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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Teaching Place Value the DIY Montessori Way

Recently I came across a video from a fellow YouTube Mom who demonstrated the Montessori way of teaching place value through layered cards. So I got inspired and stayed up a little bit late to make a set of my own. I happened to have a few stacks of blank "Word Strips" from the Dollar Tree laying around. They have traditional lines on one side and they are blank on the other. I chose to use the blank side because I figured it would be less distracting. You can cut your own cards from cardstock or posterboard, but I found it to be much easier to just have to cut the length.

Initially I thought about nice they would be if I printed them in color on the computer, used my paper cutter (which is packed away at the moment), laminated them, etc... and then I realized that a DONE project is better than a PERFECT project! So I whipped it out in just an hour or two and while its not perfect, its still effective and thats what matters.

I color coded mine in Do Re Mi colors since my kids are already familiar with the sequence and I figured it would help them remember the order better. The cards werent long enough for some of the bigger numbers, so I wrote on them first and then used packing tape to tape them together. They are relatively sturdy.

I included a small chart to set next to it to simplify reading the columns. My kids knew some of these already, but not up to a million. We have a spiral flip chart where all of the numbers are already connected, but this way of layering them is just more child friendly IMO. They can see everything at once and grab whatever they need, versus only being able to see one number at a time on the chart.

I measured out two inch lines to create a guide, which I laid next to each card as I wrote on it. Its important that each column is covered up properly when layering the cards so the numbers needed to be sorta-kinda straight and evenly spaced. :)

Heres a link to the original video from YouTube Super Mom EarlyLearningAtHome who inspired me to make these cards. She is sooooo crafty, Im sure youll enjoy browsing her channel as much as I do!

Great Way to Have Fun While Working on Social Skills

Abundant Harvest Conversational Board Game for Kids

Game Play:

I like games that are simple to play and easy to set up. This allows me to focus more on the game and having fun rather then there rules. Abundant Harvest Conversational Board Game for Kids is one of those games.

After opening up the game, sort into separate piles the scenario cards as well as the harvest points and roll the die. Move that number of space and do what you are told. There are two requirements. 1 to read and do what is on the board and 2 draw the color card and discuss using a principal from the principal cards. The main point of the game is to reach the end while turning every situation into a learning one.

The best part is that there really are no set rules. For example if you get a cared, you can talk about the principal and end it there. If you want, the game allows for the conversation to continue. When working with special needs kids with limited vocabulary, I will listen to what they have to say and guid them in the right direction. However when I play with kids who have a larger vocabulary, for the most part, I would love to hear many kinds enhancing in each situation. Everyone has a way to handle each situation and they should be voices so we can all learn from each other.

Pros:

Colorful yet simplistic game design
Lots of different situations
Gets kids talking about difficult situations

Cons:

This game is for kids. I am not sure why they included a section for parents. We did not use it but rather when a kid landed on red, I list them choose which card they wanted.

Suggestions:

When the child picks a game piece encourage them to pick a piece that they will have to answer all the cards with. For example if a child chooses trust, each card drawn has to be answered how a trusted person would handle this situation. It may take longer to play, but the kids will really learn each skill fluently.
For kids who have been playing this game a long time, have them take turns making up the situations. For example if they land on blue, let them tell a difficult situation they had in school. It is up to the other child to talk about how he would handle the situation. You are basically having a group session in which every child can learn from the other without realizing it.

Bottom Line:

Wow. Abundant Harvest Conversational Board Game for Kids is a really deep game that helps kids talk and learn about various situations. Playing the basic game is fun but ones kids really learn and see what is offered, they can take this game to a whole new level. I have not only played this game, but I have shown it to a behavior therapist who was blown away. I will be suing this both at home as well as in social settings.

What situation can you think of that can be used as a great discussion for this game?

I will start:

When a child spills a glass of milk on you during lunchtime in school. What would you do?

I would quietly get up and clean off the milk to the best of my abilities.

For more information feel free to visit Harvest Time Partners:

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Socialization is something we can all benefit from. Abundant Harvest Conversational Board Game for Kids is giving away a copy of their game to make conversations fun for kids. That is not all. The first 10 entrees are free to help out.

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Human body organs