Little Kids-Powerful Problem Solvers: Math Stories from a Kindergarten Classroom

Kindergarten students are loaded with enthusiasm for learning, but they also possess an equivalent lack of patience. If the problem is interesting and allows them to examine and manipulate objects, they are capable of surprising insights into the world. This book is a month-by-month journal of the problems solved by a kindergarten class taught by Angela Andrews. The problems are all well suited for a kindergarten class, and as the solution process is described, you can almost hear the enthusiastic comments made by the children. In most cases, the teacher is a passive participant, speaking up only to damper a potential conflict or point the class in another direction when they have reached an impasse. This was a very sensible approach, as the children rarely get frustrated, in most cases someone in the group thinks of a way to solve the problem. Each of the problems given to the students also allows them to collaborate in the solution. This is essential for the socialization of the group, although it does require the teacher to be a bit more involved in trying to get every student to contribute. In the current educational environment, teachers are being pressed to do much more with much less. One of the solutions is to select only outstanding material for their lessons, and this is one item that fits that description.