAMWORK
Many of our children enjoy working on puzzles. They can be easily motivated to adopt learning strategies that will improve their puzzle-solving skills. These puzzles require patience… try working as a team. ************************************ Puzzle with the Digits 1-8 ********************************** How Many Triangles Are There?