cherryblossommj
Alrighty, so far I've told you about the Junior Kindergarten Lesson Plans For One Year and the Phonics books portion of Jr. K. Now I want to tell you about the Math and Numbers portion of the curriculum.
Numbers: The goal for the Jr. K student is to learn to count confidently to 20 - and higher if interested - and to recognize numbers 1-12. Again, opportunities to write numbers are afforded but we suggest delaying the writing component if interest or ability wanes. The primary goal should be recognizing and counting - consider Jr. K a head start in this area.
The Rod & Staff books selected do a fine job introducing numbers as well as beginning number skills, like pairing, sequencing, and comparing. We have offered additional suggestions that are more conversational, crafty, or tactile if alternative to a workbook approach are desired.
Math
At a glance, I have taken to note that Memoria Press often uses Rod & Staff books for their math curriculum in their packages and this holds true to basic level of Jr. K as well. Yet, there are some Memoria Press math materials as well included Numbers Coloring Book and the Numbers Books 1 & 2. For the purposes of Jr. K we are just using Numbers Coloring Book, however as after the beta trials the Numbers Books were moved to Kindergarten.
I received a portion of this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. See full disclosure at close of post or read my disclosure policy for more details. *Thanks to Memoria Press for providing material for review.*
Have you been searching high and low for junior kindergarten activities that are fun and instructional? Look no further! These coloring books have simple line drawings on uncluttered pages! The Alphabet Coloring Book has a 2-page spread for each letter, and the Numbers Coloring Book has two sets of 2-page spreads for numbers 0-12. These books are the perfect supplement to any junior kindergarten program.
Again, with the cover graphic designs of the numbers coloring book we have beauty! This time in green with a bushel of apples (Alphabet Books mentioned previously are pink, blue and yellow). This book covers numbers 0-12 and then repeats activities on those numbers in a second round. I personally think the second round of heavy black line illustrations to color have more detail available so they might appeal specifically as the motor skills are improving with more experience to color. On each set of pages, the instructions say, “Say the number out loud. Color the number.” followed by, “Count and color [the chickens].” or to whatever is relevant on the page. The first round is just “Count and color” while the second set is more specific to what the illustration is in title.
While the coloring books are just a supplement and not really mandatory, they are great books that will help with other items that are being taught in both numbers and phonics for both as well as other topics, for example when learning number one we discuss uni, and unicycle and this is brought up again in the coloring books. Plus the motor skill coordination is always necessary in the preschool and learning to write stage and there is plenty of that in coloring.
Next we have the Rod & Staff books chosen for Jr. K. Rod & Staff has three sets of preschool math books. The first set is called something all the lines of All About Three, All About Four, but I’m not familiar with it other than just seeing it in a brochure. The second set is A-B-C and the third set is G-H-I. We do own the entire first set containing Adventures With Books, Bible Pictures to Color, Counting With Numbers, Do It Carefully, Everywhere We Go, and Finding the Answers. Yet for the purposes of the Jr. K curriculum we are only talking about Counting With Numbers. We add in the others ones along and along when we’re in need of another activity to do. The G-H-I series contains Going On Eagerly, Hearing and Helping, Inside and Outside, Just Thinking and Choosing, Keep Doing It Carefully and Learning More and More. However we only have Inside and Outside. This one is for the math and numbers portion of the second half of Jr. K, however it contains a lot of information on animals and geography as well which makes it extra special.
Since the education of the child begins in the home, this series of workbooks is prepared to help you as parents give constructive guidance to your child in the last years prior to his entering first grade. It should be used or not used according to the preferences of your school board. These books may also provide extra practice for first graders who need such material.
This series should help you observe how your child relates to books and how well he follows directions. You may then better understand how to work with your child’s abilities or difficulties in schoolwork later. Also, doing this work at a regular time and place will help to lay a foundation for good study habits.
These workbooks are intended to help children appreciate and increase interest in the world around them, grow in vocabulary usage, show courtesy and helpfulness to others, and so forth. Practice and patient instruction help to improve their skills. While we want children to enjoy using these books, this work is not intended to help children feel overconfident in their abilities. The highest aim for children is to show an excellent, obedient, cooperative spirit.
