HeliumMath games for the elementary school classroom

******************************************************************************Kathy's websites:
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WRITING PROJECTS

Concrete Poetry Projects by Sharon Blumberg

With a Concrete Poetry Project, the selected word could be illustrated into the concept that it signifies. For example, the word fire in Spanish – fuego – could be illustrated with flaming letters of orange, yellow and red, surrounding the letters in the words. So the word fire would appear as if it were on fire. Young adults enjoy creating these artsy projects because they can symbolize things that are meaningful and personal to them. They can also utilize their creative talents. Students enjoy working on these projects either alone or in small groups. As they work among their classmates, they talk, unwind, and express their unique or common interests. For example, the word for friends in Spanish is AMIGOS. I remember a small group of friends taping silly pictures together and displaying them along a sheet of construction paper or poster board.

At the end of the school year when I ask, “Who would like to have their projects laminated?” students say, “I do!” Then, when the projects are no longer displayed along the classroom walls, students make sure they take their projects home. They enjoy owning these projects as keepsakes because of the social nature of creating them. There is a personal connection to the assignment when friends are dancing, jumping in the air, or making silly faces together.

Another related project that I enjoy having my homeroom students work on in the beginning of the school year, is what I refer to as Name Bubbles. This is a wonderful idea that I borrowed from one of my colleagues.

Name Bubbles

Name Bubbles are creative projects in which students write out the letters of their names or nicknames to encase a theme. For example, let’s take the name Ali. Within the A, students could write about their favorite vacations. Within the L, students could write about their favorite movies, and within the letter I, students could list their favorite books to read. The students have the choice to make up their own themes, use whatever name – first, last, or nickname – that they desire. Some students even ask if they can stand up in front of the class and talk about their name bubbles, while explaining what each letter stands for. What I love about students creating Name Bubbles is that the theme categories they select from are endless, and the projects make beautiful student work displays.

Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
http://kathystemke.weebly.com

FUN WINTER SONGS!

The Winter Song
(tune: Farmer in the Dell)

Let's sing a winter song,
Let's sing a winter song,
The days are short, the nights are long.
Let's sing a winter song.
The winter wind is cold,
The winter wind is cold,
It freezes noses, ears, and toes.
The winter wind is cold.
Winter now is here,
Winter now is here,
Put on your coat, your hat, your gloves, Winter now is here.

Dress Warm Poem

The day is cloudy and the wind is bold.
Dress up warmly, you mustn't get cold!

Put on your coat and zip it up tight,
put on your left boot, put on your right.

Put on your scarf and put on your hat,
put on your mittens and clap-clap-clap!

Go outside and play and play.
Come in again, and then we'll say-

Take off your coat that was zipped up tight,
take off your left boot, take off your right.

Take off your scarf, take off your hat,
take off your mittens, and then take a nap!

Ten Little Snowballs

Snow fell last night and it fell so hard,
when I looked out my window, it covered up my yard.

I made 10 little snowballs and I put them in a line.
One fell off the wall, and then there were 9.

9 little snowballs, I put them on the gate.
1 fell off and then there were 8.

8 little snowballs, I hit 1 up towards heaven.
It came down splat! and then there were 7.

7 little snowballs, I hit 1 with a stick.
It broke in little pieces and then there were 6.

6 little snowballs, all lined up side by side.
My dog stole 1 and then there were 5.

5 little snowballs, I took them to the store.
1 fell off my sled, so then there were 4.

4 little snowballs, underneath a tree.
I threw 1 at a monster, then there were 3.

3 little snowballs, I'll share them with you.
You have 1 and I have 2.

2 little snowballs, left out in the sun.
1 melted away and then there was 1.

1 little snowball left all alone.
I'll put it in my pocket and take it home.

Snowman Pokey

Have children make a snowman small enough to glue to an "popsicle" stick or tongue depressor. The snowman will be used as a small puppet to sing the snowman hokey pokey.

Tune of the Hokey Pokey

You put your snowman up, you put your snowman down,

you put your snowman up and you shake him all around.

You do the snowman pokey and you turn your self around, two stomps on the ground.

You put your snowman in front, you put your snowman in back,

you put your snowman in front and you give your knee a whack.

You do the snowman pokey and you turn your self around, two stomps on the ground.

You touch your snowman to your head, you touch your snowman to your toe,

you touch your snowman to your head and you shake his to and fro,

you do the snowman pokey and your turn your self around, two stomps on the ground.

Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
http://kathystemke.weebly.com

THE MANIPULATIVE CENTER

Activities

*Use vocabulary to define quantities and relationships and make comparisons
*Demonstrate concepts such as part and whole by sorting, matching, sequencing and classifying
*Form groups by sorting and matching
*Develop perceptual awareness skills
*Practice counting
*Experience-basic-addition/subtraction concepts
*Discover similarities and differences
*Develop small muscles, grasp and wrist rotation with puzzles and connecting pieces
*Develop three dimensional eye-hand coordination
*Make and repeat simple patterns using objects
*Discover color, shape, line and texture
*Work-on-persistence,-attention-and problem-solving skills

Getting Organized

For children to use puzzles and other small-scale manipulative materials, there needs to be a defined area for their use away from foot traffic. There should be small tables, benches and an open space with a floor mat where individuals or small groups can play games. Many varied and interesting materials can be assembled for use in this area – anything that invites children to construct, fit things together or develop patterns. Shelving at the child’s level, with picture and word labels for containers, will keep the area from becoming messy. Puzzles and manipulatives need to be rotated as children look for the next level of challenge.

Basic Equipment


*Puzzles of varying difficulty and puzzle rack
*Matching games
*Pattern blocks and patterns
*Linking and Lego-type materials
*Beads and string with bead patterns
*Button, zip, lacing and snap boards
*Light table with clear, colorful sorting and
patterning objects
*Counting objects
*Peg and geo boards
*Building sets/Legos
*Simple dominoes and Lotto games

The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery
by Mark Van Doren

"Doing things well with their hands is important for many things children will learn in school. They need to be able to hold pencils and crayons correctly so they can learn to write and do mathematics. Play that involves the use of hands, muscles and eyes helps children develop coordination and problem-solving skills. Puzzles and pegboards give practice coordinating hand-eye movements. Simple number games aid the learning of concepts and functions of numbers. In particular, children this age need a lot of practice in digital dexterity – opening and closing items and using things without dropping, breaking or spilling them. If they can’t use their hands well, they will be afraid to try new things, and trying new things is an important way that children learn."

Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
http://kathystemke.weebly.com

GREAT NEW GAME TO PRACTICE MULTIPLICATION FACTS!

If your child likes games or likes the computer, he/she will love to practice their multiplication facts with this new game. A cute robot mouse takes you into different worlds and over hazards to get to the right multiplication answer.


CLICK ON THIS LINK TO TRY A FREE DEMO!
www.arithmemouse.com?xyz=12

Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
http://kathystemke.weebly.com

S is for Scuba Diving: Movement Exploration

Movement is indicated by bold type. Play a CD of crashing waves as you act out this story. Remember to give the children enough time to explore each movement.

We slip into our swimsuits, slide our sunglasses on, and spray sun block all over our skin. We sail out to sea in our sailboat.

See the seagulls soaring high in the sky. We sling some shrimp for the birds to swallow.

Now we squeeze into our scuba stuff and spring off the ship. We splish and splash on the surface.

We submerge. We search for some shells. Scoop the shells up, and stack them in the sack.

We scout out a deep dark cave. We switch on our lights. We see the seahorses. They’re hungry. We shovel the seaweed to feed them.

Outside the cave we serve the fish some seaweed too. We stroke the fish as they scoot by. We snap lots of pictures.

Oh, no! We spot a shark. We swim and scatter as fast as we can. But the shark keeps steering himself towards us. Everyone stops. We shake and swerve out of his way. We spin around and see a friendly sand shark. He won’t hurt us.

We signal that we are safe and swim back to the ship. We scramble aboard and sit in the hot sun. We shut our eyes and sleep for awhile.

Seat Work

Preparation: Write each S word from the story on index cards. Add some non S words for sorting purposes.

Depending on the age group, you can sort action verbs, s words, or consonant blends.
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THINGS THAT FLY!

How High Can You Fly?

1. Tape a large piece of paper to the wall.
2. Practice jumping and touching the paper with one finger.
3. Put one finger on an ink pad
4. Take turns: jump, touch the paper, mark with ink
5. Measure the height with a ruler

Make paper airplanes with each students name on it. Place a 25 foot measuring tape outside on the playground. Have flying contests and measure how far each plane goes.

Balloon Craft

1. print out the template (click on picture to enlarge)
2. color the balloon
3. take digital pictures of each student in the class
4. cut out and glue students into the box
(tissue box or strawberry carton)
5. tie lengths of ribbon or string to each of the 4 corners of the box
6. glue or tape the other end of the string to the balloon
7. tape a fifth piece of string to the top to hang

Air Balloon Action
(I’m a Little Teapot Tune)

I’m a big bright balloon, way up high,
(from squat, rise up onto your toes)

Gliding on air currents, watch me fly!
(arms out, fly around the room)

When the air is used up, I’ll come down,
(touch the ground)

Swirling and whirling, to the ground!
(turn, spin, and squat)

For a dot-to-dot hot air balloon go to:
http://www.first-school.ws/t/cp_transportation/balloon_trace_c.htm