What’s the BIG Idea?

1. What’s the BIG Idea? Introducing Math & Science Concepts to Young Patrons Beth Rosania Jenny Grenfell PNLA 2010, Victoria , British Columbia

2. What math or science concept did you use in your last children’s program?

3. What we want to ask ourselves • Is this a meaningful activity for children? • Am I helping them make sense of their world?

4. Expectations • Infusing our preschool activities with science and math content, skills, and processes • Seeing what we already do through a different lens

5. History of BIG Idea • Mother Goose Programs – Vermont Center for the Book • Adaptable to multiple age groups • Piloted three years in three library systems

6. 3 focus areas • More Than Counting • Patterns and Relationships • Shapes and Spaces

7. More Than Counting Numbers and Operations

8. Goals and Key Concepts Goal: Children will explore numbers and operations, while developing their math skills, concepts and vocabulary Key Concepts: • relationships between numbers and things • relationships between numbers • measuring • estimation

9. Concept Map

10. Counting Vocabulary • one-to-one correspondence • cardinal number • ordinal number • part-part-whole • set • numeral

11. 4 8 2 3 5 What Happens When Children Explore Numbers? 3 6-3 7 4 6 15 7 8 1 1 3 5 + 1 8 9

12. Counting • one-to-one correspondence • count to five • count & represent numbers with objects • numerical order • use numbers to collect & represent data

13. Sets • sorting • matching • part-part-whole - sets - addition - making number sentences

14. Measurement • measuring length • measuring weight • standard units • non-standard units • estimation

15. More Than Counting: A Typical Program • What’s Needed • Opening • Books • Fingerplays/Songs • Activity

16. Patterns and Relationships Patterns, Relationships, and Changes over Time

17. Goals and Key Concepts • Goal: to lay groundwork for general math and science skills • Key Concepts: patterns and relationships that underlie all math and science • Children learn this best hands-on

18. Concept Map

19. 4 Major Areas • Finding Patterns • Recognizing Relationships • Change Over Time: Growth • Change Over Time: Weather

20. Patterns • Recognition • Continuation • Variation • Creation

21. Relationships • Attributes • Comparison • Sorting • Sequences

22. Growth • Of kids, plants, animals, etc. • Any change over time

23. Weather • Very easy to integrate into existing programming

24. Spaces and Shapes Geometry for Young Children

25. Goals and Key Concepts • Goal: to lay groundwork for geometry • Key Concepts: positional words, measurement, classification, shapes, sizes, relationships

26. Concept Map

27. Three Areas of Geometry for Children Exploring Shapes Spaces and Places Building and Construction

28. Exploring Shapes • Name that Shape (What the heck is a “rhombus”?) • What makes me a circle and you a triangle? (Attributes and Comparisons) • Sorting, Combining, Exploring (Quilts, Symmetry, Tangrams)

29. Spaces and Places • Location! Location! Location! • Let’s Stop & Get Directions • Are We There Yet?

30. Building and Construction • What children learn as they build • How can that happen?

31. Spaces and Shapes: A Typical Program • What’s Needed • Opening • Books • Fingerplays/Songs • Activity

32. You can do it ! How can you insert these concepts into activities you already have planned? What will work for you?

33. Conclusions and Ideas Feel free to share any ideas YOU’VE come up with along the way!