Math Masters Learning Games {GIVEAWAY}

Today's giveaway is geared toward helping your 1st or 2nd grader master the math skills they'll be learning in class. Math Masters Learning Games (from our friends at Lakeshore Learning) make it easy and fun for kids to master math skills while playing colorful board games and using super cute manipulatives.

The first grade games focus on teaching addition, subtraction, time and measurement, while the second grade collection teaches problem solving, money, and fractions.

Girls and boys both need to be strong in math, especially if they grow up with an interest in the STEM fields. Help your child learn that math isn't hard, and can be a lot of fun to learn. Both of my kids are hands-on learners and learn faster and more easily when they have activities that reinforce the concepts I'm trying to teach them. If your kids are the same way, don't miss this great giveaway!

Lakeshore Learning is offering one of these sets to a MommyMaestra reader. 

Enter to win below using the Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tally Sticks...Err, Bones?

Welcome to Week 2 of MommyMaestra's Math Mondays Marathon!

Last week we learned by reading The Secret Life of Math that some of the earliest peoples used tally sticks to keep records. Both sticks and bones were used as tools for counting and keeping track.

I started off our math learning by giving my kids a sheet of paper and some marbles/canicas and stones/piedras. I showed my kindergartner 1st grader how to make tally marks as he counted his stones, and had my 2nd 3rd grader tally the marbles. Making tally marks is a really great way to introduce counting by 5's, which will make multiplying and telling time easier.

To reinforce the concept of tallying, the book offers a craft where kids can create their own tally sticks using real chicken bones that have been cleaned and saved.

Since I didn't really have any real bones for them to use (I kept throwing out the chicken (drumstick) bones by mistake- Oops!), I decided to let my kids make their own using some air-dry clay I picked up at Target. I showed them the picture in the book, then let them have at it! (PS - remember to put down an old tablecloth or the clay may get stuck in places on your table top.)

This is what we ended up with...

Finally, after the bones had dried overnight, I had my kids notch their bones with a plastic knife. They put notches for each group of five stones, another bone with notches for each month so far this year, and another with the number of days we've completed this week.

Have a little fun this week making your own tally sticks bones!

Con mucho cariño...

LEGO® Magazines for Young Minds {GIVEAWAY}

I'm sure you have all figured out by now that we are LEGO® fans. I enjoy the creativity that they inspire in my children, and I like using them as manipulatives to reinforce concepts that I am teaching in math, science, and other subjects.

LEGO® publishes two magazines: Club and Club Jr. (school editions). In their magazines, you can find puzzles, comics, building ideas, fun contests, and other activities. This latest issue of Club magazine features Ancient Egypt and includes facts about the pyramids, mummies, and myths and legends. You can visit their website at http://www.legoclub.com/ and discover more building ideas, games, and other activities. You can also subscribe to their free magazines.

But because I happen to have a few extra copies of their LEGO® Club magazines that I'd like to share with you, I am going to giveaway a set of both magazines to four (4) Mommy Maestra readers. If you have children who enjoy playing with Legos, and would like to see some samples of their magazines before you subscribe, then this giveaway is for you!


THE GIVEAWAY:

• To enter for your chance to win a set of LEGO® Club magazines, simply leave a comment below.

The deadline to enter is Monday, February 28th Tuesday, March 1st at 11:59 EST. Four winners will be chosen using Random.org. and notified via email next Tuesday, March 1st! (So be sure to leave your email addy in the comment.)

For an additional chance to win, you can follow us on our Facebook page. Don't forget to let us know by posting a separate comment for each entry!

¡Buena suerte!

Math Manipulative: Bean Counters {TUTORIAL}

It is so nice to be back on a schedule finally. While vacations are times to relax and enjoy, there still is a certain amount of stress involved in the planning, and there usually is (to some degree) a chaotic element to them. I think that this time, even my kids were happy to be back on a routine. My daughter even asked to do school this weekend!

So one of the activities we decided to do was make bean counters to help her as she began learning about number placement. Here's a quick and simple activity that most children can do on their own with minimal parental involvement...

Materials:

Beans (we used lima beans!)

Wood sticks/tongue depressors

Glue

1) Primero, gather your supplies...



2) Then you lay down a bead of glue on a stick.

3) Count out ten (10) beans.

4) Carefully attach the beans to the stick, and allow to dry.

5) Repeat steps 2 through 4, nine more times until you have ten (10) sticks each with ten (10) beans.

6) For learning time, count out nine (9) loose beans so that your child can learn to count the higher numbers.

Con mucho cariño...