Math–Coloring hundreds charts

I've balked a bit in the face of math. I've talked before about our general philosophy of learning, and while I really can't call us unschoolers, we lean heavily in that direction and only my need to quantify and commemorate keeps me from going entirely that route. Well, probably that and fear. Every part of me believes that children are capable of learning for themselves, but a lifetime of conditioning is difficult to shake, and I spent a year in UofM's school of education learning how difficult it really is to teach. Maybe, but it really isn't hard to learn. See, the person who needs to be un-schooled is me. So I fight a daily battle between following and leading the learning cycle, and sometimes striking what I hope is a good balance. For instance, I don't believe Calvin needs to be taught math. I honestly believe that it will be picked up at the right time and during or for the right activity, but if that's true, then exposure, as long as it isn't off-putting, is okay, right? Calvin actually gets a lot of math. We measure when we cook, he counts when he plays music, and he's entirely responsible for his dice play when we get out a board game. A few weeks ago, though, I saw someone playing games with a hundreds chart and thought, hey, that's not such a bad idea, so I printed one. It was pretty helpful when we were counting horse power by fives in Katy and the Big Snow, and again when counting car speeds by tens for The Two Cars, but that was pretty bland.

So now we're coloring by numbers. I plan a picture and guide him through the chart, having him find a number or pick a number and color it accordingly. And I have him move from one number to the next with directions for adding or subtracting so many, sometimes by tens. It's a fun game, actually. We most often take one with us to the library because when he can't help me sort, I can still call off numbers, clues, and colors while I do. 

He spends a lot of time trying to figure out what the picture will finally be. Sometimes, much to my chagrin, he's still trying to figure that out long after all the squares are colored in.

Comments

[Meagan]

Excellent post! My daughters kindergarten teacher recommended I do the 100's chart pictures with her at home. Thanks so much for the pictures!! I think I'll use a couple of your images to get us started. You have given me a creative jump start! Thanks again!!