tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79492964345776117462024-03-05T19:17:31.951-07:00Fire Away with Finger Patterns™Simple, flexible and engaging games to teach your child early math skillsKellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-66838997263904858472011-09-30T10:44:00.015-06:002012-04-17T14:49:47.227-06:00Finger Patterns the ABC's of Math<div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwlwn4pm2mTuWwVML6OWmfMwG6tyB7NyzPHlzqSyPe99ug0W7Gw9RmHT_nQnNQu3JKyF0AYoj5uLJK4T0LArNzpC0VMfCLPsc0yLnr6vigHeiqVqat70qXGs7rcvbCTRx3BYHcwsReig/s1600/2011-09-02_17-16-45_877.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 181px; height: 320px; float: left; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658195497535208050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwlwn4pm2mTuWwVML6OWmfMwG6tyB7NyzPHlzqSyPe99ug0W7Gw9RmHT_nQnNQu3JKyF0AYoj5uLJK4T0LArNzpC0VMfCLPsc0yLnr6vigHeiqVqat70qXGs7rcvbCTRx3BYHcwsReig/s320/2011-09-02_17-16-45_877.jpg" /></a><br /><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="Apple-style-span" ><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><b><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:12;color:black;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><b><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:12;color:black;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><b><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:12;color:black;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><b><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:12;color:black;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><b><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:12;color:black;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><b><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:130%;color:black;">The ABC's of Math</span></b><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:12;color:black;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:100%;color:black;">Reading is everywhere. We read to our children, sing the ABC's and help them write their name. What about math? How do we get our kids ready for math in school?</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;"></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;color:white;" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1317415577332385" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:100%;color:black;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;"></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:100%;color:black;">Finger patterns are the ABC's of math. Finger patterns help young children count and link quantity to numbers while building an awareness to and confidence with numbers.</span></div></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="Apple-style-span" ><div class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: normal; display: inline !important; color:white;"><b><span style="font-family:serif;font-size:130%;color:black;">Try This: Finger Patterns from 1 to 5</span></b></div></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: normal; color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: normal; color:white;" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1317415577332374" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><span style="font-family:serif;color:black;">1. Get little hands ready for "Fire Away" with all fingers inside.</span><span style="font-family:serif;"></span></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: normal; color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><span style="font-family:serif;color:black;">2. Say, "Fire Away one." and have your child release their first finger or their pointer finger.</span></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: normal; color:white;" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1317415577332391" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1317415577332390" style="font-family:serif;color:black;">3. Continue with "Fire Away" for all fingers ending with the thumb for five.</span></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: normal; color:white;" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><span style="font-family:serif;color:black;">4. Do on both the left hand and right hand, firing away to five on each hand.</span></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: normal; color:white;" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1317415577332382" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1317415577332381" style="font-family:serif;color:black;">5. Play this often. </span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: normal; color:white;" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1317415577332382" class="yiv797990380MsoNormal" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:serif;"><br /></span></div></span></b></div></div></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwu8GSMYgALhyzwDboUL1rxDB5A49CrHh-KAbVO9_hxWUMzqoyE_8nLaF93lWksiHMm_omThk-v3asT7CyhTQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-86693378860872022412011-04-14T09:17:00.009-06:002011-04-15T14:07:35.559-06:00The Fire is back and Sticky dots<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Fire Away with Finger Patterns: </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">The Fire is Back</span></b></span></div> <p class="FreeForm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Fire Away with Finger Patterns has been on a hiatus due to the new little counter in our family. My seven-month-old son is getting all the benefits of being raised with two older brothers that have solid number sense. They count to him all the time, with tickle games, counting his toes, fingers and counting out his cereal puffs. I really<span><span></span></span> had no idea counting and talking about numbers would have such a positive impact on my own kids.</span></span></p> <p class="FreeForm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Thank you for all the great feedback with the finger pattern playing cards. I have really enjoyed going to conferences and talking to educators about ArithmaKids. I will be sharing ideas that teachers and parents have had for using the playing cards and the jumbo cards.</span></span></p> <p class="FreeForm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Finger Pattern Playing Cards: Sticky Dot</span></b></span></p><p class="FreeForm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJkCbeiug1MIBBxXmqHDbBPz_uOFPtt_zG2LRkRG250NqpquoyxEVpNEhzVQ4Sx0YUUo14S3IZGa3S1HzRTsuqvL5QeNpgNruGdlkG68itL9P9F013hR1Gh-5KtzmqXG0JewXnfl1HdM/s320/DSCN4732.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595899805189873170" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My friend and colleague, Megan, had a great idea and modified the cards with a sticky dot. She placed a sticky dot over the numeral so her student could focus on just the finger pattern. She wanted him to become fluent with his finger patterns before moving on to linking his patterns to the symbolic representation for the pattern. Thank you for the great idea Megan!</span></span></b></span></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-85489652680331879392010-05-11T15:04:00.018-06:002010-05-30T10:52:37.265-06:00Finger Pattern Playing Cards Are Here!<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" class="Apple-style-span">Finger Pattern Playing Cards:</span></div><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" class="Apple-style-span"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Go Fish, Memory and other great games!</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,238); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline" class="Apple-style-span"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476753973818099106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZUxJnGNcjevz57AQJwVSBIfweDtkEZ_szfArE5y1MOf_g_h_pT1pPx1EEiZLwUftSIuYluYVleqwtJxy46C20YAEHYjlatqs6At194LBRbcJtWoSUy2vBkJ31768y6Lzr2U-axowNas/s320/Turn+Over+5+and+10.jpg" /></span></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal;font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="Apple-style-span" ><div id="tabMessageViewerBody_headeri40_411274904597332"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b>Two of six instruction cards included in the deck of Finger Pattern Playing Cards</b></span></span></div><br /><div id="tabMessageViewerBody_headeri40_411274904597332"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">I would like to start by saying thank you to all of you that have read and subscribed to my blog. You may remember that I stared it about two years ago after seeing the benefits of firing away in my students and two-year-old son. Since that time, I have had the pleasure of continuing to work with students, my children, parents, and teachers. I am more convinced than ever that early math is an important as early reading! I believe this so strongly that I recently started, ArithmaKids™, a company to help spread the word. I have two simple products that I have been testing over the past few months. I will blog about them over the next few weeks. Hopefully you will check out <b>www.arithmakids.com</b> and find them useful.