Measuring Up Some Fun!

Hey Ya'll!  It's Karen from An Apple a Day in First Grade.  I'm really enjoying my summer. Are you?  I can't help thinking about this time last week though.  The family and I were on a cruise in the Bahamas.  It was beautiful!  And we were spoiled greatly.  Didn't have to cook, clean, pick up dirty towels.  A true vacation indeed.  There was a coffee shop on board our cruise ship that sold Starbucks.  Yes, Starbucks!  We purchased 2 beverage packages to share and Starbucks was included in it.  Ya'll, I got my fix every single day, several times a day!  My oldest daughter got in on the deal as well.  Do you know how hard it is to go from that to absolutely NOTHING?!  Cruel.  Unfair.  Disappointing.  Back to Reality.

 

Back to reality indeed.  I finally mustered the courage to look at the calendar to see how many weeks I had left till I had to go back.  3.  Three little weeks left.  And we all know how fast they will go by!  So in thinking about this fresh new year, I want to share with you a quick, easy to prepare, and engaging math activity that your kiddos will absolutely love.  This past year we introduced measurement at the end of the year.  Measurement is one of those skills that you've just got to roll your sleeves up and dig in with.  It's truly hands on.  Now I don't know how your students were at the end of the year, but mine were squirmy indeed.  The less sitting and more moving we did was better for ALL of us!

 

After a quick review of some essential vocabulary (same size as, bigger than, smaller than), I gave each student a popsicle stick and a recording sheet.  Their job was simply to find and record things they found around the room that were the same size as, bigger than, and smaller than their popsicle stick.  Easy enough.  There was lots of buzzing going on amidst the group as they searched high and low.  After a sufficient amount of time, we met back on the carpet and shared our results and clarified any questions anybody may have had.  See, I told you it was easy peasy!

 

So when you sit down and start thinking about planning for next year, keep in mind this measuring activity.  Click here to download the recording sheet.

 

 

How are you spending your last few weeks of summer vacation?  I had my first bad dream about school last week  while on the cruise.  Do you have those?  I dreamt one of my teammates decided not to teach first grade and go work at the bowling alley instead.  Hmm, maybe that's not such a bad idea.

 

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