Maths Menu

In Maths Menu lately one of the challenges has been for children to investigate maps or make their own.  We have been talking about symbols and pictures that we can use, relative position and perspective. 

Here are a couple of maps that show the children's view of their own neighborhoods.

Survival Inquiry - Action Plans

Here are some of the action plans that the children have been developing for their inquiry into survival.

Maths Investigation 1st November

 Children’s Teeth – session 1 

We have just started a new maths investigation. In Prep, especially in the second half of the year, lots of children get wobbly teeth and gaps in their mouths where teeth used to be. So we thought it would be very relevant and exciting to explore the question:

How many teeth do children have?

What are your estimations?

- 20 (three children)

- 27

- 19

- 26

- 43

Children were then sent off to draw maps of their teeth. They could use cameras, mirrors, partners… anything they thought would be helpful.

What strategies did you use?

– I did a diagram with numbers inside –which one you find first and which one you find last. I used a mirror and I drawed it in here, but there’s some gaps. ‘Cause there’s gaps, I didn’t do the mouth very well.

– I counted my teeth with my finger.

– My strategy was (using) a mirror.

What did you find?

– I found out that a couple of babies have six teeth. I was trying to use a memory back to when I was a baby and how many teeth I had. (Do you think your memory was accurate?) Not much.

– That I’ve got 18 teeth - it doesn’t count these two. Not counting gaps.

 – That means it is 20.

- I think all children have 20 teeth.

 – No, I’ve got 9 plus 9.

 – I have 33 teeth. I was counting gaps.

 – I have 20 teeth.

– I have 21 teeth but I lost two but they’re growing really fast.

 – 15

What should we do next time?

– Make sure it’s accurate. Well, some people might have gaps ‘cause they might have lost some.

Transition Session 3

Here are a few of the children's reflections on our last transition session:

Maths Menu with Mark

There were shapes like ours in a plastic bag and there was a paper and you had to try and make the shape with your shapes.  There was another one a little bit like that one except that it was cubes and it was building towers and stuff. 

We had to, there was a game that had to…One person was a dark colour and one person was a light colour and we had to try and get 3 in a row. It was connect 3. 

But the game, connect 3, it was on a sheet of paper and there were some little coloured blocks, there were light blocks and dark blocks and you could only move them up and down and sideways.

You couldn't do it diagonal

That's right, and you couldn't jump over.

Games with Nerida

I was with Nerida and we got to make up shows and we had to go with 3 or 4 kids. 

There was two 123 and two preps in each group.

Other Activities

We were doing things which we think we needed to learn next year.  We were drawing.   

Things that I'm going to need to have next year...well I came up with a globe book, interactive whiteboard,  ipad and a map   

I did painting of a self portrait of ourselves.  I also met two new friends.

The fun sports that we did

Today we went to the park and some mums and dads helped us to do sports. 

There were different groups and each group did different activities at different times.

Our groups were the Yellow Kangaroos, Brown Possums, Green Lizards, Orange Spiders, Brown Snakes, White Wedge Tails, Blue Whales, Purple Mice, Blue Bush Rats, Blue Ants, Pink Scorpians and Red Dingos.  

We did an activity where you had a teddy bear in the middle of a hoola hoop. It was called Wana.  Whoever got the person with the noodle had to go around the cones and then they're back in.  Then they get a point.

We did hula hoops around our waist, our necks and we threw them up in the air and had to try and catch them.  

We got to play shot put.  There was this heavy ball and we had to use one hand and we had to throw it and then you had to put the cone next to it and give the ball to the next person.  You have to try and get the ball past the cone.  

There was a game called Koolchee where you are only allowed to have 4 balls and try and roll the ball at the same time and the balls hit each other. If you hit the ball then you get a point.  

In frisbee there were 3 different types of ways you could play.  The first way was to throw the frisbee to each other.  The second way was to throw the frisbee at a stick that was a target.  If we hit it then we got a point.  The third was was to try to get the frisbee in a tub.

There was a game called Weme where there were 2 teams and there were some beanbags on the ground.  You had to throw them at a ball.

We also did parachutes, timed sprints and skipping. 

This post was collaboratively written by the Bicicletta Preps

Transition Session 2

In Nerida's group, we have been playing some inclusive games to get to know each other, work in teams and create a sense of being a ‘whole’.

- breathing and making sounds in harmony

- playing a name and memory game

- playing Builders and Bulldozers

In Genevieve's group, we have been playing a kind of get-to-know-you bingo, finding people in our group and things in the room that have things in common with us (e.g. have the same number of people in their family, play in the same places at playtime). We have also been running a quick community circle to conclude.  

Katie has been doing a simplified thinking routine called Compass Points that they use for philosophy.  The children are asked to write and draw a list of their 'worries' and 'excitements' (yes, it's a plural noun that has been invented) about next year.  Here is a sample of their worries and excitements about the move up to grade 1/2/3.

Mark has been doing maths menu with the children.  They have had the choice of a number activity, building 3D models with cubes and a tangram puzzle.

NB Whilst we are spending each transition session with the 1/2/3s downstairs, this is not necessarily where the Bicicletta children will be going next year. The decisions of groupings and LCs will happen later on in the year.

Feet Investigation November 2nd

We have been continuing with our investigation into foot size, and looking for connections between our foot size and other features of our bodies.  

Here is a snapshot of a conversation from children using the same measurement strategy (tape measures, heels to toes).

"We're both seventeen" (Seventeen what?) "seventeen centimetres"  
"Even though he's five and I'm six we're still the same." 
"We must be the same height" 
"Yeah 'cos we're the same."

So we compared their height standing back to back.  They were astonished to find that they are different heights.

"Why are we not the same height but we still have the same size feet?" 
"Everything is so interesting.  How is everything so interesting? It's like you're learning."

(Later)
"I don't understand how everything is so interesting.  How is everything so interesting?  Like how does a rubbish dump make the rubbish into a square block?  I don't even know how to do that."
"I don't know, you need to research it."
(N.B.This part of the exchange was not strictly related to our investigation, but the enthusiasm and serious consideration was wonderful.)

We also got a chance to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of particular methods:

"I got to find the answer and there was heaps of chains that I could use."

"Chain doesn't really work well because they're too big and you better use those (rulers)."