Early Money Practice

 Little Angel loves to work with money when I pull out this work! The basket contains small toys around the house with price tags. I have the amount that it "costs" on one side and a control picture on the back to show what coins should be used to "purchase the item."

 It also contains exact coins needed to purchase all items in the basket.

She pulls out the "items for sale" out of the basket. She looks at the tag and then chooses which coins to use to "buy" the toy.

I print the "price" of the item on one side of the tag and placed pictures of the coins that Little Angel should have chosen on the other side of the tag as a "control."

I created two levels: An easy level (green tags) where Little Angel only has to choose values 1cent to 4cents, or choose whether the item cost a nickel, dime, or quarter.

The more advanced "orange tags" require Little Angel to combine simple coin combinations (i.e. 11 cents, 6 cents, 14 cents ... nothing tricky such as combining two dimes, a dime and nickel, etc.) This will be presented at a later time.

In the past, I have created my control pictures by finding pictures of coins on the internet and reducing them to a smaller size to fit on the tag. However, I came across these stickers at the Dollar Tree and the pictures of the coins were just the right size for this activity. The coin combination pictures fit perfectly on the back of the tags.... only $1 per sticker pack.... which saves on my printer ink!

The Dollar Tree has become my new best friend! I haven't decided how I am going to use the bills yet, my palms are itching to use them, but my brain isn't quite ready to come up with the ideas!

Multiples on Number Chart

I had no idea that finding multiples and common multiples could be so much fun. I will admit that my idea of fun doesn't usually match all of my friends' ideas of fun. I do seem to get excited when someone mentions math, or there is math work around. There is something about it that has always really engaged my mind.

Although I really enjoy math, I never really found enjoyment in finding multiples when I was in school. I didn't mind it or dislike it, but I wouldn't have labeled it enjoyable. However, when Young Thinker and I decided to do the "Multiples on Number Chart" work, I really had fun (he seemed to enjoy it to, but I'm not so sure if he liked it as much as I did.)

I think what really interested me about this work is that it was so simple and straightforward. We have previously completed work with Multiples on Pegboard. While this work is a necessary prerequisite, I do have to say I like this next step of the Number Chart ,which leads to the abstract, even better.

All you need is a number chart, pencils, and paper in which to record your answers. I have "Multiples Paper" which asks Young Thinker to record the number in which he is finding the multiples, then he records that number on the top of the Number Chart. Then, he circles the multiples on the number chart and records the numbers he has circled on the Multiples Paper when he has finished. Easy!

I have downloadable instructions, Number Chart, and recording sheets for multiples, common multiples, and least common multiples available for download at www.montessoriforlearning.com (it is part of the subscriber section - but it is also easy to make your own!)

"Filling Time" without Electronics

At this time, we do not own any type of hand-held games. I have very mixed feelings about them. I do see how hand-held games are useful in cutting down whining, complaining, and sibling spats in the car, while waiting for the doctor, or in a huge line at a consignment sale (threw this one in, because I recently waited in a 2 hour checkout line this past weekend, and I might have budged on my video game rule if my kids had them!) While I have relaxed my own opinion of their use in moderation, I haven't been able to bring myself to actually purchase one for our family. Most of the time, we really do not have great difficulty in making our own fun and entertainment during these situations.


One of our favorite games is creating our own word problems. If we are out and about ,(and we have even sometimes played this at home) we try to figure out scenarios that could play out in word problems. 

This is how you play:   Scope out the environment around you and see if you can create a word problem. For instance, there are 5 people in this checkout line and 4 people in the next line. How many people are in both checkout lines? There are four female cashiers and 3 male cashiers - how many cashiers are there altogether? There are two gas stations on the right side of the street, and one gas station on the other side of the street- how many gas stations are there?


We have such great fun at this. It really gets their brains thinking (especially when they create the word problems) and it also seems to be improving their observation skills too!

Figure This Math Challenge

Math is one of my favorite subjects. I love figuring out patterns and procedures in math...it's like a game. I have noticed the same affinity for math in my children. They love solving puzzles, problems, and mysteries. They also love to determine the "whys" of the things that surround them in our environment. 

Figure This Math Challenge has some fun math "challenges" that families can conquer together. A few of the challenges are:

• How fast does your heart beat?
• How far can you go on one tank of gas?
• Does bigger perimeter mean bigger area?
• How much water do you waste?
• Is the Statue of Liberty's nose too longhttp://www.figurethis.org/index.html?

And my personal favorite..... "Why aren't manhole covers square?" This is also a favorite of my family. We made our own "manholes" of different shapes and discovered which shape actually works best and why.

There are 80 challenges in the index. We are still working our way down the list. What I have really enjoyed about this site is that it has seemed to have inspired our whole family to look at our environment in a different way and has created a delightful curiosity amongst the children of  "why did they make it that way" or "I wonder what makes the light look like a rainbow when it shines through Grandma's front door?" http://www.figurethis.org/index.html

***Since starting these challenges, I have found my "How Come?" book I bought a few years back VERY useful!

Money Menu Fun

I love to have fun and play with my children. I strive to make most learning experiences fun. We were sitting at  a local restaurant checking over the bill (I was estimating in my head) when I thought of this activity. 

I record what is being served on a "menu" I created from a plain white piece of paper (with Menu written on the top) slid into a sheet protector. How I love those sheet protectors! Some days, I record the monetary amounts with the cent sign. Other days, I record it in the 0.10 format.

After we eat, the kids write down what they had for dinner on a restaurant receipt book I picked up at an office supply store. If they have seconds, they record the items twice.

I set out a "change bowl" in the center of the table for this activity. Little Angel pulls out the correct coins and tells me what coin will pay for each items, along with the name of the coin.

My slightly older children pull out the correct coins and add the coins together to see what their total amount will be. They have such fun at playing "restaurant."