One of the Diigo groups that I joined is "Kindergarten Cove". I love that there are a variety of subjects, but I don't have to filter through the middle and high school links! Many of the bookmarks seem to catch my eye.
The bookmark, "Count Us In Games" looked like the perfect link after our team conversation with our principal. We had been discussing the Common Core standards for Math. Several of the ideas need to begin changing now. Our current group of kindergarten students will be in second grade and prepping for the standard test in third grade. They will be tested on the new set of standards that were put into place with the belief that they had been taught the previous standards. We will have failed them as educators if we don't present the correct information to them NOW.
The biggest focus of kindergarten seems to be on understanding formations of 10. Can they count to 10? Can they count BY 10's? Are they able to understand 10 frames and how the number 10 can be represented visually? Can they figure out which pairs of numbers total to 10? Although all of these questions are currently answered in our curriculum, the ability to manipulate and play with and feel secure in all of these ways could use some extra practice (especially in HALF day kindergarten)!
I was looking for a fun, interactive game that we could introduce as a whole group and begin to get more and more comfortable with splitting numbers, understanding the pairs that can create each one. This is when I found the bookmark http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/default.htm and instantly tried it in the classroom. The students were thrilled. I plan to play with it again as a whole group and perhaps even add in a little competition. Watch out Common Core standards! We are ready for you!
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