Counting

A friend pointed out to me that if children learn to count by 5, 10, 2 etc. they are ready to take multiplication. We've been working on it. I made a big poster board with numbers going across 1-10 and numbers going vertical counting by 10's. We fill in the numbers as Katrina can count higher and then every day count to 100 by 5's and 10's. They were getting bored with it so I kind of stumbled on doing a little clap game for pairs. Count by 5's hitting 1 hand, count by 10's hitting both. They wanted to do it again and again this way. Little tip.

Speaking of getting bored... I am finding that I have got to be Ms. Creativity to keep them excited and frankly, it's quite the challenge. They love school time, but sometimes they don't love doing what's in school time if that makes sense. I'm trying to balance "cover the basics" with "Learn whatever you want!" Perhaps this is the challenge for everyone, but I would love to hear your ideas, your suggestions, how do you make the basics fun? BTW, Sue showed me a great intro to reading game that we're starting if anyone is interested.