The North Star Community Edition
Faith North Montessori and Faith North Montessori at Shaw
602-257-3914
Calendar of Events for week of
December 6-10
Monday, December 6
Driedle presentations for Primary students at North in the PM
Tuesday, December 7
Driedle presentations for Primary students at Shaw in the PM
Wednesday, December 8
Thursday, December 9
Friday, December 10
After school classes end
Our mission is to provide a solid academic foundation employing the philosophy of Maria Montessori within a loving, respectful and supportive community.
Through Cosmic Education we give the child a vision of the whole universe
All children experience maximum learning potential or windows of optimum learning at various times
All children are motivated to learn, multiple and divergent intelligences are honored and recognized
The celebration and respect of diversity is critical
The child’s hand is his teacher—experiential learning is essential to internalization
The prepared environment is a student centered, learner-centered environment
Self-discipline is achieved through natural consequences and peace education
The dignity of labor and purposeful movement is vital and encouraged
Hello Faith North Community,
The children very much enjoyed a field trip to the Phoenix Symphony for a holiday concert this morning. Thanks to all of the parents that helped make the trip a safe and happy one for all of the children.
We had a very informative presentation at our Site Council meeting this week on ways to help your children with mathematics at home. A big thank you to Kim Hertzog, Montessori parent and Director of General Studies and PEER for PESD for her work with us. I have copied some of the ideas below. These types of everyday math expand thinking and help create a flexible mathematical mind. I hope you will try a few favorites with your children.
Making the Weekly Grocery List (Organization)
Directions: Have your child create the grocery list. They should organize it in a way that will be user friendly, can easily keep track of how many items are needed, etc.
How Much Do We Need? (Estimation, Computation)
Directions: Involve your child in deciding how much is needed. “How much milk do we need for a week? How many loaves of bread do we need to make “x” number of sandwiches? How much lunch meat do we need if each sandwich takes “x” number of slices?”
Weighing In (Weight, Unit Price, Computation)
Directions: Gather the produce you are purchasing. Have your child estimate the weight of each item. “How much do you think these 6 apples weigh?” Have them weigh the objects and compare the measured amount to the estimate. Use this as an opportunity to discuss weights between weights that result in fractional amounts. Also compare size and quantity to weight (3 apples weigh more than 3 carrots).
NOTE: Estimation is sometimes difficult for students as they have no frame of reference. You might want to weigh one or two of the objects and use that as a benchmark to determine the total. Example: I am buying 6 potatoes and 2 of them weigh one pound so all they will all weigh about 3 pounds because there are three 2s in 6.
Extension: Have your child mentally estimate the total cost based on the cost per pound and explain their reasoning (one pound of potatoes cost $1.29 so three pounds will be about $4.00 because $1.30 + $1.30 and $1.30 are $3.90).
Shape Hunt (Sensorial, Shape Recognition, Decomposition of Shape)
Directions: Have your child provide the name for different 3D shaped containers. Afterwards, have them name the parts that make up that shape (an oatmeal container is a cylinder and is made up of 1 rectangle and 2 circles).
The Final Bill (Estimation, Computation)
Directions: Have your child estimate the total grocery bill. To do this, they may need to keep a running total. Compare the estimated amount to the actual amount.
What Might I Have? (Coin Value, Equivalency, Logic, Reasoning)
Directions: Decide on a monetary amount and have your student tell which dollar/coin combinations you might have that totals that amount. “I have $.32. What might I have?” (3 dimes, 2 pennies; 32 pennies; 1 quarter, 1 nickel, 2 pennies)
Extension: Cut out coupons. Have your child make that amount or have them tell you the amount using coins. “A coupon worth $.40 is 4 dimes or 1 quarter, 1 dime and 1 nickel.”
Extension: Designate both the total amount and the number of coins. “I have $.27 and 3 coins. What do I have?” (1 quarter and 2 pennies)
Money Match (Equivalency)
Materials: One die, coins (10 pennies, 10 nickels, 10 dimes, 6 quarters)
Directions: Decide who will go first. The first player rolls the die and makes that amount using pennies; the second person does the same. The play continues however players must trade their pennies for other coin equivalencies whenever possible. The winner is the first to reach a designated amount
Where is the Best Savings? (Comparing)
Materials: Grocery store ads from different grocery stores
Directions: Provide your child with grocery store ads from different stores. Compare the prices at different stores to determine which is the better buy and why.
