Shape Crackers
Here’s a terrific
idea from my friend Pamela Pounds.
Pamela sends a note to parents the first week of school asking them to
send crackers to help the children learn their shapes. (Ritz - circles, Club crackers -
rectangles, Doritos - triangles, Wheat Thins - squares, and Town House crackers
- ovals.) The parents are happy to send the crackers and they usually
last for a month. Pamela says it’s
not only a fun way to talk about shapes, but it’s nice for children who don’t
have a snack.
I thought of
several other additional math concepts you could reinforce:
*Give children two
crackers and ask them to describe how they are different.
*Have children eat
one half of a cracker.
*Give children a
square cracker and challenge them to nibble it into a circle.
*Give children two
like crackers. Ask, “Are they the
same amount?” Next, have them
break one of the crackers into little pieces. Ask, “Are they the same amount now?” You’ll be surprised at their
response. This is called
conservation of quantity and is an experiment Piaget used to demonstrate
developmental stages.
*Give children a
sheet of paper. Pass out a square
cracker to each child and tell the children to draw what it looks like on their
paper. Next, give them a circle shaped
cracker and ask them to draw it.
Continue with other shapes.
It’s a fun way to practice pre-writing skills.
Pamela Pounds also
shared this transition activity.
She went to the school cafeteria and got the label off a can of
applesauce. She glued it to paper
and added a stick. When she wants
the children to sit “criss cross applesauce” she holds up the sign. It’s a great way to get children quiet
and they are doing “logographic” reading and making print connections.
