This week we have been inquiring deeper into numbers through storytelling. Usually we have the illustrations in books to support our understanding of stories, but in this case, we needed to rely on a new strategy called 'visualization', which means making a picture in our head of what we are hearing. Ms. Alison adapted a beautiful story from a Waldorf mathematics blog to tell a story of the number one. The children absolutely loved it! Everyone showed excellent listening skills and has been able to retell specific details from the story. Some have even included the story in their free play! |
When I was a little girl, my family traveled to a place that was far from our home. It was a beautiful valley with a blue lagoon was surrounded by a moss-covered forest. The water of the lagoon reached all the way to the ocean through a small gap in the mountains. My mum called this valley "the place of great gifts". My family stayed there for many days. Every day we woke up with the golden sun and wandered along the edge of the water. We loved looking at the big green trees in the forest. It was a very special time. |
After listening to the story, we all listened to the ONE special shell. We could hear the whispers of the mermaids!! We each took a counting shell and one pearl to put inside it. We discussed all the things that there were one of in the story and that we could think of in our own world. We made a list as a class and learned a poem to remember how to write the number one:
The number one is like a stick,
A straight line down that's very quick!