First Grade Mathematicians
Math this week was SUPER fun!! We started to wrap-up our unit on 2D and 3D shapes. We took our test on Friday and the kiddos did a great job! This week we talked about 3D shapes and Symmetry. To practice everything we have learned, I challenged the kiddos to use marshmallows and toothpicks to create 3D shapes. They were super focused and had A LOT of fun with this activity. Check out the pictures. I love the pride you can see in their faces!

To practice Symmetry, we did a few different things. First we took a piece of paper, folded it and cut it out to make a heart. This was tough, but with a little motivation and help, they were all able to complete the activity! Then, I asked them to color the heart so that each side was symmetrical. This was even tougher, but these kiddos persevered to create some of the coolest looking hearts I've ever seen! One kiddo made his into a doughnut, some students wrote their names forwards and then backwards for the sides to be symmetrical, and there were many rainbows to be found! I hung the hearts up above their lockers. Here are the pictures:

Next, we used paint to practice symmetry. Our middle school mentors helped us with this project by guiding the students through the painting piece, while I hung the artwork and monitored the rest of the room. This was SO fun and I can't wait to do it every year. We gave each student a piece of paper and asked them to write their names on it. Then, they painted over their writing on one side and folded the paper. When they reopened the papers, the results were awesome!! I was only able to snap photos of one group painting, but I have pictures of the end result hanging in our room!

I hope everyone has a restful weekend. Stay dry!

(Messy) Hands-on Math!

Shaving Cream Shapes

On Friday, we had some messy fun while reviewing our 2D shapes. The following is a list of shapes we have been working on in our classroom: circle, triangle, rectangle, square, trapezoid, pentagon, octagon, and rhombus. Just about every kiddo has mastered identifying the shape by seeing it AND it's attributes (sides, corners, angles). I especially love asking them if a circle is a polygon. Try it and see how focused they've been on learning their shapes!!

We had SO much fun with this activity, but the clean-up part was not so fun (haha!)

This upcoming week we will start talking about 3D shapes. We will be creating 3D shapes using marshmallows and toothpicks by the end of the week. I will be sure to snap some photos of that activity and post them here! :)