Why Are We Playing With Rocks?

The Rivers Class are working on beginning math skills by sorting, classifying, and counting our rock collection. 

Children who have a lot of experience observing how things are alike and different do well with math skills and problem-solving later in their schooling careers. As we begin sorting with simple objects, children learn to apply rules of logic. They consider which objects fit into each set and why other objects do not.

Last week we took a closer look at some of the rocks in our classroom collection. The children worked in small groups to sort the rocks into two groups, rocks that were DARK and rocks that were NOT DARK (light).

Sometimes a rock confused us and we had to make a hard decision.

We sorted by size, BIG and NOT BIG (small, little).

We sorted by texture, SMOOTH and NOT SMOOTH (bumpy, rough, jagged).

We also played a "Grab and Count" game with rocks. The children play one version by reaching into the container to grab a handful of items and then counting the rocks that s/he has grabbed.

Children are working toward mastery of a math concept known as one-to-one correspondence. Many children can accurately recite number sequence (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). We work on remembering this sequence of numerals in our songs and rhymes and chants. The skill of one-to-one correspondence, however, focuses on understanding that when you are counting a set of objects, each number name corresponds to one object.

This week we began attempts to record our work by drawing a set of rocks. Making symbols to record events and ideas is the beginning of writing. These activities stretch the emerging academic skills of the children.

In The Nest we usually work with small numbers but sometimes an event prompts us to count higher. When every child is here at school we number 9.

At home, I wonder if your child sorts their toys by size, shape or color. Clean-up time helps children sort toys by uses--art materials can have one storage place, trains go in their box, dolls in a different box. Socks can be sorted by color and matched up into two's.