The number game

We recently read the book titled, “One” by Kathryn Otoshi and then followed up our book by playing a simple number game…

The book titled “One” by Kathryn Otoshi can be described in two very different ways…

On one hand, this book definitely opens up the discussion of bullying and the importance of being kind to one another. In the book, the red dot bullies all the other colorful dots until the gray number 1 stands up to the red dot.  Eventually, all the dots turn into numbers and the mean red dot decides it would be more fun to get along with the others and be a friend and so he joins in as a number too…

On the other hand, this book is also filled with a wonderful way to explore colors and numbers which is what I chose to expand on in our centers. To be honest with you, this book takes such a direct look at bullying, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it but only because my students are so kind to each other that we really didn’t need a lesson on bullying but I decided that we could still briefly touch on the topic of kindness and then move on to our discussion of numbers and our number game…

For our number game, Mrs. Courtney prepared a large number on construction paper for each child to hold.  The numbers were mixed up then randomly handed out to the children….

I would say something like, “Hmmm, I wonder which number should come first?” The children shouted out the number that should be first then number 1 came and stood in front of the others.  We kept going until all of our numbers had been shourted out and all the children were standing up front in numerical order…

Next we played, mixed up numbers.  Each child had to go and find another child to stand beside.  After everyone found a partner, they held their numbers up together so we could guess what the two numbers would be when they were put side by side. For example, in the photo below, these children made the numbers 57 and 63…

When it comes to double digit numbers, most of the children do not know what the names of the numbers are but it didn’t matter because the children enjoyed finding a  partner then having me say the new number they made out loud.  This was a fun way to introduce the names and concept of double digit numbers to the children…

After we played our number game, each child took their number and decorated it with some colorful dots (just like the colorful dots in our book)…

Some of the children used ink pads and their fingers to make dots on their numbers…

And some of the children preferred using their entire hand to make prints on their numbers…

Once all the children completed their numbers, we displayed their beautifully designed numbers on our wall…

By the way, we used Colorations Washable Stamp pads for our finger and hand prints so all the ink came off our hands and off of our table without a problem…

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Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

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