Even Kinder Kids Can Do This: Adding and Subtracting

I don't know about you but this pace is killing me. We are now on Chapter 5 which is about addition and subtraction. Really? Where did the week go? Okay, blogging is not for the slow thinkers of the world but seriously I am still cleaning and purging in my classroom. I have never carried so much trash in my life.

I come home and fall asleep but then I start dreaming about numbers... What has happened to me? My partner told me this is like packing up your house every year! Okay enough of my problems. Let's move on.

Chapter #5: Addition and Subtraction Work Stations

 If you are a kindergarten teacher and you introduce addition and subtraction at the very end of the year this can become a nightmare for first grade teachers. So acting out story problems throughout the year is the way to go. The kids love doing this but I need to add this more systematically during my morning opening. You can do this quickly and the kids can make up the stories once they see how you do this. Don't forget to use their names. As I read  this I was thinking yah, yah, we all do this but then I had a thought when I saw the Frog and Toad activities. I should be connecting this to our literature which I have never done. I love this idea and it would be so easy to do. I still like the story mats for generic settings that they are familiar with or that hook into big themes but how about Fairy Tales or some of our author studies (Eric Carle)? 

Click here for these mats and cards and please leave a comment.
I will make some of these and post them later. Remember that once you practice these stories you can put them in a station for the kids to use independently. I love the idea of using props too. How about the headbands in Target that cost a dollar? If you did not see my other mats scroll down to Chapter #4.

Have you seen these animal paper plates in the grocery store? We use these to make up addition and subtraction problems using small cubes. The parts go in the ears of  the animal and we put them together in the middle! The kids really like using them. Try this next year.

Now Mrs. Saoud has done a wonderful job hosting this chapter so be sure to go over to her site and check out some of her amazing freebies. I love her thinking for this chapter too. Okay, your notebook should be bulging at this point but you are getting so much closer to being ready for next year!