WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.779 As a parent or teacher, these are four fun and 00:00:02.779 --> 00:00:05.200 easy ways to help your child or your student 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:07.919 with number writing, especially over the summer. 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:18.120 Hello and welcome to Making Number Sense Make 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:21.339 Sense, a podcast for elementary teachers, specifically 00:00:21.339 --> 00:00:23.960 early elementary teachers, looking to really 00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:26.640 make an impact in the number sense of their students. 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:29.320 For each of these ideas for number writing, the 00:00:29.320 --> 00:00:32.560 overarching activity is the same. What's changing 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:35.140 is the medium or the sensory input that kids 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:37.740 are getting. So for all of these activities, 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:40.820 you could do something like roll a dice and then 00:00:40.820 --> 00:00:43.280 the student or child would write the number or 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:46.899 Pick a card or you can ask them something like 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:49.439 what's three plus four and then they will show 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:51.539 you the answer with these number writing activities. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:56.820 The first one is water painting. So on days where 00:00:56.820 --> 00:00:59.399 it's really hot, these are perfect, especially 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:02.920 for the summer. All you need for this activity 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:07.290 is a cup. and a paintbrush of some sort, which 00:01:07.290 --> 00:01:10.969 you can easily get at the dollar store. So like 00:01:10.969 --> 00:01:12.950 I mentioned before, you could say, write the 00:01:12.950 --> 00:01:15.189 number six, or they would pick a number or roll 00:01:15.189 --> 00:01:17.730 a dice and then write in quotation marks because 00:01:17.730 --> 00:01:20.849 they're using the water to paint the number that 00:01:20.849 --> 00:01:23.709 you're talking about. And the thing about painting 00:01:23.709 --> 00:01:27.400 versus... writing with a pencil is it's the same 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:30.140 kind of motion, but it just feels a little different. 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:32.879 It feels a little new, which is good for engaging 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:35.640 your child or student in this kind of activity. 00:01:35.780 --> 00:01:38.840 And the best part is there's really no mess once 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:42.349 the water paint. dries, you're good to go. The 00:01:42.349 --> 00:01:46.650 next idea is sand writing. Beyond holding a paintbrush 00:01:46.650 --> 00:01:49.950 or a pencil, using their actual fingers to trace 00:01:49.950 --> 00:01:53.310 something or write something can be great sensory 00:01:53.310 --> 00:01:56.409 feedback for kids and creates different kinds 00:01:56.409 --> 00:01:58.810 of neural pathways for students to be able to 00:01:58.810 --> 00:02:01.730 learn how to write numbers. For all of these 00:02:01.730 --> 00:02:04.480 you're going to be wanting to just be looking 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:07.219 in on the formation of the numbers, the way that 00:02:07.219 --> 00:02:09.139 they're making them, so like they're starting 00:02:09.139 --> 00:02:11.900 from the top and not the bottom. But in sand 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:14.280 writing, similar to what I said before, pick 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:16.460 a number, roll a number, and then they're using 00:02:16.460 --> 00:02:20.180 their finger to write that number into the sand. 00:02:20.360 --> 00:02:23.639 Not only is sand a super fun way to do this kind 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:25.900 of activity, but it supports fine motor skills, 00:02:26.139 --> 00:02:29.039 enhances sensory input, And it can be relaxing 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:31.819 to have your fingers in the sand. Now, with that 00:02:31.819 --> 00:02:34.620 being said, some students may not like the feeling. 00:02:34.860 --> 00:02:36.759 So you're really just going to have to see if 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:39.180 it's something that your child likes or doesn't 00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:41.639 like. The next idea, so we're on idea number 00:02:41.639 --> 00:02:46.639 three, is gel writing. So what is gel writing? 