</span></span></b><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal" class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></b><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx0koMNVUnOXMvSJb2x2yoWmz9s7JvJxfqESvx-hIk4eRx3upae-5mxVh761owv6YutdeymJpZ8cIHsfqbDdg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div></div><br /><div><div>Turn Over 10 (with a little help) </div><div></div><div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw8EOfd0qFDrbJYejZVFa_cDpa2YvHyU5IJ2go4STAS9nOGWfF3smpF4u4nCz6fJGb2NlOPkGV64QKyHVCPMA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div>Turn Over 5<br /><br /><br /></div></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-86605358143331824872010-04-05T08:27:00.011-06:002010-04-05T20:12:20.345-06:00Fire and Write<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xRFKLOqZIYvdWxN0ad_G3qS66A5dGLAULtqQOEmFVZ5cnnQyIoZzj1wzWAxOXGGXdmZll6hPb7F7_si4hJpQHwB3sHYLqg8AtMmCdJUvyq4y06-HagxJNgTRUU0G8YX2EsAmbKNNDFY/s1600/DSCN4134.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456663243619228482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xRFKLOqZIYvdWxN0ad_G3qS66A5dGLAULtqQOEmFVZ5cnnQyIoZzj1wzWAxOXGGXdmZll6hPb7F7_si4hJpQHwB3sHYLqg8AtMmCdJUvyq4y06-HagxJNgTRUU0G8YX2EsAmbKNNDFY/s200/DSCN4134.JPG" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Fire and Write: Fun with Chalk</span><br /><br /><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">Looking for a fun way to work with your child on writing their numbers? Get some sidewalk chalk and have fun with this great activity. Sidewalk chalk is a fun tool for writing numbers while having fun with different colors and writing surfaces.</span><br /></b><div><div><br />Many young children write numbers backward, upside down or with the incorrect technique. Getting down at their level and writing numbers with them helps them learn how to make numbers and you to see what numbers are hard for them. A good example is when my son was making his six starting at the bottom and ending at the top. I showed him how to make a six correctly and then he practiced making six in different colors and sizes. Then I asked him to circle his favorite six, which he really enjoys -circling his "best" number. We started with one to ten and next we will work up to the teen’s family. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWclnfiarruc_-ZCY5Y5XnMyNT_c4I91X1gnyLaEwNWnosmP6cs0oBUNT5nYTPCyxKcAOlWDB1XoNAR1-adcwcPrGRZ-n4OB6yB6OMQagfIyTMAWHwQloM8ZJQemubDclMOW_NDf2ifpo/s1600/DSCN4135.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456663747670403938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWclnfiarruc_-ZCY5Y5XnMyNT_c4I91X1gnyLaEwNWnosmP6cs0oBUNT5nYTPCyxKcAOlWDB1XoNAR1-adcwcPrGRZ-n4OB6yB6OMQagfIyTMAWHwQloM8ZJQemubDclMOW_NDf2ifpo/s200/DSCN4135.JPG" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf36YTmDsiq4eK92idbck8914QTfyp9kbtycKOPw3ILYX8yLy4e0lYhkMjszovVfGCR3VENzc2GNWFeMom-Toedyeg4ZaTAtWchxTdZ6BNytTgxIpZV0jvN8jBLP9u2ZFlrNbie4s1ycE/s1600/DSCN4136.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456665472472706818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf36YTmDsiq4eK92idbck8914QTfyp9kbtycKOPw3ILYX8yLy4e0lYhkMjszovVfGCR3VENzc2GNWFeMom-Toedyeg4ZaTAtWchxTdZ6BNytTgxIpZV0jvN8jBLP9u2ZFlrNbie4s1ycE/s200/DSCN4136.JPG" /></a> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Making eight on his own and practice with eight</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Game: Fire and Write</span></div><br /><div>1. Flash a finger pattern to your child.</div><br /><div>2. Have them write the corresponding number with the chalk.</div><br /><div>3. Try flashing the same number a different way. Example: first number you flashed was eight, five and three. The second eight you flashed is four and four. </div><br /><div>4. Take turns with who fires and who writes. </div><br /><div>5. Circle your best numbers. </div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNpBY0sILPOojDL1HRKhm35YuQZj2s1E3Vy9rudEwKURVVPdB9LUa7oIfiubbocI2GSWJb1_CU6XAOz59U3n3K84z2OEPfaRi1KWPrf5-wGOMMETWXvVzPh3Me74876CTcmp7GgsyZh4/s1600/DSCN4141.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456666014993718818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNpBY0sILPOojDL1HRKhm35YuQZj2s1E3Vy9rudEwKURVVPdB9LUa7oIfiubbocI2GSWJb1_CU6XAOz59U3n3K84z2OEPfaRi1KWPrf5-wGOMMETWXvVzPh3Me74876CTcmp7GgsyZh4/s200/DSCN4141.JPG" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qDOPhgoydRAPFVpLeCL2hTaQut6BOi5dKNbNgL9jdFEEVo7S5uptXve4YYjslgBzMqRO6qSvzHM83NMcrM4EQtzCNv47sWEUcHEobAZuM41DWv8K6TOd-JazVok6HOVAjobwW2unldM/s1600/DSCN4143.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456666340457342066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qDOPhgoydRAPFVpLeCL2hTaQut6BOi5dKNbNgL9jdFEEVo7S5uptXve4YYjslgBzMqRO6qSvzHM83NMcrM4EQtzCNv47sWEUcHEobAZuM41DWv8K6TOd-JazVok6HOVAjobwW2unldM/s200/DSCN4143.JPG" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Playing Fire and Write a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ny age can play</span></div></div></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-48875040618179965672010-02-22T17:21:00.013-07:002010-02-24T13:33:22.602-07:00The Family Talk<div><strong>Use Families to Count to 100!<br /></strong>My son is starting kindergarten in the fall and he loves to count to 100. While counting, he sometimes forgets what "family" comes next. A great way to talk to children about numbers is calling them families and separating them out so they are easy to identify and remember.<br /><br />The numbers one to nine are the first family or the ones family. The next family is the tens or teens family. This family seems to be the hardest for children because they do not follow the rules of the other families. Often children will confuse a teen with a decade number. An example is the number thirteen which has the number three in it, but we don't say, “Three-teen.” We ignore the first number in the teens unlike all the other families where the first number announces the name of the family, i.e. thirties, forties, etc.. The teens family is fun to make up names for such as the "grumpy family" or "crazy teenagers" to help give a reminder that they follow a different rule.<br /><br />The rest of the families are straightforward with each family beginning with the decade for that family or as I call it, the families "front door" to that family’s home. Inside their home are all the numbers inside that family. For example, eighty is the front door number for the eighties family and inside their home are all the cute little eighties.<br /><br /><strong>How Do Finger Patterns Link to the Families and Counting to 100?</strong><br />When my son is getting ready to say the next family and he forgets, for example, the eighties family or says the wrong family, I ask him, "What comes after seven?" He looks at his finger pattern for seven and says, "Eight! Oh, so the eighties family." Sometimes I just flash the family that comes next, so if he is stuck on the eighties I make a nine on my fingers so he knows that the next family is the nineties. Have fun counting and talking about the families!<br /></div><br /><div></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-39085989860699399362010-01-20T10:51:00.006-07:002010-02-01T17:42:10.544-07:00Five Ways to Help Your Child Count<b>Journal of a New Counter: Five Ways to Have Fun Counting</b> <div><br /></div><div><b>1. </b><b>Find things to count in a book.</b> My two-year-old loves trains and we read The Little Engine That Could at least twice a day. Now when we read the story we stop and count the trains or animals. </div><div><b>2. </b><b>Count snack food</b>. Toddlers are snackers and this is one of the best ways to begin counting. Food that is easy to hold, pick up or drop in a cup such as cheerios, crackers and blueberries is best. My son might not be saying the correct number words but he lines all his snacks up in a row and "counts" each thing. </div><div><b>3. </b><b>Count in the car. </b>Find things to count while in the car. How many wheels are on a big truck? How many people in a car? How many tractors at a construction site? They can find just about anything to count. </div><div><b>4. </b><b>Look for numbers. </b>Point out numbers while pumping gas, shopping at the grocery store or paying your bill at a restaurant. </div><div><b>5. </b><b>Play board games and play with cards</b>. My two-year-old is a little young for board games but he sits and watches as I play with my five-year-old. He loves to handle the cards, sort out the game pieces and takes a turn or two for me. </div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-16920170688349583752009-12-22T15:05:00.006-07:002009-12-27T20:16:26.271-07:00The Fire Continues: Journal of a New Counter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkryxyd1J_bxrAGgNZbqOhMXr3ZzSnl2aPjUgM8wq1mjoD_CqzVnNqX5Txs43d32dG0TjrIlCJir4mTqoMrrgu-xReNdewtmnx0l8g9bLgpF2CQQiWKQKHLm3MzXWpNTTWPgoQdtVGfM/s1600-h/DSCN4061.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkryxyd1J_bxrAGgNZbqOhMXr3ZzSnl2aPjUgM8wq1mjoD_CqzVnNqX5Txs43d32dG0TjrIlCJir4mTqoMrrgu-xReNdewtmnx0l8g9bLgpF2CQQiWKQKHLm3MzXWpNTTWPgoQdtVGfM/s200/DSCN4061.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420101171559480066" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> <b>Using His Patterns: One More?