We continued our exploration of the letter J with a fun snack time activity suggested by our parent teacher today, Sharon.  Sharon and her daughter Alden brought in several tangerines, lemons, limes, and a grapefruit, along with a juicer, and we made our own juice for snack!  Because many of those fruits taste sour or bitter on their own, we mixed them to create a delicious fruity drink!  Each child took a turn selecting a fruit, then twisting it on top of the juicer.  With a little help from the grown-ups, we had enough juice for everyone to taste our concoction and it was a big hit!

In addition, Kristy designed a math project in which each child used a muffin tin to sort a large pile of jelly beans.  Each cup of the muffin tin had a designated number and color indicating how much of each type of jelly bean went into the cups.  Each child’s muffin tin had different numbers and colors, so they worked independently, but shared the large trays of jelly beans at their tables.  This activity was perfect for our group of Tugboats because it posed both successes and challenges for everyone, regardless of their level of comfort with the task.  Some children were ready to count each color of jelly bean and match it to their assigned numbers while others were more comfortable matching the colors, but needed more one on one assistance with the counting.  Everyone took the opportunity to practice and strengthen their one-to-one correspondence and number sense.  They also practiced their fine motor skills by grasping and pinching at their desired jelly beans.

While most of the Tugboats are comfortable counting both independently and as a group, it’s typical for children at this age to struggle to associate the numbers that they speak with the printed numbers they see and then a collection of items that equal the number.  Activities like this one help them to strengthen those associations.  A firm grasp of number sense is the foundation needed for children to understand and master addition and subtraction in their early elementary years.  We are well on our way!