Kindergarten Curriculum Night: Math

My previous post gave an overview of our kindergarten math curriculum and briefly discussed the importance of obtaining the ability to think and reason mathematically as well as to use math to solve problems. This post is dedicated to providing you with additional information on the concepts and skills your child should know or be able to do by the end of the first and second semester of kindergarten.

Directional and Positional Words

Using both directional and positional words, a kindergarten students needs to possess the ability to describe the location of an object. The teachers recommended working on the following words:

under	above	between	behind	in front
top	middle	bottom	after	before

They recommended using a stuff animal and putting it in various positions. They also recommended just pointing out items in your home (e.g. the dog is UNDER the table). Many of these words are sight words and are included in the board game, Erudition™.

Sorting & Graphing

They recommended sorting laundry, toys, stuffed animals and even groceries. They also encouraged our child to tally the number of socks in the laundry or the weather, a first grade concept. Based on their feedback, we decided to tally both the weather and the outcome of our day. At the end of each month, we will use the tallies to create a bar graph.

Patterns

They suggested making a noodle necklace – if you want to make it colorful, mix vinegar and food coloring together. They also recommended making patterns with cereal. Another fun activity is to draw patterns. Using flower or sugar in a tray, a child can make patterns with their fingers. They also encouraged us to implement higher level thinking. For example, create a pattern with stuffed animals, using front and back or upside and down as opposed to traditional patterns of color and shape.

Odd & Even

Simply put, odd numbers do not have a partner; even numbers have a partner. They would like the students to be able to count to 31 using a 1:1 matching. Emphasis is not placed on rote counting but rather a child’s ability to match (e.g. place a bean with a number while counting).

Matching sets

A kindergartener should be able to identify and create groups using more, less, and equal amounts.

Ordinal numbers

This refers to the position of objects. They would like our children to know first through fifth. If your child is up for a challenge, they suggested going to the tenth position. They recommended lining up the stuffed animals and then ask questions (e.g. which animal is second in line?). They recommended changing the direction the animals are facing so the last one becomes the first. Interestingly, my daughter did her math home work and I thought she made a mistake but she did not. The order is determined by which direction the stuffed animal is facing not the way we read (left to right).