Counting With Numbers had a similar reaction from my young preschooler as did the Alphabet Books at first, as she just did not want to write anything on a blank space, but only trace. However, as time goes on and she has more and more examples, she is getting braver to write on her own. And perhaps as recommended if she were four years old when we began, she might have jumped right in. Yet now as she is nearing four she is still learning and getting better each time we write another number. (After all, now she can spell her name in all capital letters!)
This book is packed with things to do from coloring, to drawing circles of various sizes, to cut and paste and that isn’t to mention learning numbers. Each number has a cute little statement with direction to write it like with number five, “Down the trunk and around the tree-- Add a branch. It’s five, you see!” and these really help her enthusiasm as she repeats them to herself as she tries to write.
Inside and Outside
This series follows the Preschool A-B-C Series. The basic purposes are the same in both series. Inside and Outside, with a woodland theme, includes practice in counting and writing numbers 0 through 12 by 1’s and 2’s, and by 10’s to 100. The color pink, the diamond shape, and the thermometer are introduced. Exercises include observing the changing seasons and weather, inside and outside buildings, and more.
Inside and Outside has an awesome illustrated cover that really impresses me and makes me want to get out the colored pencils. Actually for all of these Rod & Staff books, colored pencils have been my daughters writing utensil of choice (maybe I should look for the ones with erasers?). This book also has coloring, cutting, pasting, tracing and writing. I personally think that Memoria Press did an awesome job choosing to add in these books as they contain elements of our faith and Christianity on to the page and into the learning. I found the A-B-C series at an expo, but now with this introduce to the G-H-I series I think I might want to pick some of them up to add in maybe to a summer school or just some time for extra learning fun. All thanks to Memoria Press for bringing that to my attention. They are well organized and put together and contain so many elements of learning and the best part is that they cost a bargain! These are harder to find to purchase online, but now it seems you can get them from RainbowResource and of course from Memoria Press both in a curriculum package or alone.
Bonus Review!
Now for a special review. In the process of figuring out Jr. K I was blessed to get my hands on the Memoria Press Numbers Books 1 & 2. While we are not using them this year, I’m definitely holding on to them for next year. Looking at these I’m eager and excited. As I mentioned before we’ve had green, yellow, pink, and blue and now we have lavender and orange or I’d love to call it clementine. Really they should all be that, it’s sage, buttercup, rose, cornflower, lavender and clementine -- that’s what I’m going with.
Numbers Book, Part One and Numbers Book, Part Two
Written by Leigh Lowe (author of Prima Latina), the Numbers Book is the perfect introduction to numbers, counting, and patterns. Lots of tracing practice also makes this book ideal for the slightly older student, who has already mastered counting, but still needs extra practice writing numbers. The activities (mazes, coloring, pattern recognition, connect the dots, and more!) are so much fun that your student won’t be able to wait for the next lesson!
The cover on this one contains the same bushel of apples we saw on the Numbers Coloring Book except now we have the little boy from the Alphabet Books helping to carry the bushel with a little girl in yellow with an adorable bow on the side of her head. Again, this graphic designer has talent that I enjoy to see. Using similar images that we have come to enjoy from the Alphabet and Numbers Books that we have already experienced we find these again in the Numbers Books. Numbers Book, Part One contains pages on numbers 0-15 and then an appendix of reproducible pages. Numbers Book, Part Two contains a 100s counting chart and then pages on 16-20, followed by review pages and then less details pages to learn higher numbers up to 100. Interspersed throughout are pages to work on patterns, and same/different. There are also numberline activities, dot to dot, color by number and decoding. Then again is an index full of reproducibles to help on the writing experience. Book Two has about twenty more pages in it than Book One.
Samples of the Numbers Books may be found on Memoria Press' website.
Next, I'd love to tell you about my favorite part of the curriculum.
Part I – Lesson Plans
Part II – Phonics
Part III - Math
I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.
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