</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I have been watching my two-year-old son explore counting. I am amazed at his ability to line blocks up in a row and point to each thing as he counts. He still does not have the correct number words for each thing, but he is starting to make sense of counting. He is much more aware of counting all of this "stuff" than his older brother was at this age. I think this is partly due to the influence of his brother. His big brother counts everything to see who has more; whether it be more cookies, more stuffed animals or more presents under the Christmas tree.</span></span></div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Recently, I have tried to tie my son's interest in counting to something meaningful for him. Like most toddlers, he loves snacking. When he wants more crackers I ask, "Show me on your fingers how many more crackers you would like." He holds one finger and announces, "One more please mommy." Little did I know that "one more" would turn into a question and pattern he uses for what seems to be every part of his life. He asks for one more book, toy, song, and just about anything else. This little counter is making it evident that he understands the meaning of one and more. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> <!--EndFragment-->Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-57742644859664666282009-11-21T13:50:00.008-07:002009-11-24T09:21:59.883-07:00Starting the Fire: Journal of a New Counter<div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">One of my first memories after bringing my older son home from the hospital is reading to him. I picked out a book, snuggled him in a blanket and read Goodnight Gorilla. The book became a favorite. We took it everywhere and went through several copies. He still loves that book and now has it memorized and "reads" it to his little brother. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Math can have this same effect on children if we start at a young age and include math in everyday life just as we do with reading. This is not hard or something we should feel pressured to do. A little bit goes a long way and just like reading a favorite book, children begin to notice different things about counting and want to share their knowledge with you. </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Throughout this blog, I have written about my experiences with my older son learning finger patterns and counting. My younger son has been exposed to but not pushed in any way to use my "Fire Away" method at an even earlier age. I have been watching him through different eyes, seeing how much he has picked up from listening to his big brother count, talk about numbers, and seeing fingers used to show numbers. Over the next few months, I am going to keep a blog-journal about how I see my two-year-old son, who as you will see is not really talking but has a wonderful toddler vocabulary, exploring math. It should be interesting. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Fire Has Started: Nap Time Journal Entry 1</span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">November 21, 2009</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ahh…nap time: a parent’s little slice of sanity. I was preparing my two-year-old for nap, but he wanted a "few" more minutes to play. When I came back into his room, he had found a horde of rocks that he stashed in a truck. He had them all lined up in a nice row and was pointing to each rock. Before I scooped him up and put him in his bed, I stopped and listened to what he was saying. He was pointing to each rock and counting them. The first few counts I could really understand. He was so excited to be able to name the rocks with a number word attached to it. He started with, "Mama, one, two, deee!" He kept repeating the same sequence on all the rocks. I sat down with him and helped him count the rocks, drop them in his dump truck and finally put the rocks to sleep. I guess the rocks are a now a permanent fixture in the toy collection. I am glad that we invested in xeroscaping!</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-19655815661488704432009-10-20T11:17:00.007-06:002009-10-25T14:46:31.489-06:00Game: Flash Fire<div><strong>New Finger Pattern Game: Flash Fire™<br /><br /></strong>My son and I are having a lot of fun with a new game that we invented. I have even started using it with my students. We like to call it "Flash Fire" because it sounds fun and you have to really flash your finger patterns fast.<br /><br />This game helps him with patterns that are a little harder for him to remember. We use all different the combinations to make a number. For example I could flash a six as a three and three, four and two or five and one. He loves to Flash Fire me at any moment. He might Flash Fire while running through the house or while sitting at the dinner table.<br /><strong><br />How to Play Flash Fire:<br />1.</strong> Flash a finger pattern at your child as quick as you can.<br />2. Ask them "What pattern did you see?" and, "How did you see it?"<br />3. If they get it correct, then it is their turn to Flash Fire and you tell them what you saw (the total number of fingers) and how you saw it (the two numbers that make the total).<br />4. If they get it wrong, hold out the pattern you made and have them count your fingers to see the correct answer or they can make the pattern on their own fingers and count it.</div><div><br /><b>Video: Game of Flash Fire</b></div><div><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwPM-JRKmRq7NZZX8su-S5NIkk3hnv-PKL-9GAEa8aR4tfkwmMflw-P004LvuPo5IIp24Am59v3CesYndLhTg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-55485860900093185892009-09-17T15:03:00.004-06:002009-09-17T15:52:58.501-06:00Last Days of Summer<div><b>Count and Jump for all Ages</b></div>This was a big summer for everyone at the pool. My five year old really learned how to swim. He loves to practice his strokes, dive in the water and jump from the side of the pool. My two year old spent a lot of time on the steps and going for rides with mom or dad around the big pool. <div><br /></div><div>One day my two year old looked around and noticed that his big brother would count (forwards or backwards) and then jump in the pool. He wanted to count and jump just like his brother. No more being the little guy in the pool. I realized that older siblings leave a big impression on their younger siblings. Sometimes without even knowing it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Video: Count and Jump </div><div><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxx9NULRMa3dtgjJKdADN7n5AWci5hmrDWsfWqDFnDBMW5EoGeh2Rm_qbftp0BQiO2SGjHphyhwrriT4-EnhA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-28131366903691335712009-08-19T13:20:00.014-06:002009-08-21T20:08:00.112-06:00Different Ways to Build a Number<div><b>My Son, The Transformer:</b></div><div><br /></div>Last night while I was making dinner my son asked, "How many more minutes until it will be ready?" I said, "About five." and continued cooking not noticing what he was doing with his fingers. He came over and said, "So this many?" and held up a two on one hand and a three on the other hand. I stopped what I was doing and said, "Wow, that is one way to make a five do you know another way?" I watched him move his little fingers making the three into a four and the two into a one. Not only did he come up with this idea on his own, but he made his own sound affects, like one of his Transformer(R) action figures changing from one position to another. <div><br /></div><div>I began to wonder how else I could expand my son's knowledge of numbers from one to ten without pushing him to level of understanding that he was not ready for. I have written a lot on my blog about finding math in your child's everyday life to encourage counting and their development in math. Those moments might come when you least expect them and when your hands are full. Take just a few minutes to stop everything and see math through your child's eyes. </div><div><br /></div><div>Video: Different ways to make a number</div><div><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwVPEa9JINhlMgQ9FrTTMlT2dJ9y6cZH6-N-3BMKacbUP7K6sygS7d7V6XicfUxWwb12v6uZKv5o3ikSzbA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-73196348976123260422009-07-31T21:26:00.012-06:002009-08-03T08:08:13.819-06:00Finger Patterns in a Tree<div>Rewind: Why do finger patterns?<br /><br />My four year old is turning five next week. I can't believe it. He is ready to start preschool and while I am still in denial that he will be in kindergarten next year, I have a feeling is going to enjoy it. He will meet new friends and learn new things. He will also be going to school with the confidence that he understands numbers.<br /><br />Working with my son on finger patterns has provided more conversations about numbers, counting and math than I ever imagined. More importantly, finger patterns have engaged us as a family while we play, work or even get ready for bed.<br /><br />The video below is over a year old. My son is dressed up in a bear costume, wearing a bike helmet, climbing a tree and firing away his finger patterns. I speak and write a lot about making numbers part of your child's world and as you can see here, the day that I filmed this video, we were definitely in my son's world!