What’s for Dinner? (Computation, Organization)
Materials: Grocery section from the paper; dinner menu; designated budget
Directions: Provide your child with the grocery section in order to make up a list of food that will feed the family for a week and meet a budget of “$x”. Have them make a chart to figure out the cost of more than one item. Discuss what happens if the amount is greater than the budget.
Fraction of the Cost (Fractions, Percents)
Materials: Grocery section from the paper listing sales price and regular price
Directions: Give your child the regular price and the sales price of an item. Have them determine the fraction of the cost (if the regular price is $2.50 and the coupon is $.40 and that is close to 1/5 or 20% of the original cost).
Wish List (Estimation, Computation)
Materials: Toy or clothes catalogs
Directions: Pick a spending limit for your child’s wish list. The limit need not be realistic, since this is just a wish list. Provide a catalog or advertising for your child to look through and suggest making a wish list. “Let’s pretend we could get some things from this catalog. What would you get if you had $100 to spend?” Explain that your child can’t go over the spending limit, although it’s OK to spend a little less. Have your record items and prices and keep track of their total. Encourage the use of rounding as a means to make the task more efficient.
What Might I Have? (Coin Value, Equivalency, Logic, Reasoning)
Directions: Decide on a monetary amount and have your student tell which dollar/coin combinations you might have that totals that amount. “I have $.32. What might I have?” (3 dimes, 2 pennies; 32 pennies; 1 quarter, 1 nickel, 2 pennies)
Extension: Cut out coupons. Have your child make that amount or have them tell you the amount using coins. “A coupon worth $.40 is 4 dimes or 1 quarter, 1 dime and 1 nickel.”
Extension: Designate both the total amount and the number of coins. “I have $.27 and 3 coins. What do I have?” (1 quarter and 2 pennies)
Money Match (Equivalency)
Materials: One die, coins (10 pennies, 10 nickels, 10 dimes, 6 quarters)
Directions: Decide who will go first. The first player rolls the die and makes that amount using pennies; the second person does the same. The play continues however players must trade their pennies for other coin equivalencies whenever possible. The winner is the first to reach a designated amount
Where is the Best Savings? (Comparing)
Materials: Grocery store ads from different grocery stores
Directions: Provide your child with grocery store ads from different stores. Compare the prices at different stores to determine which is the better buy and why.
What’s for Dinner? (Computation, Organization)
Materials: Grocery section from the paper; dinner menu; designated budget
Directions: Provide your child with the grocery section in order to make up a list of food that will feed the family for a week and meet a budget of “$x”. Have them make a chart to figure out the cost of more than one item. Discuss what happens if the amount is greater than the budget.
Fraction of the Cost (Fractions, Percents)
Materials: Grocery section from the paper listing sales price and regular price
Directions: Give your child the regular price and the sales price of an item. Have them determine the fraction of the cost (if the regular price is $2.50 and the coupon is $.40 and that is close to 1/5 or 20% of the original cost).
Wish List (Estimation, Computation)
Materials: Toy or clothes catalogs
Directions: Pick a spending limit for your child’s wish list. The limit need not be realistic, since this is just a wish list. Provide a catalog or advertising for your child to look through and suggest making a wish list. “Let’s pretend we could get some things from this catalog. What would you get if you had $100 to spend?” Explain that your child can’t go over the spending limit, although it’s OK to spend a little less. Have your record items and prices and keep track of their total. Encourage the use of rounding as a means to make the task more efficient.
More or Less War (Greater than, Less than, Equal to)
Materials: Deck of cards
Directions: Decide who will go first. Each player turns over one card at the same time and compares the amount. They should state, “Which is more or less? How many more? How many less?” The player with the largest card takes the pile.
Today’s Number (Computation)
Directions: Pick a number. “Let’s all try to come up with different ways to make 11. Here’s one way:
8 + 2 + 1 = 11. Can you find a different way?” Have students write as many equations as they can to make that number.
How Many Numbers Can You Make? (Computation, Order of Operations)
Materials: Deck of cards
Directions: Deal out 4 cards to each player. Using all four cards and a choice of any operation(s); make as many different answers as you can in 5 minutes. Example: If the numbers are 4, 8, 9 and 2, what numbers can be made? (4 + 9 + 8 + 2 = 23; 4 + 9 – (8 + 2) = 3; (9 – 8) x (4 – 2) = 2)
Make 100 (Computation, Place Value)
Materials: Cards with numbers 1 - 9
Directions: Each player chooses 6 cards from the deck. Using 4 of the cards make two, 2-digit numbers whose sum is closest to 100. Example: If the numbers are 1, 4, 5, 2, 3 and 3: 53 and 42 is 95 which is 5 away from 100.
