The kindergarten students have fully embraced the collaborative time they have when we combine both classes for math. The students have opportunities to interact with their kindergarten peers that include problem solving, taking turns, listening and speaking while others share their ideas, and experimenting with possible solutions. Recently, after reading a kindergarten favorite, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams, the students partnered up to create their very own scary, silly or funny scarecrow pumpkin head, inspired by the ending of the story.
Using a pair of dice, a a blank piece of paper, a key to parts of the scarecrow head, and a lot of teamwork and imagination, the partners got to work. The pairs had to decide how they were going to proceed:
- who would roll the dice
- who would add the numbers together
- who would decipher and "read" the key
- who was drawing the body part
- would the partners change roles as the activity progressed
It was exciting to see the students joyfully engaged in an activity that extended a favorite story book, while also allowing them to practice adding numbers from 2 to 12, and working with partner. The key provided the framework for what to draw (an eye, a mouth, an accessory) after adding the dice together but the collaborative imagination and artistic skills merged to create something with friends that was truly unique for each partner pairing.
Here are just two of the scarecrow pumpkin heads that were created during our group math experience. Be sure to ask your kindergartner about the scarecrow head they created with a friend!
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