Math Storytelling

Sorry for the horribly blurry picture.  That's what you get when you don't tote the fancy camera to school every day.  

Story telling is a big part of our lives in Kindergarten.  We are working to develop our oral language every single day, and it's not just in literacy.  We are also working to develop our oral language in math.  Over the past few weeks, we have been telling math stories.  The math stories "sound like stories" but they also focus on numbers and addition.  

In this story, 4 little bears were driving down the road when they noticed that two of their bear friends needed a ride.  The four bears driving, plus the two bears being picked up, make 6 bears in the car.  This is a very simple activity parents can encourage their kids to do at home.  Cheerios are great manipulatives to use as counters.  Have your child pick a number (5, 6, or 7 would be a good start) and then tell stories that include number partners.  I always have kids finish up with telling the number number partners and how many they equal altogether.  It's a great way to combine literacy and math!

Happy counting and story telling!