Math & Movement Blog - Posts for Educators and Parents

13Jan 2020 by Intern No Comments

Math & Movement Ten Frame Desk Sticker

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Math & Movement Gameboards Love our full size floor mats but want a smaller version for fun classroom games and activities? Try our new Math & Movement ten frame board game for fun math games and individual desk work. Our math gameboards are designed for individual desk work. Each student gets their own reusable dry-erase sticker to practice writing their numbers. They can also practice counting from 1 to 10 by tapping and counting on their desk. How to Use The Ten Frame Game Here’s an addition game to play with our Ten Frame gameboard! Have students write each number from 1 through 10 on their gameboards using a dry-erase marker. Call out a number between 1 and 9. Have students draw a dot or star on that number. Have…

13Jan 2020 by suzy123 No Comments

School Stair Riser Stickers

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Math & Movement Stair Riser Stickers Decorate your school’s stairs with colorful stair riser stickers. Encourage students to practice math, ELA, science, foreign languages, or positive affirmations, on their way to class! In our Math & Movement workshops, we ask teachers to calculate how many minutes they spend walking in the hallway to art, PE, music, lunch, etc. Teachers report that their transition time outside of the classroom is 15-30 minutes each day. However, one study found that some first-grade students spend 25% of their day transitioning between class periods. If the average school day is six hours, students could be spending up to an hour and a half transitioning each school day. That’s 270 hours per year they could be reinforcing their understanding of class content! Why not use…

01Jan 2020 by Intern No Comments

Math Manipulatives in the Classroom

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Math Manipulatives in the Classroom What do blocks, colorful plastic teddy bears, and wooden shapes have in common? They're all math manipulatives! They can certainly make learning math more fun, but do they help students master mathematical concepts? The research points to YES! What Are Math Manipulatives? Math manipulatives are physical objects students can use to better understand abstract math concepts. These tools can serve many different purposes - plastic animals for counting; dice for multiplication; colorful shapes for geometry. Manipulatives help students conceptualize through counting, weighing, measuring, adding, and molding objects. The opportunity to simply see concrete representations of concepts can make all the difference in how well students understand math concepts. How Do They Work? Math is a highly abstract subject, and many students have trouble making sense…

16Dec 2019 by suzy123 4 Comments

Colorful Learning Hallways Created at Ithaca School

Blog, News

Written By Suzy Koontz, Founder and CEO of Math & Movement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_poS2KilfA&feature=youtu.be If you have attended one of my workshops, then you may remember me sharing one of my favorite quotes from my mom, (a retired reading specialist). After teaching thousands of children to read, my mom’s best advice for teaching and learning is, “Abundant Practice at a Level of Comfortable Success.” This wonderful advice from my mom inspired a vision that is now a reality in one school! For years, I have dreamed about words, wonderful words, in hallways for students to jump and practice! We created mats with the Dolch Sight words for this purpose. Setting this up in the hallway allows for a morning exercise program and buddy programs where older students help younger students with sight…

04Dec 2019 by Intern No Comments

Holiday Fun Math Games

Activities, Blog

Have Some Fun With These Holiday Math Games Deck the Halls, the Holiday Season is Upon Us! Colorful lights fill the neighborhood and delicious food fills our plates. Along with these holiday cheers, comes packed bellies and sleepy minds. As students are headed home for break, teachers can prepare simple math activities for them to share with their parents to keep their minds active over winter break. Active Math Movements are a perfect way to keep children entertained while also promoting healthy bodies and sharp minds. Math incorporated with movement and a sprinkle of holiday games could turn an unproductive break into a productive one! Keeping Kids Sharp During the Holidays Research shows that "students who have done something educational during the break are more energized when they come back…

01Dec 2019 by Intern No Comments

December 2019 Teacher Spotlight – Jennifer Coughlin

Teacher Spotlight

December 2019 Teacher Spotlight Jennifer Coughlin K-5 Mathematics Coach and 5th/6th Grade Math Specialist George Fisher Middle School, Carmel Central School District, Carmel, NY How long have you been a teacher? I currently am a K-5 Mathematics Coach and 5th/6th grade Math Specialist at George Fisher Middle School in the Carmel Central School District (Carmel, NY). I just started my 24th year teaching. I have also taught kindergarten and third grade. How did you learn about Math & Movement? I learned about Math & Movement when I attended the New York City Mathematics Project Annual Conference last year and Suzy was the keynote speaker. I applied for both the Lowe’s Toolbox for Education and Community Foundations grants and received $7,500. This allowed me to purchase various mats and attend the Math & Movement…

05Nov 2019 by Intern No Comments

Bring Math into Your Elementary Physical Education Lessons

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Bring Math Into Your Elementary Physical Education Lessons Physical education courses are vital because they give students the chance to get up from their desks, get their blood pumping, and have fun! Not only does physical exercise promote healthy bodies, but it also improves students' moods and ability to learn. Therefore, P.E. warms up students' bodies and brains! Although P.E. can serve as a productive break from the classroom, incorporating math into elementary physical education lesson plans can be a useful strategy to make learning fun and give students the exercise they need. How Movement Supports Math Learning Math might not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of elementary P.E. lesson plans, but movement and math are actually fantastic partners! Exercise is often only thought…

01Oct 2019 by suzy123 No Comments

Healthy Halloween Haunts

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Healthy Halloween Haunts Halloween is an exciting time of year for kids, and it’s no secret that they love all of the sugary candy that they get to consume. However, Halloween also comes with health concerns with regard to childhood obesity. Each year, the average American child consumes 7,000 calories in candy alone on Halloween or the equivalent of 169 standard sugar cubes (Mukerjee). By adding physical activity into the classroom, you can promote a balanced lifestyle (and help your students work through a sugar crash!). In this article, you will find fun activities for this time of year that your students will love. Frankenstein by 5’s Active Math Movement Put your right arm out like Frankenstein and whisper “one.” Put your left arm out like Frankenstein and whisper “two.” …

18Sep 2019 by suzy123 No Comments

Why Kinesthetic Professional Development Workshops Will Have Your Teachers Jumping for Joy

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Why Kinesthetic Professional Development Workshops Will Have Your Teachers Jumping for Joy Professional development keeps teachers up-to-date on the latest science-backed pedagogical methods, increases their content knowledge, and allows them to strengthen relationships with their coworkers. Unfortunately, many teachers consider most professional development irrelevant, outdated, and uninspiring. According to the Gates Foundation, only 29% of teachers are highly satisfied with the professional development opportunities offered to them (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2014). Luckily, you can change their attitudes by addressing a few important factors. Here are five ways professional development workshops which teach kinesthetic learning strategies can address your teachers’ concerns and meet their professional learning goals! 1. Innovation. Many teachers are looking for new strategies that will engage their students, make learning fun, and be more inclusive to…

01Sep 2019 by suzy123 No Comments

How to Cure the Post-Summer Blues

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How to Cure the Post-Summer Blues Hooray! The school year has just begun (or is just about to begin, depending on where you are located). Students might still be in summer mode and not excited to start learning again. But have no fear! Math & Movement is here to help you combat the post-summer blues and make your lessons full of learning and fun! Morning Meeting Start the day right by telling your students what they have to look forward to. A daily morning meeting will provide students with a designated time to wake up their brains, say what they need to say, and start moving a little. One activity you could incorporate into your morning meeting could be a simple game of catch. The twist is that students have…