<br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyAYKVpDZ2CEAOSMhjcVHbhOknb5zafaeiA4g48BGr3iq-6YTGVMrw8PItZBfGkvzw5SCC_6zbcm8a-T--wHw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-67757815930394188942009-07-13T14:07:00.012-06:002009-07-15T17:11:54.367-06:00Rhyme Time with Finger Patterns<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Using Finger Patterns with Rhymes for Counting</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;">My busy boys love to dance, sing, jump and rhyme. I started looking for preschool rhymes that we could incorporate with finger patterns. Below are just a few of our favorite rhymes that can be used with finger patterns to encourage memory, visualization and counting forwards.</span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: bold; font-family:verdana;">Finger Pattern Rhymes for Counting Forwards</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Five Fat Peas</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">This is a great one to use fire away. Start with all fingers in a fist, the thumb holding the other fingers in place. Count from one to five with just one hand then count one to five with both hands at the same time. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Times;"><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Five fat peas in a pea pod pressed</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /></span></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">(</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">children hold hand in a fist</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">)</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">One grew, two grew, so did all the rest.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">(</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">put fingers up one by one starting with pointer finger ending with thumb</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">)</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">They grew and grew</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> (</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">raise all five fingers in the air very slowly</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">)</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">And did not stop,</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Until one day</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">The pod went POP!</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">(</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">clap hands together</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">)</span></span></span><br /></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><center><b><span style="font-size:+1;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Turtles</span></span></span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></center><center style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">My two year old loves this rhyme because you can make all the motions while you make the finger pattern. When we say, "Two baby turtles crawl to the sea." we make the number two on our fingers and the two "crawls." </span></span></span></center><center style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></center><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">One baby turtle alone and new.</span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span></span></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Finds a friend, and then there are two.</span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span></span></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Two baby turtles crawl down to the sea.</span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span></span></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">They find another, and then there are three.</span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span></span></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Three baby turtles crawl along the shore.</span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span></span></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">They find another, and then there are four.</span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span></span></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Four baby turtles go for a dive.</span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span></span></span></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Up swims another, and then there are five.</span></span></span></span></div></span><p></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Times;"><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:georgia;">For more rhymes:<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Times;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Times;">http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschool-rhymes.htm</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;">http://www.nurseryrhymes4u.com/NURSERY_RHYMES/COUNTING.html<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0); font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p></span></span><p></p></span></span></span></div></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-14159514344070487062009-06-22T13:29:00.006-06:002009-06-22T16:45:53.139-06:00Summer Fun with Numbers<div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfui_OtJJxbIFS6O4UXKEtJh6cbS5LJVhnaWlSQF2_XmG5dyIQisJ4hCDnvVL3VF5ippVo8Zibgp1YdWnuEkCAiov7dQHtIOFhRH_AsjNJ7_08-eJvGjHP0TMOj2ggsG3iPe5IkuX1Hg/s200/DSCN3614.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350240574011754514" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Make counting fun. We went tractor "hunting," counted the tractors and pretended to drive them. </span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Summer is the perfect time to notice numbers. Whether you are on a road trip, at the pool or just shopping at the grocery store, point out numbers to your child. We just went on a road trip and I couldn't believe how many numbers my son found or the things we counted. Even if they can't read the number, just pointing out the number encourages young children to begin identifying numerals. <br /></div><div><div><br /><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Vacation Counting:</span><br /></div><div>1. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Numbers at the pool:</span> My four-year-old loves to jump off the edge of the pool, so I asked him to jump from the number 3 (marked for 3 feet deep). Once he found the 3, he wanted to jump from the 5. </div><div>2. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Numbers at a hotel</span>: When taking the elevator I asked him to push the number 1 or any floor that we needed. He noticed there was a number outside our room and matched it with the room key. </div><div>3. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Numbers on the road:</span> We looked for speed limit signs. Even though some of the two-digit numbers were hard for him to say, he could find one number he knew. </div><div>4. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Things to count: </span> We counted trains and trucks at a construction site. Anything that had multiples, we tried to count. </div><div>5. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Numbers at the store:</span> We went to buy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">souvenirs</span> and I asked my son to find the price tag on the train he wanted. He asked, "What does it look like?" I said, "Little numbers on a sticker. Can you find it?" He surprised me when he read, "It says 12, mom."</div></div></div></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-34924765691669184182009-06-02T13:20:00.007-06:002009-06-02T14:28:28.949-06:00Only Way Back is Forwards<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Only Way Back is Forwards</span></div><div>I am totally amazed at the amount of counting/math that is involved with finger patterns. It begins on their fingers going forwards, then isolating a finger pattern to name the number, linking finger patterns to an actual quantity, instantly recognizing a finger pattern that is flashed and linking finger patterns to real life scenarios such as counting wheels on a car. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Lately I have noticed my four year old using his fingers to help keep track of "things" such as presents at a birthday party. I have noticed a confidence build inside him as he notices numbers everywhere. Now that he has an underlying confidence and really understands forwards counting, I have been talking to him about counting backwards. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Beginning to Count Back</span></div><div>1. Tie the counting back into something fun, such as jumping into the pool or racing your child around the house. I say something like, "When I get to 1, go. Ready 3, 2, 1, go!"</div><div>2. Depending on your child's age and ability level you can start with going back from 3 to 1 and then build from 5 to 1 and eventually from 10 to 1.</div><div>3. Have fun while counting back. We were watching the space shuttle take off and my son noticed the countdown so we now say, "blast off" after we get to 1. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Video of Blast Off</span></div><div>This first clip is counting back from 5 to 1 without finger patterns.</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzc5y-E4jbE1-yvDonZQ49XvVa3FXxKh1ip3GXSupW-sR0MlPTjePycg6SE-KCIKnWI0yZySPLmfBnbW_QLLw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div>The second clip is counting back from 5 to 1 with finger patterns.