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Monday, July 2, 2012

Arts-N-Crafts: Learning To Write Numbers Reviewer

One of the first struggles we faced on our first month in preschool is writing numbers. Well, writing is a struggle in itself but it is in the numerals that we struggle with the most.

I couldn't remember when I first learned to write. But what I can clearly remember though was the first time I wrote my full name. I wrote every single letter of my full name backwards. Just like how the image of something written right would look like when placed in front of a mirror. I wished I kept that tiny piece of paper to show to Maia now. (On second thought) Well I probably did being the pack rat that I am but again also being the greatest sucker at keeping things organized I most probably lost it in the flurry of moving to our new place in my teenage years.

So anyways, (where was I again?) -- WRITING. Yes, we are still struggling with that till now. Zero is done perfectly already. But we're having trouble with the number 1. Just because she really prefers to write it with that tail instead of just the straight line. And because of that, I can only imagine how difficult writing the number 2 would be with its curves and all. What the daddy does when they review is make dots for the little girl to trace. And she's good at doing that. But of course she will still have to eventually learn how to do it without those dots to guide her. That we know (and has been a nagging concern too) very well. 

I researched on how we can help improve her writing but my list of things to buy to make all those tricks happen just keeps growing and growing and yet I never find the time to actually buy them so I can make them. So last weekend, when an unforeseen circumstance kept us home, an expense-free idea popped in mind. I remember seeing my homeschooling friend Mae made these sandpaper cut-out letters for her daughter to trace her fingers on and I thought I can probably make Maia similar numeric cut outs too. I rummaged through my art supplies stash and found these things:

- used placemat
- corrugated cardboard sheets

Maia is currently learning to write 0, 1 and 2. So I cut out these numbers out of these 2 materials. Next, I got some used pancake mix box from my 'trash' box. I cut the small box into 4 equal flashcard sized pieces and then glued the numeric cut outs unto them. After a few minutes ...tadahhhhh, these are what I came up with. (Can you all say - A for the Effort Mommy! Wehe. Nahirapan ako sa number 2 promise! Kelangan mag take 2)
I just hope by constantly feeling the textures on these homemade flashcards that Maia will eventually be able to imagine (even with her eyes closed) how these numbers look like. And just to be clear about it, I'm not doing this to ensure that my kid gets a perfect score on her quizzes all the time. I just wanted to equip her with the right concepts without actually forcing her to write them through paper and pen. 

6 comments:

Em said...

I have yet to teach Akira how to write - or would you suggest draw shapes muna? All she knows right now is how to color.. our walls.

Erlaine Gool said...

hi faye! kelsea naman writes '2' like letter 'S' and her '5' looks like '2' hehe. in kelsea's class, they are first taught how to right vertical lines, horizontal lines, slanting/diagonal lines then curve lines before proceeding with the number itself. Ganun din ba kina maia?

faye paras said...

erl! sila maia din learned the lines muna (first 2 weeks ganun). but no mastery yet. ewan ko din nga ba bakit ambilis bilis, numbers na kaagad. siguro din kasi they assumed those were learned in nursery na? e since maia skipped nga nafast track tuloy. di ko naman din pine pressure. kasi nga i promised myself din i will let her learn things at her own pace. hirap lang bumalanse. lolz.

Rachel said...

A for effort Mommy Faye! :) 

thanks for sharing this. sandpaper letters and numbers are in my to-do list. yours are so colorful. pag nagawa kong gawin (goodluck naman sa katamaran ;p) i might do what you did instead of using sandpaper. :) 

pyxxie0703 said...

Hey Em! I also think (in agreement to erl's comment below) the best prelude to teaching kids to write letters and numbers would be teaching them to master different types of lines. Di ko nga naisip kay maia that's probably why she's struggling hard. Nakakatuwa si Akira. Maybe she really wants to decorate your walls :)

pyxxie0703 said...

Hahaha.salamat sa cheer Rache! And oo nga no mas attractive nga sila kesa sandpaper. Itutuloy ko ma nga to till #10 hehe

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