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:49.849 You put hair gel or some other kind of gel. into 00:02:49.849 --> 00:02:52.550 a plastic bag to make it fun you can put some 00:02:52.550 --> 00:02:55.069 food coloring in there as well and then close 00:02:55.069 --> 00:02:58.030 it and tape it and prevent any other leaks you 00:02:58.030 --> 00:03:01.189 put that taped bag into another one so there's 00:03:01.189 --> 00:03:04.210 less chance of a nail or something catching and 00:03:04.210 --> 00:03:07.090 then the gel with food coloring going everywhere 00:03:07.090 --> 00:03:11.460 just like with the previous examples you would 00:03:11.460 --> 00:03:14.280 roll a dice pick a card tell them a number that 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:16.620 you want them to write and they would practice 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:18.900 writing it with their finger again but in the 00:03:18.900 --> 00:03:21.740 gel and the gel can be a little bit harder for 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:23.599 them to do there's a little more resistance when 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:26.879 they're trying to write a number with gel but 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:29.020 that's good it really helps build their fine 00:03:29.020 --> 00:03:31.219 motor skills and if you're not wanting to roll 00:03:31.219 --> 00:03:34.770 a dice or pick a card you could write down the 00:03:34.770 --> 00:03:37.129 numbers pretty big i would say so that they can 00:03:37.129 --> 00:03:39.490 really get the idea of what the numbers look 00:03:39.490 --> 00:03:42.229 like on a piece of paper and put that underneath 00:03:42.229 --> 00:03:45.430 the gel so they have kind of a an idea a picture 00:03:45.430 --> 00:03:47.669 of what those numbers should look like and then 00:03:47.669 --> 00:03:50.069 they're tracing on top of it through the gel 00:03:50.069 --> 00:03:52.090 but they're not actually getting any gel on their 00:03:52.090 --> 00:03:54.590 fingers because you put two bags in with that 00:03:54.590 --> 00:03:58.310 gel so there's no leaks and for this last idea 00:03:58.310 --> 00:04:01.500 if you're wanting something that's No prep for 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:04.340 you. You can do inside something kind of more 00:04:04.340 --> 00:04:06.300 similar to what you're used to seeing. You can 00:04:06.300 --> 00:04:09.740 always use a number tracing workbook. The benefit 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:12.639 of a number tracing workbook is usually they'll 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:16.279 have some kind of visual cues to help your children 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:19.560 or help students with the proper formation of 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:22.100 these numbers because it's easier to teach them 00:04:22.100 --> 00:04:24.779 how to write things correctly the first time 00:04:24.779 --> 00:04:27.740 than having to reteach them how to write something. 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:30.740 if they've learned it incorrectly. A workbook 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:33.360 can be great as just something to do really quickly, 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:36.860 maybe once a day, just to get a little bit of 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:39.500 practice and repetition. And to spice it up, 00:04:39.500 --> 00:04:41.680 you might try a workbook that has some kind of 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:44.720 different element in it. Like maybe beyond just 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:46.879 tracing, they have to find numbers in a maze 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:50.300 or find them in a field of other numbers or have 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:52.939 a little bit of coloring, something else. to 00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:55.420 really engage them so it doesn't get repetitive 00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:58.100 and like they're just writing lines. They're 00:04:58.100 --> 00:05:00.019 actually getting to do something a little more 00:05:00.019 --> 00:05:03.839 interactive with that workbook. So to recap, 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:06.199 the ideas for these number writing activities 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:09.720 at home would be to use water paint, which is 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:13.560 just water and a paintbrush, sand writing, gel 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:16.860 writing, or a workbook that has a little something 00:05:16.860 --> 00:05:20.019 extra so it's just not your average workbook. 00:05:20.509 --> 00:05:22.589 If you've enjoyed the ideas I've shared today 00:05:22.589 --> 00:05:25.629 or previous ideas in the podcast, make sure to 00:05:25.629 --> 00:05:28.329 scroll down and leave a five -star review and 00:05:28.329 --> 00:05:30.750 let everyone else know what you thought. And 00:05:30.750 --> 00:05:32.170 I will talk to you next time.