<br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxQNnuDEF-XTH19NURgEq0lcLUd1bqkpCyauo-y1LJHCQJzZ-FPsvMb8ZRW7ACNybLKl0leOuc3OvE11M02bw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-84278285524386948242009-04-24T09:44:00.018-06:002009-05-13T20:50:48.662-06:00Finger Patterns and Days of the Week<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Finger Patterns Monday to Sunday</span><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Have you ever noticed your child confusing the days of the week? Do they constantly ask you "What day is it today?" or "When will it be the weekend?" My four year old always wants to know when his soccer game is so we started keeping track of the days of the week on his fingers. This is a great skill to get your child ready for pre-school, kindergarten or even first grade. <br /></div><p>There is so much learning inside the math. With this simple skill, he has learned the vocabulary for the days of the week, the sequence the days go in by keeping track on his fingers and how each day corresponds to a finger pattern. This is not the traditional calendar model, but allows your child to see the week on two hands. Start the week on Monday. Monday through Friday are on one hand and correspond to finger patterns 1 to 5. This helps him understand that the school/work days are on one hand. Saturday and Sunday are on his other hand and correspond to the weekend (finger patterns 6 and 7).</p><div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328286525007186802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 89px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 155px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbx5UihLwW3DbNG6SdFvKqMPZ1ox_xMhki7-s76qmgvL8cg3T-U1_oIBLwhFsP0d5nAEFzotesOZAgtAU7rvwp-MviJbU9ZpXBqeSSBiKRwJnQF_E-KYORje7n-7g2bz5HXbeekFTZY4/s200/Picture+1.png" border="0" /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div> Monday</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328286526557187778" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 92px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsCrbulIbansKQyzzQeRk9t8JCSMWU8PpbaF2jFZxn_g7gMR8H5owKN_0YNG0IMuw5LQ7XuB6ml43YBWUBxmpPNCIAzhNhRqIcgM06alpQr1tCVoUq846_Wvp01aeXh0DoWNrl60ewf0/s200/Picture+2.png" border="0" /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div> Tuesday</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328286529974709938" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 94px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 145px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Llj1sNq2Kp9sTXNfrPwABnmQKWHHUGOsj3Gz01r0cyZdQ2f7dCsCBDJvx-TIaHp04QUdl3XRR6aL1WI3rZJEbC6_1Ffv1oCA5GVykBCyIhIPHCTlps_y2ZOJ5hqoshtHnUNc3Dv_IVE/s200/Picture+3.png" border="0" /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div> Wednesday</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328286532250337266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 110px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 149px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXPalLWxleFDW8HTj8c5J0pwA6ZAqaJblF34x0ptL5IUWYuEULg-jG_gOOh-AJYiW1I1-vFqzoPRCd3ZJQ1i2HynI-f7bBY6gVmsjuTrbnQDF7Ck5jrTUxYOuqksH-37MChqo1oqzPQI/s200/Picture+4.png" border="0" /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div> Thursday</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /><div><div><br /></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328286534007097634" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 107px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 139px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4tAsMDKSYha53z9ETNhP9r0bjq7PivJD3tTDRPQ7PbjYS3neghXay6nUQaI12_DppxjO9oyBbhWNpW9SFCOq8N10CDhH3V7EK7FVU7eQlaVRP44IEZgQ7YZ8YiQ2Y_j5B_Gh6LNuQvE/s200/Picture+5.png" border="0" /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div> Friday</div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div> Saturday</div><div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333550166492012738" style="WIDTH: 137px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 127px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh147BHpznTC_1ucO_HlZXtXw-Q_AE_vzqHh7kTRfYx-E6-mgwfy0VrPcSBy2DFkzMvwORQCxo_ya5int7wD7iTf11Cs4sLyMqKXPivadjC1lXf_x0ogt6LbFydR7thNHcfs5CRr4WP_DA/s200/Picture+7.png" border="0" /><br /></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333550757801451714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 142px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 119px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkt61h-aZV1T6uo8Q-WMwr4_xbhyphenhyphenimz_Gk4urvV-1xHA4ahvNURBYj207XVQbzzu05Yvi94rmiRJ4nDo1uLkyaFv1nB3GjEwYifwumOFUZ1IrUPWOIHKpeVLI1IuqTkvXGspMmI0Ww8Ek/s200/Picture+1.png" border="0" /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div> Sunday</div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">(C) 2009 Kellie Merrill</span></div><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-76062345445660096772009-04-23T14:23:00.006-06:002009-04-24T08:57:20.522-06:00How old are you?<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">FAWFP: Fun with birthdays</span></div><div><br /></div><div>My nearly-two-year old has an advantage over his big brother. He has been watching him count, do finger patterns and talk about math since he was a newborn. He is very busy, as most are at this age. He loves to count along with his brother and play the tickle game (see previous entry) as much as picking up his favorite book. Just a few weeks ago I started telling him he had a birthday coming up and showing him on his fingers how old he was going to be. Not long after that he started making two and showing me two when I asked him "How old are you?" <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Please watch the clip below to see him hold down all his other fingers to show me two. Now that he has it down he loves flashing his two!</div><div><br /></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz_GdxgrLrL4KB5WHG65NksIdaQu9EXC4MHf6AGLKXbCOFNFaY0-XvbOInRsCjhByf_4dgbE13a5BWSXLPbag' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-12259821282949295122009-03-12T13:20:00.013-06:002009-04-02T19:30:20.378-06:005 Reasons to Try Doubles<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQKy2-j-267ikxFJcK5y-kXl2D8bYACYC_nFSTkkWlN6KDe817UsGz0_wMIaNSHYeos_A-8vKZ0Rz3q-guOJmicakRoFVBOMyP7G3eXrS2PLMQChUMYleKsQrCBt7DyxJOL90dWJdvW4/s1600-h/DSCN3454.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQKy2-j-267ikxFJcK5y-kXl2D8bYACYC_nFSTkkWlN6KDe817UsGz0_wMIaNSHYeos_A-8vKZ0Rz3q-guOJmicakRoFVBOMyP7G3eXrS2PLMQChUMYleKsQrCBt7DyxJOL90dWJdvW4/s200/DSCN3454.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313480770711431202" /></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Double the Trouble</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Finger Patterns/Doubles Review</span></div><div>A number of readers asked me to explain why doubles and finger patterns are important. Exposing your child to finger patterns and early counting is a crucial developmental step. Current research and theory suggests that "Children's number competence is supported by their daily experiences in the world." (Saxe, et all., 1997) Doing these simple and fun activities with your child will encourage an early awareness to math that includes counting, finger patterns and a new vocabulary.</div><div><br /></div><div>Doubles are a huge concept. I don't expect my four year old to fully understand it but I am giving him the chance to practice, understand and have fun with doubles before he enters school. Asking a child to fire away a double four can be confusing. The correct response is to fire away a two and a two on each hand. Remember the number you ask them to fire away is the TOTAL, not what they show on each hand.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Five Reasons to Try Doubles</span></div><div>1. Doubles are everywhere. We have doubles built into our bodies. Why not show your child what a double looks like? I have two feet, two sets of five fingers and two sets of five toes.</div><div>2. Doubles open the door for more advanced strategies. Doubles are the same as counting by twos. Counting by twos is groundwork for multiplying by two.</div><div>3. Children of all ages can talk about doubles. Young children can fire away a double from two to ten while older children can go past ten and do higher doubles mentally or on paper (6+6, 7+7, etc.)</div><div>4. Kids love using the word double. My son loves to say it when requesting his favorite food or treat! <br /><div>5. Doubles encourage children to see numbers as a set or a group and move away from seeing numbers as going one by one.</div></div></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-76937217809686753782009-02-09T13:34:00.016-07:002009-02-11T08:37:13.678-07:002 Beds and 4 People<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Seeing Double: Double Finger Patterns</span><br /></div><div>This winter we went to Taos Ski Valley for a family snowboarding trip. When we walked into our hotel room, our 4-year old said, "Look there are two beds and four people so that means that two people will sleep in each bed." I was a little surprised, but excited to see how math had become part of his everyday. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to him about doubles. I showed him the doubles for two, one finger on my right hand and one finger on my left hand.