Tag Archives: 5 years old

How Many? – A book and a math adventure

Posted on July 27, 2018 by aofradkin

It was a rainy day in the middle of summer vacation. Ben and Zoe (6 and 5 yo) were home together because they were too young to join their older siblings on their adventure. They were a little sad and … Continue reading →

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Naming Numbers at Bedtime

Posted on April 16, 2018 by aofradkin

Setting: I am putting Zoe (5 yo) to bed. Z: Mom, what comes after one hundred? Me: One hundred and one. Z: No, I mean when you’re counting by tens. Me: One hundred and ten. Z: But then what comes … Continue reading →

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The mathematical boundary between a joke and a lie

Posted on January 15, 2018 by aofradkin

Like all siblings, my children occasionally quarrel. I generally try not to get involved unless it gets loud or one of them complains to me. Sometimes, however, I hear something that amuses me and I tune in or even join … Continue reading →

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Counting beads

Posted on November 3, 2017 by aofradkin

Translated from this post by Jane Kats. Recently, at our math lessons with 5-6 year olds, we were … threading beads. Actually, we were making very simple abacuses. We were putting 5 light beads and 5 dark beads on a … Continue reading →

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Time, symmetry, and unexpected turns

Posted on March 16, 2017 by aofradkin

This is a story of how a kindergarten lesson on telling time turned into a lesson on symmetry.  It all started with a fun, colorful clock, with numbers 1 through 12 made out of shapes (some related to the number, … Continue reading →

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Functions in Kindergarten – A favorite

Posted on January 6, 2017 by aofradkin

A few weeks ago I did a series of lessons with the kindergartners about one of my favorite topics to do with this age group: functions!  I recall being quite surprised when I introduced the concept to my daughter when … Continue reading →

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As many opinions as there are shapes: fun with “Which one doesn’t belong – A shapes book”

Posted on October 7, 2016 by aofradkin

Last week, the main theme of both my Kindergarten and my second grade math classes was geometry.  We did a number of activities that explored various shapes and their properties, but the biggest hit in both classes was Which one … Continue reading →

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Kids are like marbles

Posted on September 18, 2016 by aofradkin

In addition to teaching Kindergarten, 2nd grade, and partially 3rd-4th grades at the Main Line Classical Academy, I am also continuing to teach enrichment math at the Golden Key Russian School.  There, I have two groups of Kindergartners, one group … Continue reading →

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Who’s the Oldest: Conversation with Kindergartners

Posted on September 16, 2016 by aofradkin

Yesterday, I overheard a wonderful conversation between our Kindergarten teacher and the Kindergartners.  The kids needed to line up to exit the classroom and the teacher told them to line up by age, oldest to youngest.  Immediately, one of the … Continue reading →

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Story Math in Kindergarten: Two of Everything

Posted on September 13, 2016 by aofradkin

Friday is story day in our Kindergarten math class.  For our first book we read Two of Everything, a Chinese folktale.  We then had a wonderful discussion and the kids asked some very insightful questions. Here is a brief synopsis of … Continue reading →

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