This week we started a math block about the four computational processes (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). As with all conceptual learning,
Enki Education approaches this through story first. So on Tuesday we read the
Enki 1st Grade Math Story "The Four Friends", about Minnie Minus, Paddy Plus, Max Multiply, and the ever equitable ruler of the kingdom in which they live, King Dominic Divide. (This first photo is my beeswax sculpture of the four friends.)
Both kids were very taken with the story. J in particular was getting more excited every time a new character was added. As soon as I finished the story, he immediately jumped up and yelled "I know who those guys are! They're math guys!" and then rattled off their names with an emphasis on the character's process as proof of his understanding. I smiled as they boys ran off to recite lines from the story and pretend to be various characters. (Second photo is J's interpretation of King Dominic Divide, sculpted in beeswax.)
Yesterday we recalled the story, and I chose beeswax sculpting as our artistic digestion. We'll be working with each character/process individually in the coming weeks, including led-drawings of them, so I felt something other than drawing would serve my children's interest best. (Third photo, Zoo Boy's representation of Paddy Plus.) The kids were given no instruction, just a pile of colored beeswax, they chose what they sculpted and how they looked on their own. I found it very interesting that Zoo Boy's Paddy wound up looking like a plus sign, and J's King Dominic wound up looking
surprisingly like mine even though we each worked individually on our own creations without referencing the others.
This week we started a math block about the four computational processes (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). As with all conceptual learning, Enki Education approaches this through story first. So on Tuesday we read the Enki 1st Grade Math Story "The Four Friends", about Minnie Minus, Paddy Plus, Max Multiply, and the ever equitable ruler of the kingdom in which they live, King Dominic Divide. (This first photo is my beeswax sculpture of the four friends.)
Both kids were very taken with the story. J in particular was getting more excited every time a new character was added. As soon as I finished the story, he immediately jumped up and yelled "I know who those guys are! They're math guys!" and then rattled off their names with an emphasis on the character's process as proof of his understanding. I smiled as they boys ran off to recite lines from the story and pretend to be various characters. (Second photo is J's interpretation of King Dominic Divide, sculpted in beeswax.)
Yesterday we recalled the story, and I chose beeswax sculpting as our artistic digestion. We'll be working with each character/process individually in the coming weeks, including led-drawings of them, so I felt something other than drawing would serve my children's interest best. (Third photo, Zoo Boy's representation of Paddy Plus.) The kids were given no instruction, just a pile of colored beeswax, they chose what they sculpted and how they looked on their own. I found it very interesting that Zoo Boy's Paddy wound up looking like a plus sign, and J's King Dominic wound up looking surprisingly like mine even though we each worked individually on our own creations without referencing the others.
2 comments:
that's great...the beeswax turned out great. Now that weather is warmer, I might just pull those out and see what my kids think.
I love your beeswax sculptures. Annie really enjoys beeswax (it's still a little hard for Em, but he tries). The beeswax is one of our favorite things. Sometimes we spend hours on one scene and don't even notice how much times passes. Thanks for sharing!
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