Thursday, October 18, 2012

Waldorf math for the youngest

I have been gearing up for math with Logan.  He is ready for the concept introduction, but I wanted to do it in a super gentle, fun way so he doesn’t feel like math is drudgery like so many of us adults.  Enter the Waldorf math Gnomes.  These little guys were the same ones I used when teaching colors two years ago and they have been played with quite a bit since.  I used them, (along with a rainbow mat), to help Cyan with place value as well.  They have been wonderful members of our learning family and I am proud to say, they have now come out to teach Logan the four main operations in mathematics! 

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Some of these poems were inspired by others online (none are exactly the same) and some are made up by me, but each has a lesson in the story.  For this unit, we use floral gems as manipulatives and each little gnome is present for their specific operation.  The idea being that connecting a concept with a story is the best way to keep that concept clear in your mind.  Especially for young children.

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Divide is my favorite:

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Good King Equals is a character made up to help with the idea of things on either side of the = sign being equal, regardless of what they look like.  2+2 = 4 and so on. 

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The stories that go along with these characters can be found in this wonderful curriculum (free) from Serendipity.  And although I do use quite a bit of this story when teaching beginning math, I am not opposed to worksheets and basic kindergarten math when doing this.  I think it all goes into the same box in the brain and it all helps when doing real world math problems!  And that’s what it is all about!  These little guys do make it super fun for Logan and easy to understand the four main operations in math.

More inspiration came from here:

King Equals poem

Drawing inspiration

3 comments:

Rosa Maria said...

Hello Iam Rosa,i am from Spain.and we have a blogspot blog called El jardin de Rosi,it´s like your blog.we are homeschoolers and wue used waldor .Iam studing in a waldorf school a cours for teachers who want to be a waldorf teachers in the future. I am sorprised to meet your blog.

victoria anne emslie said...

Ah! Your little poems and cards are so amazing! I also never even considered using a small easel to hold up things for lessons, but it is definitely helpful! I made my own cards, but did use the poems you shared. When I post about our Maths block, I will share a link to this post as credit <3 Thank you so much for sharing these <3

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