<br /></div><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Finding Doubles</span><br /></div><div>Point out a double to your child (two feet, two hands, two eyes) and challenge them to begin finding doubles. Once they understand the concept of doubles, you can show them the double patterns on their fingers. While getting into the car my son said. "Look there are two tires in the front and two tires in the back." I showed him how to make a double four on his fingers. It is important to use the word, "double" when you are making a double so your child knows to make the same number on both hands.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Below are pictures of the double finger patterns for two, four, six, and 10. Remember to tie real life surroundings in order for the "double" to make sense.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Double 2</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301315659174921394" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlntW9R7gk-WSN662diqf4n6EnXgVdf0kQbg3AUHadktPpNSSNC7nEKDoFBBUDGVtRwDi7iXiazFDneN7_4ZC-Xuf70WJiIKz6yaQnlVuIJ2293hs0szsUiq2SipuEKfbEKuhmEM_mNfc/s200/DSCN3412.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>Double 4 </div><div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301312936848956226" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifObv-QBiNc5rJCfrKeiqGYw-wiBMRNSrFHExH2dc3TXzaOGBp7cKTxchJsMtswCNFR2-vc54z9Ej6Kn8K3p7zRsOPcBMmPVCk4X0jjcuPw7WvDIuvGhCcDFvGDRDlVr82ukhtae6MrGc/s200/DSCN3408.JPG" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div>Double 6<br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301312935717117778" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyF1Kv5s5Og3-TPYQF0EVAM7M24JsXrMjr3K-CTrSMsPD9GiEEvxUgUsKidEteMF8F0tCdAfsdpqjwQSoJzA46Z4saaJfwAaPNUZDVZ5fpCLkZX_DsDUxRHeBjEk8lREofSJkBOpKuFg/s200/DSCN3409.JPG" border="0" /></div><div><br /><div><div>Double 8</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301311189773128626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NTxlCw9RXYIfpvruu3-aIQeYeVNlu4WX_QHxzOsRtb368gvH7aci1gXQuvCaqubzGjGWFsXjnsy3HKzoT93mvDu964EcrUwVKRO8-LmN42CP81cKVbtTNV3yGoIKj9TtknKHGiexDxQ/s200/DSCN3410.JPG" border="0" /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Double 10</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301315646719814066" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicd-xPMjOc5DFW1M5wr8rG48z15uuY_BHmdRy05QcFPhtKpNdHSp9RUHrst5WVImXjuPXYN8O0QYZ6WbvqsyzdVyepzjXnz_6UQqDcGoTsv50HQJLwIYkJFq45mEYk2BcqanaUfUFZE6Y/s200/DSCN3411.JPG" border="0" /><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-17927276617132061302008-12-21T12:42:00.008-07:002008-12-27T14:15:42.903-07:00Ready, Set, Count!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" >Counting Past 10: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br />When I first started this blog, I wanted to focus on finger patterns. Most of the feedback I hear from people is that their child is now solid with their numbers from 1 to 10 and they want to know the next step.<br /><br />Finger patterns are a tool that children use from a very young age through elementary school to help them make a number for quantity, keep track of counts for addition and subtraction and begin using finger patterns for even more advanced strategies such as early multiplicative strategies.<br /><br />Finger patterns are not meant for your child to hold on to, but to help them see a pattern that runs through the number system. Now that your child is fluent with counting, showing without having to count, making and linking numbers 1 to 10, they are ready to count numbers past 10. Please be aware that the teens are tricky and require more practice than any other family. My previous blogs with games apply and here are few suggestions to have fun while counting past 10.<br /><br />1. Count things. My son loves a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. We have a counting deal. He counts all the marshmallows before putting them in the cup. I start with a number in the range of 1 to 10 so he can practice pulling the marshmallows away from the other group and linking it to a number. The key skill here is to remove each marshmallow from the pile as it is counted. This “assigns” a number to it. Please see the example video clip.<br />2. Make mistakes. Numbers in the teens sound very different and do not have the same rules as the other families. 21 is “twenty” and “one,” but there aren’t hints for 11 and 13. When your child makes a mistake, start from the last number they said correctly and continue counting.</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyY1zNO4VOfVmRzNHCSFULHgeUX1nR-2lu8BvyN8C1qd-9Kt09NvhaULNScZki_Yjgnd9eb0u9cdzcHlEnzcA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzsos5On7M5toylnEYuHsviUkJj08x8Psoo1Ug3N8Z0fXs8EqIK6XZmUAKjFDy9TVC5qDfHY-zav3qJEJ85Mw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-5430896441677407322008-10-30T08:55:00.013-06:002008-11-05T11:33:29.518-07:00Numbers are Everywhere<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpba4jofMcDoPoWXPgBlFk2dXfz4o5mQMfJCVYLZGUC-NNQno856M89grauNFNesO-c2DT4V5C9-PO1FrlWWHOY7xXI-I7vWaAPERwJchcdvJHtY8Vf_ktiN6QIsCZVxf_YRVnLBHQmw/s1600-h/D+stacks+of+10.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264614000083045218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpba4jofMcDoPoWXPgBlFk2dXfz4o5mQMfJCVYLZGUC-NNQno856M89grauNFNesO-c2DT4V5C9-PO1FrlWWHOY7xXI-I7vWaAPERwJchcdvJHtY8Vf_ktiN6QIsCZVxf_YRVnLBHQmw/s200/D+stacks+of+10.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" >Early Counting and Early Reading are Equal!</span></div><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">While driving with my four-year-old, he started to sing the alphabet. He could say every letter and sang it in a perfect sing-song way. He loves to find letters on signs, buildings and license plates. What about numbers and counting? Why are numbers and counting not taught like the alphabet or stressed with the importance that early reading is? Counting is complex and as a parent you might not know where to start. Besides working with your child on finger patterns and getting them fluent with "firing away" their numbers 1 to 10, what else can we be doing to prepare our children much like we do with reading?<br /></span><br />FAWFP Next Steps: Games </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;" >Board Games:<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Now that your child can "fire away" finger patterns from 1 to 10 and automatically identify the numbers 1 to 10 when flashed, your child is ready to explore board games. I have made a list of board games that I use with my Math Recovery students and my own son. Things to consider when looking at board games:<br />1. What kind of dice does the game include? Do they have dots that my child can easily count and eventually automatically recognize?<br />2. Are cards included that have numbers on them to practice matching the symbol of the number and not just the quantity?<br />3. What does the board game look like? Are there numbers on the board, how high do the numbers go?<br />4. Is the board game fun and easy to play?<br />5. Will my child become frustrated because the level is too high or will the board game "grow" with my child?</span><br /><br />More Game Ideas:</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">If</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> you do not want to get out a board game, a deck of cards or dice will do. Kids love cards. They love holding them, dealing them out or just playing with them. Just like when your child started to hold, chew on, throw and even tear up books, let your child explore the materials that you provide for them. At first they may want to play with the cards and not name the numbers or count the dots on them. After they have had time to check out their game, sit down with them and have fun. </span></span><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Dominos: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">They can count the dots, make a row of dominos in order, and even play the actual game. They will love building with them. Build a domino city asking questions like, "I need a domino with 4 dots on it."</span><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Cards: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">f you decide to play go fish, take out the face cards and focus on 1 to 10. Make connections for them like, "What number did you just draw or can you count the dots on the card to find the name of the number?"</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal;font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Dollar Store Junk:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> I know it sounds funny but the Dollar Store has great materials to practice counting. I just found an assortment of plastic dinosaurs that my son loved lining them all up, counting them and sequencing them in every other color. They have great marbles, popsicle sticks…you name it. Just keep in mind that you are looking for things to make that link with counting just like you do when looking for a good book for your child.</span><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Barrel of Monkeys: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">I still remember linking the monkey’s arms together when I was little. This is a great game to take in the car. Don't forget to ask them, "How many monkeys did you link together? Can you link 5 monkeys? What happens if 1 monkey falls off?"