Maths links- the joy of an abacus

This is part of Joyful Learner's Maths Links come over and have a look www.joyfulllearner.blogspot.com

I have recently had the good fortune to acquire a beautiful Melissa and Doug wooden abacus.

When I studied maths at university there was a lot of talk about buying hundreds boards for the children - which seem to be ridiculously expensive for what they are - and subsequently it was on my wish list of things for my new centre.


But having watched the children play with this abacus, I think a quality beautiful abacus achieves the same ten by ten purpose but in a much more open ended beautiful way.

I have observed all of the ages in my centre from two year olds to just under six relish the counting and maths play that this abacus provides - ranging from simple moving of the pieces to counting all the way to 100 while moving the pieces (one to one correspondence at it's best)

If you don't have a abacus... I personally recommend one very highly and if you don't want to buy one you can simply make one via threading ten sets of ten... Even more maths plus fine motor!

Searching for bargains

One aspect of me that seems to work very well in my new career is my constant search for quality materials at low prices especially as constant budget constraints are often a issue in the industry. There are a number of ways I look for bargains.

Michael and I have long held a love of the Rozelle 2nd Hand Market in Sydney ever since I dragged him into the Inner West (which much convincing) in 2005 (I'd lived in the area for years before.) I am now ashamed to admit that he realised its potential well before I did - he rarely buys his clothes anywhere else.

You will often find us at the markets both days (there are different stall holders) on nearly every weekend (unless we are in Newcastle) - we have also worked hard to convert my 10yr old step daughter to the cause... its working - she knows that if she buys stuff there she will get heaps more and really individual things - the other day she got a incredible huge pink flower ring (with diamantes) for 3 bucks! from London.

For example, today I bought...
- 3 second hand books - Atonement; A Oliver Sacks book on Music and the mind; & The unbearable lightness of being ($15) - I have a extensive library that I have been building for years - nearly all secondhand.
- 3 wooden trucks - one farm truck (incl 3 wooden animals), one fire truck and one digger (for a complete bargain of $12)
- Two fantastic Australian art books (for $8)
- and lots of plants - succulents, tarragon, jasmine, and curry leaf plant.(for about $20)

As you can tell was unsupervised by Michael today (he was at a work conference) so lots of cool things - otherwise would have had to buy him shirts and Lizzy dresses - like yesterday). I also find it great for real materials relating to a interest of a child.

In addition to the markets, I also subscribe to lots of sale sites, I LIVE on etsy.com (if you haven't been there go now....), and have signed up to I think nearly every loyalty card/email list in the known universe - Michael doesn't get it.

I love resource recycling centres such as Reverse garbage in Sydney http://www.reversegarbage.org.au/ and the recent gem from Sherry and Donna - Resource Rescue Craft Supplies .... http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/resourcerescuecraftsupplies

The Internet is fantastic for finding the best deals. I must admit my sister in law is even better than me at this....she is a fantastic bargain hunter who even on sale sites will check out the prices all over the Internet before buying - she is also a great bargain traveller.

I am also trying to learn how to do things myself e.g. knit, felt, sew and so on. One of my goals is making knitted toys by the end of the year and the Knitters Guild are wonderful and provide free learn to knit lessons each month

I also hoard and borrow from family... simple things like used wrapping paper, scarves, buttons and so on all have a role ....

What do you do to snare a bargain?

Allowing Time for Mastery

On my facebook page recently I added a link that showed a day in the life of a Waldorf/Steiner preschool. One of the things they talked about is allowing time for children to understand and master a story.

This carries a strong resonance with me - particularly with art projects.

Firstly, I believe it is vital to provide the children with artist quality materials. If you provide the children with cheap materials you will find the children tend not to respect the materials, they will not be able to create high quality artworks and often you don't save money as the materials do not last.

Secondly, I believe that the children need to be provide the same (or similar) art experiences on a regular basis. Through this the children develop skills and knowledge of the materials - leading to more complex and insightful work. This does not necessarily mean every day - though i think a writing /drawing table should be out every day.

I have been putting this believe in practice over the last month at my centre - and the beautiful artworks that the children creating are a great reassurance in this philosophy (i will post some tonight when i download my photos).

In addition, on the curriculum front, one of my prac supervisors once told me that the creation of beautiful artworks by a child (especially one where they invest a lot of time in creating it) is a incredible example of the spiritual child and their understanding of beauty in the world