Numbers in the Newspaper (Number Recognition)
Materials: Newspapers
Directions: Have your child look for the numbers 1-100 in the newspaper and make a book.
Newspaper Scavenger Hunt
Materials: Newspapers
Directions: Have your child look for different things in the paper such as: a graph; a triangle; a percent sign; something measured in inches, feet or yards; something that comes in 2s, 3s or 4s; a number larger than “x”, etc.
Numbers on a Roundtrip (Number Recognition)
Directions: Have your child make a list of numbers 1 – 50. As they are driving in the car or out and about, have them look for and record where they found each number.
How Long? How Far? (Elapsed Time)
Directions: Tell your child when you need to be at a destination and have them figure out what time they need to start getting ready. “We need to be at the party at 3:30. It will take us 30 minutes to get there. You still need to clean your room, shower and get dressed. What time do we need to leave? What time do you need to start getting ready?”
License Plate Fun (Naming Numbers, Estimation, Computation)
Directions: Have your child read the number on the license plate, excluding any numbers. Example: EA4235 would be “four thousand, three hundred twenty five”. You can compare the amounts on other license plates to the amount on yours using words such as greater than, less than and equal to. You can also estimate the difference between plates using increments of 10, 100, 1,000 or 10,000.
Directions: On a road trip or for a designated distance, keep track of the states found on different license plates. Graph the results.
Directions: Add the numbers on a license plate (EA4235 would be 14) or find different amounts. Example: Can you make a 1 using two different numbers? (Yes, 5 – 4 = 1)
Guess My Number (Logic, Reasoning, Vocabulary)
Directions: Choose a number. Have your child ask questions to find your number. Encourage the use of precise mathematics vocabulary when possible. I am thinking of a number between 0 and 100. Is it greater than 50? No (number is between 0-50). Is it greater than 30? Yes (number is 31-50). Is it even? Yes (number is 32, 34, 36…50). Is it a square number? Yes (answer is 36).
Clean Up, Clean Up (Estimation, Counting)
Directions: Choose something your child can count and put away, such as crayons scattered on a table or toys on the floor. Ask your child to make an estimate the number of items to be picked up. “About how many things are we looking at here? About 10? About 50? Closer to 100 or 1000?” Have your child count each item that they put away. Part way through clean up, give your child a chance to revise the original estimate. “You predicted that there were about 1000 books on the floor. So far, you put away 29, and there are just a few left. Do you still think there are about 1000? Do you want to change your prediction?” If they are counting a large number of objects, have them group them (2s, 5s, 10s) to make counting easier.
What’s Fair? (Division, Fractions)
Directions: Put the food or objects to be shared on a plate so everyone can see it. If there are more than a few items, ask your children to make an estimate. “About how many cherries do you think we have? Let’s count and see.” Have them determine how they would share the items so that it is fair. There are 17 cherries and 3 of us. How many cherries should we give each person?” If there are any extras, discuss what to do with them. If it makes sense to divide the extras into equal parts, you can do this as a way to bring up fractions. No one wants to divide the extra cherry into three equal parts, but you could easily divide other kinds of foods.
Junk Mail? (Counting, Sorting, Data Collection and Analysis)
Directions: Set the stage for the project by sorting today’s mail and talking about junk mail (decide what will count as junk mail). “Let’s sort today’s mail. We’ll put regular mail in one pile, junk mail in another. How much mail do you think we throw out every week without even reading it?” Encourage your children to make some predictions. Every day for a week, have your child help sort the mail into two piles: junk mail and regular mail. After counting the number of pieces in each pile, have them record the date, how much regular mail, how much junk mail, and the day’s total. When they’re done, add the junk mail to the junk mail pile for the week. Have them record their data with a chart, graph, tally, or some other way. Throughout the week, ask questions about the data that has been collected. “Is there more junk mail or regular mail today? How much more? “How much junk mail did we get so far this week? Did we get more junk mail or regular mail so far? How many pieces of mail did we get in all today? How many so far this week? If we get the same amount of junk mail each week, how much will we have in a month? A year? What fraction of the mail is junk mail? Is it more than half?”
All the best!
Susan Engdall
Principal
