A Whole Lot of Counting Going On

And measuring and estimating and adding and multiplying and spotting shapes! On Thursday we had Math Day in Lower School. The morning was devoted to a variety of math activities. Each student got to choose 3 activities in which to participate, everything from Math Basketball and Math Baseball to Tangrams to Brain Teasers to Math Games. I offered a Math Scavenger Hunt. Students were challenged to count and measure various things on the playground and in the class. Some of the things they counted generated numbers to add and multiply. There were jars of items for estimation and counting. They looked for where they could find different geometric shapes on the playground and made a face with shapes. Fortunately the threatening clouds held off with their rain until afternoon, so students could measure the alligator sculpture in the Dragon Garden and do the other outside tasks. It was a great way to celebrate Math.

Turtle Explorations

We have been learning about a simple computer programming language called Logo that was developed at MIT as an educational aid for children. In Logo the cursor is a “turtle” who moves across the screen creating graphics based on the commands given by the children. We have learned some basic Logo commands, and students are beginning to write out programs (a series of commands) which they can then type into the computer to see the results. This project has generated a great deal of excitement in our group. It has also been our first time to use the new mobile laptop lab which has added to the excitement.