Christmas-Themed Math Activities

We’ve been doing some fun activities this first week of Advent and I thought I’d share a couple of them with you now in a bit more detail.  You’ll also see them in the weekly Tot School post.

We did a great clothespin counting activity.  I found these cute Christmas tags and ribbon at the Target dollar spot.  I wrote a number from 1 to 10 on the tags, then attached a length of ribbon to each one with a stapler.  I put some foam Christmas stickers on clothespins (you’ll need 55 clothespins total) and M clipped them to the ribbons, counting up to the number on each tag as he did so.  This great idea came from here, where it was done with an autumn theme.    He really stuck with this and did all 10 tags!  Why I don’t have a picture of that, I’m just not sure. :)  Crazy mommy-brain.

 

Next, a fun patterning activity with clothespins (again!) and cardstock Christmas lights.  I made a pattern, then traced it onto red, green, blue, and yellow cardstock.  I cut out the lights then added detail with a black marker. 

M and I strung the lights up on some yarn which was tacked into his flannel board, which is just flannel on a foam core board and comes in handy for things like this.

There are no action shots because we took turns holding the Christmas light and yarn together while the other person clipped on the clothespins.  M is really into patterns now that he’s got it all figured out.  He told me, “they’re taking turns!”  Um, why didn’t I think of that?  Weeks of trying to figure out how to help him understand patterns… I could’ve used that idea! 

We did a simple ABAB pattern as you can see.  I’m going to do this with him again next week and see how he does with an ABCABC pattern – I’m running with the taking turns idea.  I’m not sure if an AABB pattern would make sense at this point. 

Both of these activities were really enjoyed by M and I love that he was honing those fine-motor skills as well as learning a little math!

Have a beautiful day! :)

The Minds of Boys – continued…

{parts 1 and 2 can be found here and here}

I have finally finished the book I’ve been reading and blogging about – The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life, by Michael Gurian.  (Seriously, what happened to the days when I could finish a book like this in a week?  This took me over a month!)

More bullet points of things I want to remember from this book…

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  The brain needs the complex interaction of all 5 senses in order to grow its tissue fully.  Because of this, screen time, especially in early childhood, can be detrimental to brain development, even if the child is watching “educational” shows. (p. 112)

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  “for every hour of television watched per day, the incidence of ADD and ADHD increased by 10 percent.” – from research in 2004 by a brain researcher at Children’s Hospital in Seattle – Dr. Dimitri Christakis. (p. 112)

• 
  
  Water is important to the brain.  Being thirsty causes problems for learning because it increases cortisol levels, creating stress.  The cortisol can make it difficult for the brain to give attention to learning tasks.  Juice and other drinks are not enough; within 5 minutes of drinking plain water cortisol levels can decrease. (p. 119)

• 
  
  A lot of carbohydrates in breakfast can make a brain “groggy”.  Protein helps keep the brain in a state of alertness. (p. 120)

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  The male brain develops  many learning functions later than the female brain.  Therefore more boys experience stress and pressure to mature more quickly, as well as  failure in school at an early age.  This can label them as “difficult”, “learning-disabled”, or “a discipline problem” for their entire school career.  Personal failure as a 3 to 5 year old can lead to an undermotivated boy in later school years. (p. 246)

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  Music and music classes help “wake up the brain” and having a music time prior to lessons may help with learning. (p. 273)

This was a very enlightening and interesting book.  I did find that the author did not seem to encourage homeschooling as much as I had hoped.  He referred to it as more of a last-resort if traditional schooling just isn’t *working* for a particular boy.

I found all the brain research and the differences between the brains of boys and girls fascinating. 

This book definitely helped me come up with some new ideas for how to plan my time at home with M.   We’ll be incorporating more breaks into our “school” time together; I’ll be trying to find more creative and active ways to engage him; at this age self-esteem and a sense of confidence are what I’ll try to instill in him most, as well as a secure attachment to those who are here to support and love him; we’ll also be concentrating on having more FUN and developing a joyful enthusiasm for learning; more music will be coming up too!  In addition, I’ll be more careful about what he’s eating for breakfast and making sure he drinks plenty of water during the day.   This will be hard for my sugar-loving, meat-hating child, but we will take it all in baby-steps. ;)

Have a beautiful day and make sure your kids do too! :)