<br /></span></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Snap Cubes: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Snap cubes can be found at a teaching resource store. They come in an array of colors. Snap cubes are great for building, and making "number trains.” Ask your child to see how big of a train they can make with the cubes and count the cubes in the train.<br /></span><br />Find Numbers Everywhere!</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span> </div></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span style="font-family:arial;">When I brought my first son home from the hospital, I remember all the cute board books I had lined up and the routine my husband and I had of reading books every night before bed. Now when we read books at night we also count anything we can in the books to making a link to numbers and reading. When we are in the car, we not only sing the alphabet, but practice counting forwards and backwards. We loves to count back from 10 to 0 and say, “Blast off.” We look for numbers on signs, buildings and license plates too. Including numbers and counting in every part of your child's life will develop their life-long learner skills and give them confidence in the classroom. It allows them to see the importance of counting and reading at a young age.</span></span></div></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-86916404969605541942008-09-14T20:38:00.009-06:002008-09-29T21:17:27.663-06:00Fire Away With Bunny Ears<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Bunny Ears At The Park</span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNapC9ZbK1Z5yRIal6G9FA0-Lp7DKgBldVLnsFFRXBEi8gFmhSHApjuKUt8NM817s0FIl9r8m21T01NPgSw13HO8wsacnogmuDBaz1UgC11nMelne9SPaqhALMUpzIGdP3nLFlVSKfHVU/s1600-h/DSCN2972.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246073273611914898" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNapC9ZbK1Z5yRIal6G9FA0-Lp7DKgBldVLnsFFRXBEi8gFmhSHApjuKUt8NM817s0FIl9r8m21T01NPgSw13HO8wsacnogmuDBaz1UgC11nMelne9SPaqhALMUpzIGdP3nLFlVSKfHVU/s200/DSCN2972.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246073280793097218" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qs3tPfxsdyhip9PdvM1rKT2PUONPZhZHUQigLr3Z3Ru0jbL3kFWkA2_1LNtlMN27AsDi4Vozc3An_d710sqFyFU5o5jRVK5wHSsAmKQorf8fWDHLKkmiFAnWNw9L2ZG-AZ2utgvtyKI/s200/DSCN2973.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246073290537992178" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwSSLF6uarJJt2advqefwfH6GXRddjTRvGMtHVFLQgTiTmlYKnCZyxKG87HudeXahoJk97Fccj2h8hoUUMCafuJQeKgYvcZwkVBgPr2Tm-e_bFdphqoJR20vH-bubkwv092i6l9upCwo/s200/DSCN2974.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><strong>What Are Bunny Ears™?</strong><br />Bunny Ears is a Math Recovery® game to encourage fluency with finger patterns. Once a child can make their finger patterns from 1 to 10 in sight, they are ready to move their fingers out of sight or in this case, on top of their head. Kids love this game because it is silly and parents have a great time watching their child problem solve. It is a lot of fun.<br /><br /><strong>How to Make Bunny Ears<br /></strong>1. Ask your child to put their hands in the fire away position on top of their head like a bunny.<br />2. Ask your child to fire away a number from 1 to 10 while keeping their fingers on top of their head.<br />3. Notice how your child makes their finger patterns when they are out of sight. Do they count from 1 to find the number? Do they automatically know the number? Do they pull their hands down to make the number?<br /><br /><strong>How Many Ears Did You See? (Modeling bunny ears for your child)<br /></strong>1. Put your hands in the fire away position on top of your head like a bunny.<br />2. Make a number 1 to 10, keeping your fingers on top of your head.<br />3. Ask your child, "How many ears do you see on top of my head?"<br />4. Continue making different patterns on top of your head for your child. Gradually decrease the amount of time you show your bunny ears. Eventually, you should be able to just quickly flash your bunny ears and have your child identify the number.<br /><br />Video of Bunny Ears<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxWSn9uEGfKb82Lmn08ygYoJ4GzVdD3bfGkKhtFngmUhSq6oliwzyI__29K0tmUAr9t44kbATIryROwQs1wUw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-73277210364641572162008-08-13T09:13:00.009-06:002008-08-19T21:42:18.023-06:00Do Babies Count?<div>I was talking with a group of friends that are all using the Fire Away With Finger Patterns method with their young children. One friend told me she uses it with her one-year-old son. She said that he loved it when she said, "Fire away!" We all play games with our babies, tickling their toes, kissing them, reading books and singing songs. What about counting? How can we include them in counting? Please watch the attached video to see that babies count too!<br /></div><br /><div><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyiRz43BZqcMfawAhUnkBmBFUK8SjIoEnOm6E41Tpih4EOR3DekU363Tn28rziF8w4g0Lh6FFnpODOxp0tJ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div><strong>Babies Count Too Tickle Game</strong> </div><br /><div>I started playing this game with my 15-month-old son last week. I say and fire away finger patterns from one to five and of course follow it with lots tickling. His giggling increases with each number as he anticipates the tickle. Sometimes he tries to count along with his fingers even though he cannot talk yet! It is amazing to see them start to understand counting and quantity.<br /></div><br /><div>1. Fire away your finger patterns starting at one building to five.<br />2. Say each number as you fire away.<br />3. After five, tickle them all over.<br />4. Once they understand the game, try it without words and just use finger patterns followed by tickling.<br /></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-16026222243471718662008-07-22T22:00:00.014-06:002008-07-27T21:59:52.262-06:00FAWFP #2: Solid with 1 to 5<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Who Cares? Why Should I Care? Why I Care!</span><br />Thank you all of you that have sent out my Blog and continue to subscribe. I have had so many great comments and reactions that I want to address some things before moving on to the next step of FAWFP.<br /><br />When I tell people that I am writing a book about finger patterns, I hear a lot of, "Why?" I decided to start talking about finger patterns because of the impact that I saw finger patterns making on my students and on my own children. The published research is very impressive too. The earlier you work with your child or even interact with your child with counting, the easier it will be for them in school. I know as a parent I want my child's career in school to be positive and as a teacher I know the feeling of seeing a child that needs to catch up. So here is one idea to help our children be prepared for school: finger patterns.<br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Impact on Students:</span><br />I work with first grade students that are "at risk" in mathematics. They usually cannot count from 1 to 10 when our sessions begin. We use many learning tools and finger patterns are a key element. Learning finger patterns gives them a skill that they make their own and confidence that reaches beyond mathematics. With the foundation of finger patterns, they commonly move on to count past 100, do early addition and subtraction and achieve in many areas in their classroom that were once hard for them. It is impressive to see how one simple skill improves all other areas of learning.<br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Impact on Young Children:</span><br />I began working with my oldest son before he turned two. I didn't sit down with him and ask him to show me patterns. That would have been almost impossible with such a busy two-year old. I found ways to incorporate numbers and finger patterns into his daily life. Before he turned three, he was making all his patterns from 1 to 10 and much more.<br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Research:</span><br />If you are interested enough to poke around on the web yourself, you will find these and more articles. Recent research states that when children use their fingers to solve higher-level math problems that are given in first and second grade (solving addition and subtraction problems), they are able to solve problems correctly and are performing 1 to 4 years above their grade level. Here is the link to this interesting research by Dr. Jarvis. <a href="http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/danj/EDUC4274/PJ%20MATH%20ASSIGN%202007-08/SECTION%204/TEACHING%20RESOURCES/S4G1.doc">http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/danj/EDUC4274/PJ%20MATH%20ASSIGN%202007-08/SECTION%204/TEACHING%20RESOURCES/S4G1.doc</a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Question and Answer:</span><br />Alicia posted the question: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">"What if Paisly is a lefty? Do I start with her dominant hand or does it affect the way this program progresses?"