Circles are Fun and Everywhere you Look!

 Round is the Name of this weeks Children's Book and Read Aloud

Tumpsky & Mrs Small (Link)

    A lovely uplifting picture book is ready for you to check out on T&MS! Circle shapes are everywhere kids, get your eye-spy glasses on and count how many you can find! Make a list to tally them up and see if your friends and family find the same ones you eye-spied!

    The author, Joyce Sidman and illustrator Taeeun Yoo have put together an uplifting, curious book. After your children read it they will be further busy looking for circles everywhere. Circles are round, but 'round' is technically a three dimensional thing. Some examples would be; a ball, the moon (though it looks flat), seeds, an orange, etc.  

     But here is where the fun comes in...kids will start noticing other shapes around them and the eye-spy game will morph into triangles, squares, ovals, rectangles. It will go on and on. A great book for stepping into geometry! Kudos to the author/illustrator for broadening the basics in life and using our surroundings for teaching our youth.

#tumpskyandmrssmall #picturebook #shapes 

Many Umbrellas will Chase those Clouds Away!

 The Umbrella by, Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld

Uplifting and Bright... moving away from those grey doldrums.

    A cute little story that helps us thru the doldrums that rain can bring. It's about a young girl and her puppy who are determined to go out and do all the things they would do on a regular sunny day. Hurrying to town, rain pouring down, she looks in the window of a junk shop, stops and goes in...yes, of course with her puppy! They both find a straggled umbrella that is bright yellow, unusable, and frankly aghast! What was the shop keeper thinking?  But no hesitation, the young girl says 'wrap it up!' Thank goodness it was free, with the free tag showing. 

    As the rain pours down and the young girl hurries back home the umbrella sheds what little pieces of material is left on its metal frame. The image of yellow bits scattered all over the wet ground and grass is sad. But... the next day a miracle happens. No I can't tell you...... that would spoil the story. Just know it's a good ending. Hee hee. Great for 1st Grade, K, Pre-K.

    The extra story that's included in the video on Youtube is called, Mission Addition, by Loreen Leedy....that would be a great teachers name. Anyway, it is a minimally animated story about a school teacher a, "Ms. Hippo," who helps the children/animal-critters, learn math the fun way, as Gumshoes! Great for 1st Graders! 

#Seasonal #readaloud #children #kids #story

Shapes, Size and Counting - Sorting Colors - Beginning Reader #readaloud

I Love the 3 S's: Shapes, Size, Sorting!

With the Extra Add-on, Counting!

    As a Teacher

    This is a lovely book that contains many ways of learning wrapped up into one work of art. I know it's a book, but it's also considered art in my personal opinion. Can art become math! Of course and in this jewel of an aid for learning, it is a keeper. In fact, I may try to emulate what this author has done in another book idea I want to develope.

    But why, you ask, is this one so great!  Three reasons come to mind... First, it is simple in style. The creatures for example are basic shapes, with basic colors, with different sizes. Numerous blends of pertinent question can be asked, for example; An owl is a square that has one primary color. A snail is a circle, with a secondary color. A whale is a blue triangle. Rudimentary shapes, colors, etc. make for simplistic form and easy likability for the young in mind.  Secondly, there aren't so many words filling up the page.  Beginning readers, sounding out one or two words.  Thirdly, this is a book intended for beginning geometry ie; shapes, size, and how they can be sorted, small, medium, large. Fourthly, because I just thought of it... is because it is mathematical. It sings; count me, design me, color me, sort!