Part Twelve of Many: The Montessori Life: Teaching Addition

Once the children start to get the hang of one’s, tens, hundreds and thousands, you can start introducing addition. It’s pretty simple: you come up with two four digit numbers that do not require you to carry. When you’re demonstrating have one child get the beads for one of the numbers from the bank and have another child get the beads for the other number. Then on the mat, lay out one number with the Thousand cubes to the farthest left, then the hundred squares, then the tens strings, the units and finally the cards with the zeros overlapped on the right side. Follow the same process with the other four digit number. Now group together all of the thousands and have one child pull out the card that shows how many thousands there are. Follow the same process with the hundreds, the tens and the units. Overlap the zeros on the cards and read the number to the children. At that point simply say, “________ (the first four digit number) plus _________(the second four digit number) equals _________ (the four digit number that the groups combined to make). Would you like to record that?” and present the children with a paper that has spaces to write down the addition problem they just solved.

I’m a dwarf with multiple personality disorder

I’ve been sick since I got back from New England. I denied it at first, but for sure, I have a cold (or something). So, I’m sleepy and sneezy and dopey. I’m also grumpy. No one appreciates this personality.

QWERTYUIOP

Request pleading with the muses to provide you with the means to write what you’re trying to write! Even if it lacks poetry and creativity.

There is a tiny happy face on the right side of my blog.

It’s really small and you’ve probably never noticed it. I only noticed it today, and I’ve been writing this fairly regularly for a few months. It made me happy to see it.

So, because I’ve gotten asked: No, the guy I’m referring to in the post just before this one is not my boyfriend. He’s my friend who was dating one of my other friends.

Also, along with the rest of the random things I’m noticing, I saw that the widget on my linux desktop that tells me the weather and temperature turns from a sun to a moon at the exact time that the sun is scheduled to set in the time zone. We’re pretty far west, so though the sun has gone behind the horizon, it’s not even close to dark yet. The days are getting shorter.

I’m retaining water. I wish I weren’t, but I can’t stop eating savory food. Maybe I’m retaining fat too. Hmmm.

I made a swamp cooler today out of a humidifier in front of a fan. It works fine, so long as the air coming off the fan isn’t a 90 degree breeze. MacGyver I ain’t, as it seems. I desperately need the relaxing cool. I wish the temperature would go down. It’s still 88 outside, and it’s 9:20. Grrr…I wish I weren’t so grumpy when it’s hot. Ugh.

So, there is my randomness. Enjoy. I’m going back to my TV.

bowl cut: nguk nguk nguk

I think we can all agree that this “style” though easy to create, should never have been invented.  Here we salute the bowl cut!