</span> This is a great question because most young children do tend to favor one hand. You can start by working with them on the dominant hand. Then move to the non-dominant hand. The big idea is to get them flexible with knowing how to make 1 to 5 on both hands. If you notice them only making patterns on one hand then try saying, "Fire away a 4! Now try a 4 on the other hand!"<br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">What's Next: Solid with 1 to 5 </span><br />Now that you have worked with your child to sequentially make the finger patterns from 1 to 5 on both hands, it is good to practice and make sure they are solid with their numbers from 1 to 5 on both hands. Ask you child to Fire Away random numbers from 1 to 5 on their right hand and then repeat on their left hand. Watch to see how they are making their numbers. If they are not able to make the numbers 1 to 5 randomly then go back and practice making 1 to 5 in sequential order. Remember to make counting and finger patterns fun and as soon as possible. Bring parts of their world in to create relevance in their learning.<br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Game: Show Me</span><br />Below is a video of FAWFP for different things that are in the range of 1 to 5. This is a great way to see if your child knows their finger patterns and if they are transferring that knowledge of counting to their finger patterns. You can play "Show Me" while riding in the car, during bath time, at the pool, or just about anywhere. So Fire Away and have fun!<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzaxe0DVInjMJwKmoaz_paZp21ZB2xMCi7_WWS2btaB4Wcftdz9oM5mSiGeyehn-5mMRASxdeKILDZhD3miyQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7949296434577611746.post-46847587980491379872008-06-16T09:48:00.026-06:002008-07-03T20:18:39.185-06:00Welcome to Fire Away With Finger Patterns (FAWFP)<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyY_60jZPGXQ1c3Ft_sm7EZYi5DwwILsz4KHCVfdDH07Uls3GD3jwpjOb5keYhXyN8XrUni8pf--vNMbjUuWg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Do you want to teach your 2 year old how to count or help your struggling students?</span><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><br /></span></div><p>Would you like to give your child an early jump in mathematics? Do you have a toddler that loves to count, but you don't know how to help them? Are you an early childhood teacher and you notice your students struggling with early counting? My name is Kellie Merrill and I am a Math Recovery specialist (www.mathrecovery.org) and a mother of two young, energetic boys. Over the past few years, I developed a method to work with my students and my sons that may be helpful for you. I have seen first-hand with my three-year-old son, how exposing your child to early counting (as early as 2 years old) jump starts their entry into early mathematics.<br /><br />I developed a process that I call, “Firing Away with Finger Patterns” to teach young children about counting and early numeracy. What can your child or student learn from finger patterns?</p><ul><li>They will learn how to count! </li><br /><li>They will learn how to link quantity to numbers! Warning: This may mean more negotiations for cookies, minutes until bedtime, etc..</li><br /><li>The earlier you start, the better off your little counters will be! This is the basis of mathematics and is key for early numeracy development.</li></ul><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Why Finger Patterns?</span></p><p>Finger patterns are not a new concept. When I was in first grade I used my fingers to help me count, but like many of you, I was told this was not correct. So I found ways to count my fingers under my desk. Now that I am a teacher and a Math Recovery Specialist/Trainer, I have learned and seen first hand how important this simple step is to build a solid foundation for early mathematics.</p><p>The last five years I have been working with first graders as a Math Recovery specialist. My students have all been identified through assessment as struggling with early numeracy. One of the key concepts that we work on is finger patterns. I noticed that when teaching my students finger patterns, they had a hard time with holding down their fingers so I developed the Fire Away method. I found this approach to be more kid friendly and the context continues to be easy for them to grasp.<br /><br />I discovered the most impressive thing about finger patterns when I began working with my son on finger patterns, who is now 4, when he was 2. Right around his 2nd birthday I started asking him how old he was. I first showed him how to make a fist then had him Fire Away a 1. He caught on to the 1 very quickly, but moving to 2 was really hard especially on little hands. Once he understood how to hold down the other three fingers and practiced showing me how old he was, moving from 2 to 3 was easier.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">When Should I Start Finger Patterns?</span><br /></p><p>I am now working with my 13 month old on making a 1. I know realistically it is the last thing he wants to do. He would rather be crawling or eating dirt, but I have started to lay down the foundation of counting by just showing him 1. He is around his big brother who is now hooked on finger patterns and makes them all day long. My older son really started to grasp making patterns right around his second birthday. For early elementary school age children, reviewing how to make finger patterns can only help them with advancing their skills to higher levels of solving problems.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">How Do I Start?</span><br /></p><p>The biggest thing I have noticed about teaching my own son is incorporating his world into learning his finger patterns. Such as making his age on his fingers, how many stories he wants at bedtime or even how much more time left he has to play. Watch the video below to see how Dylan is now making his finger patterns. Remember he has been doing this for a few years now, but you can start the same way.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Getting Started: Making 1 to 5 on Right and Left Hands</span></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217891125079026338" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoLlEL2hyphenhyphenYoABs_Pw05lnDhKQNgcYXQaaJor3P7yjla8nhq-V4xi15mZU2_mi2PN3uABPYJuavleQdXyWzcE_lXoRgvRB1SFtxfS-wMgHdWIeVaCz2DqAzAMv76DbFDmnk-tHLGu3cZg/s200/ready+to+firea.jpg" border="0" /> <ul><li>Make a fist on your right hand with the thumb holding all the fingers snuggly down on top of the nail beds.</li></ul><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><ul><li>Tell your child to “Fire Away” a 1 (this gives them the hint to release only 1 finger while the others are still held down waiting to be fired)</li><ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKw7w3rup4fnXbBtGN8vD7auM5EgVWcOegk30tRrl73clx7LZ4sHkuROXjB7QTsgymLvML610GoA1ZyBuAiDz0_ZKbHBX7Bqh4rDrlPUQ0qnrAWkSjQeMBpo77t0tsNeE6mLfoGjKF308/s1600-h/pattern+1a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217892645866866754" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKw7w3rup4fnXbBtGN8vD7auM5EgVWcOegk30tRrl73clx7LZ4sHkuROXjB7QTsgymLvML610GoA1ZyBuAiDz0_ZKbHBX7Bqh4rDrlPUQ0qnrAWkSjQeMBpo77t0tsNeE6mLfoGjKF308/s200/pattern+1a.jpg" border="0" /></a> </ul></ul><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><ul><ul><br /></ul><li>Continue this same pattern from 1 to 5 on the right hand then switch making 1 to 5 on the left hand.</li></ul><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrok8A0mAW3nwvcdZ06XiM_Xh-Grmtxfpkcdhh8queZ2naEP_nhB3ihrVJjUYJvnRWJmkAUpdM7fmSLiniYw6cs82_v9DdS4IvvjfFBlDMzEJmZisV1JbwV-yRTmnIdjpNYQD28X7VJE/s1600-h/pattern+2a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217894213222258034" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrok8A0mAW3nwvcdZ06XiM_Xh-Grmtxfpkcdhh8queZ2naEP_nhB3ihrVJjUYJvnRWJmkAUpdM7fmSLiniYw6cs82_v9DdS4IvvjfFBlDMzEJmZisV1JbwV-yRTmnIdjpNYQD28X7VJE/s200/pattern+2a.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217894807182677890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuC9UPeWRJ5xRuC7ea-7TGMR3ojXmjiW7B2nAEfVlHJ_DNdgPenPMzvKNQYoxeEL_7PGlMliaichhI6FDiYwL7gs77Q6DTVqMCutPVaM5z8_NJGn2RwI5No0ceshPPspK6JSIaMuC6fI/s200/pattern+3a.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,238); TEXT-DECORATION: underline"><br /></span></p><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,238); TEXT-DECORATION: underline"><br /></span></p><p></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217895781621558962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKP3efJkDDrfGgXCvfoPO3wdp9QaYoZmtrYyi49WdLrFvq0YnQBK0F5df5KdfdvVBqLkjtMjRVD0ujs96EghtgdpIMJ_9QgWC3CX10BfcVHwOg71_diO_itZtnjliHGR1RVvgxexwRQ1I/s200/pattern+4a.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217896605464100082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjaHbXQrJEvV2-nNNOwzTfocgNCE1N8oCwU6sBP5bIy5bjewSusnruKgToAv7A9iOF0lumq3CRcX5DmoCePghn4xsOXK03ENQd6AHz2LW6AMWp3hiczUC_mSvy7heSQK5yGcM-i-yqjQ/s200/pattern+5a.jpg" border="0" /> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">What is next?</span><br /></p><p>Practice, practice, practice and stay tuned to this site for the next step in counting where we start to link what we are doing with our fingers to the world around us. If you have any question or would like to get ahead, please email me at kelliecatania@yahoo.com.</p><p>Thank you!</p>Kellie Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13348882163575130408noreply@blogger.com5