We've been practicing writing numbers zero to ten, and displaying those numbers in a ten frame. See what a ten frame looks like below! One purpose of this ten frame is to show numbers and their relationship to ten. It is easy to tell that eight is two less than 10 when you look at eight counters in a ten frame. And teen numbers can be shown as ten plus some more- for example thirteen can be looked at as a full ten frame plus three more. Developing an understanding of the relationships between numbers is an important part of math in kindergarten, and using a ten frame is one way to facilitate that learning.
We read the book Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews, and made our own dot pictures. Check out some of our work when your child brings home our newest class book Ten Black Dots!
This is a fun and creative math activity- and your child might like to try it again at home! You can listen to the story together. Then make a dot picture. Encourage your child to write the number of dots, and make sure their number matches the picture. You might challenge your child by assigning them a number of dots to use, or by asking them to use a number one more or one less than their last picture. Also try to ten frame game video- Can you find the number shown in the ten frame before the picture changes? This is a great way to practice counting, subitizing and number relationships.