Staff WriterMay 2022 Family Fun Adventures
Updated: Jun 13
Hello Families!
May's family fun adventure is all about SIZES & MEASUREMENTS. This is a great time to help your child understand the differences in sizes and shapes as well as how to measure things in their environment. All our recommended books encourage exploration of their rooms, their neighborhoods, and their world. There are also some terrific articles to help you introduce these concepts to your child, making math natural and fun. We also have included a COMPARING SIZES workbook to help enhance your math adventures!
Montessori is about learning naturally through play and observation. At Casa Montessori, as a family-owned and operated company, we also know the importance of working (and playing) together as a family. We believe in encouraging families to play together, make memories and have adventures.
You can also find our adventures on our social media platforms. We would LOVE to see your family's adventure. Upload some pictures to your social media platforms and tag us and use the hashtag #casafamilyfun We will keep an eye out! You can also encourage your friends to join our Family Fun Adventures too. They will be so glad that you did.
Happy May!
The Staff of Casa Montessori Preschool.
WEEKEND FAMILY FUN CHALLENGE
Find some things around the house to measure. This month we are focusing on SIZES & MEASUREMENT. Take some time to download the resources below. Spend time together working on the exercises in the workbook and/or take our 30-day reading challenge. Maybe just take time to show your child what makes them unique in the family, in the community, and in our world.
Resources
Workbook & Worksheets
5-MAY-comparing-sizes-workbook
.pdf
Download PDF • 6.30MB
30-day Reading Challenge Google Sheet (Send this in and be entered to win one of the books on our reading list!)
CASA- MAY 2022- 30 Day Reading Challenge
.pdf
Download PDF • 196KB
Join our NEW 30-day reading challenge. You can start your challenge off with the books listed below or just choose some of the books you have at home. The goal is to read a book every day. We have a 30-day reading challenge worksheet for you to download with the very unique places to read, people to read with and book subjects you can read about. Once you have completed a "challenge" enter the information into a Google Form (CLICK HERE) and then submit it to be entered in to win one of the books below (the title is a SUPRISE!).
>> Download May 2022 30-Day Reading Challenge Worksheet<<
BOOK #1: Mighty Maddie
by Stuart J. Murphy (Author), Bernice Lum (Illustrator)
Help kids with their math skills plus their reading skills with the engaging and fun MathStart series!
Mighty Maddie is perfect for teaching comparing weights to pre-K through kindergarteners. Maddie's room is a mess. Maddie's toys are everywhere. And Maddie has to clean them up before her birthday party starts. This looks like a job for MIGHTY MADDIE! Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a vacuum cleaner, Mighty Maddie, the room-cleaning superhero, gives readers a playful lesson about the difference between light and heavy.
BOOK #2: How Tall, How Short, How Far Away?
by David A. Adler (Author), Nancy Tobin (Illustrator)
If you think a yard is a place to play ball, feet are only good for wearing shoes, and a palm is just a tree that grows in Miami, think again! They are all actually units of measure--different ways of measuring how tall, how short, and how far away things are. In this simple, hands-on math concept book, you'll learn how the ancient Egyptians and Romans used their fingers, hands, arms, and legs as measuring tools. But don't worry if it's all Greek to you. With David A. Adler's playful, informative text and Nancy Tobin's colorful illustrations explaining the difference between customary and metric systems, you'll really measure up!
BOOK #3: Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement
by Susan Hightower (Author), Matt Novak (Illustrator)
Mischief and measurement go hand in hand in this hilarious story about a beaver trying to fix the leak in his clam and the bull-frog who plays a big joke on him. What do twelve snails, three lizards, and one hungry snake have to do with Milo Beaver's leak and Bubba Bullfrog's joke? Well, it just so happens that these pond-side animals are the perfect tools for measuring . . . if only Milo can get them to stand still in a very straight line!
Wonderfully funny art, jolly text, and comic-like pages make this an ideal classroom and story hour title. A unique list of measurement facts about the animals featured in the book is included.
BOOK #4: Counting on Frank
by Rod Clement (Author)
"If Frank were a humpback whale, however, only ten would fit into our entire house. I asked Dad about this, and he said they would get in the way of the television." Such funny scenarios throughout this beloved book teach children about simple math concepts. Counting on Frank has inspired countless students to get excited about math. Readers follow along as Frank, an irresistible canine, and his imaginative owner create all sorts of counting, measuring, and calculating challenges for themselves. Like the book's characters, students will discover that math has practical, but also very fun applications. Highly amusing, vividly drawn watercolors complement the humorous and informative narrative of this best-selling book.
BOOK #5: Super Sand Castle Saturday
by Stuart J. Murphy (Author)
Help kids with their math skills plus their reading skills with the engaging and fun MathStart series!
Super Sandcastle Saturday is perfect for teaching measuring to first, second, and third graders. One Saturday at the beach, Laura, Juan, and Sarah decide to have a sandcastle contest. As the tide rises, the walls get longer, the towers get taller, and the moats get deeper. The friends measure their sandcastles with spoons, shovels, and bare feet until Larry the lifeguard and his tape measure surprise them all.
Helpful Articles and Resources
Cookie Cutter Sizes
By Karen Cox
Many cookie cutters can be found that come nested in a variety of sizes. You can often find them for different holidays, for example, I have sets of pumpkins and hearts. The bear set can be used anytime or with the Goldilocks story. Children simply put them in order from smallest to largest. To clean up, they have to “nest” them incorrect size order.
SOURCE: PreKinders.com
Making Math Meaningful for Young Children
By Deanna Pecaski McLennan
Children are natural mathematicians. They push and pull toys, stack blocks, and fill and empty cups of water in the bathtub. All of these activities allow young children to experience math concepts as they experiment with spatial awareness, measurement, and problem-solving (ETFO 2010; NAEYC 2010). Young children easily learn as they describe, explain, and consider the ideas from their immediate environment. Am I as tall as Yancey? How can I find out? I know! We can both stand next to each other in front of the mirror.
SOURCE: Naeyc.org
Your Child's Mathematical Mind
By Douglas Clements PhD
Everything around us can be better understood with mathematics. Math can help children make sense of and think about the many aspects of their world through its connections to them. When we see — and help our children see — those connections, we enrich their overall learning and development. You give your child a great gift when you help him make connections between the math in everyday situations and the math he learns in school.
SOURCE: Scholastic.com
10 Hands-On Measurement Activities for Preschoolers
By Tanja Mcilroy
Teaching your preschooler about measurement does not have to be complicated or challenging. Measuring things by comparison, for example, is a part of everyday life, and you will find there are many opportunities to learn this skill through daily life.
You can also make it fun and stress-free to learn by trying these hands-on measurement activities for preschoolers at home.
SOURCE: Empoweredparents.com
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