SamizdatMath

Here's the deal: you want your kids to do challenging puzzles with interesting shapes (I'm talking to >you<, pattern blocks!) but the problem is that many of these puzzles are waaaay too hard for your pre-K through 1st graders. Even a 2 piece pentomino puzzle would require sorting through 105 combinations of 15 different pentomino pieces before locating the correct pair to make the shape. What I've done here is break down the process into three steps: the first set of puzzles practices id

This set of 10 different "estimation stations" develops students' understanding of length, perimeter and area by using Cuisenaire Rods of different lengths. Students record their estimates on a "data sheet" and then make and record exact measurements, measuring such things as the length of their foot, the area of a hand and the perimeter of a design.