Lil’ Mathematician Program
Tutoring Program
The Know & Grow Tutoring Program advances each child at his/her own pace. Tutoring occurs both online, one-on-one, and in small groups.
Online In-School & After School
Tutoring begins with each child receiving an iPad loaded with the Khan Academy Kids app. Led by Kodi the Bear, the award-winning lessons are completed both during the school day and at home. The cellular-powered-internet iPads make it possible for all children to participate whether or not the family has Wi-Fi. Our kiddos love toting the iPads home. Teachers grant the privilege to those most in need of tutoring.
We supplement Khan Academy Kids with Mathseeds for adding and subtracting practice.
Each child progress at his/her own pace. Our Lil’ Mathematicians learn:
- Number recognition
- Counting
- Grouping
- Measurement
- Adding and subtracting
- and much more!
Number Patterns
Many young students intuitively see the number patterns when counting. Others need help seeing the logic. The kids love our colorful 11” x 17” math and handwriting activities. By showing the number patterns from 0 to 99, the young students better understand counting to 20.
Working with number patterns is often a “lightbulb moment!”
Number Bonds
Number bonds help kindergarteners understand number relationships while developing addition and subtraction skills. While having fun with burger buns and button pickles, they get plenty of practice composing and decomposing numbers.
Our number bonds activity and workbook gives children a solid conceptual foundation.
Number Lines
Number lines are one more way to explore the concepts of adding and subtracting. The number line visually demonstrates the difference between the addition and subtraction symbols. The student first applies a bird sticker looking forward (adding) or backward (subtracting) to the first number in the equation. Then, the child performs the equation by drawing the hop(s) and recording the answer.
Ten Frames
Activities with ten frames enable children to think of numbers in terms of their relationship to ten. Our finger-printing activity demonstrates how our base ten positional system might have come into existence and introduces a way for calculations to become more mental/automatic. For example, “There’s nine because one is missing.”
Word Problems
In addition to having students practice “normal” word problems, we read books and have the children create their own word problems. We brainstorm all the different ways we could word each “problem.” For instance, we read the book “My Bus” and create calculations with dogs, cats, and pets getting on and off the bus.
Writing Numbers
Students will be more fluent with math when they do not need to exert all their energy writing numbers. Children love to write, especially with bright colors. We provide practice writing notepads and colored markers to encourage children to get plenty of practice writing numbers.
Classroom Teaching Tools
We wish to enrich math instruction in the classrooms with memorable learning experiences. These classroom teaching tools will be used for years to come.
Math Cubes & Base Ten Blocks
Every child has two sets of ten colorful, easy to link and de-link math cubes to help them see and solve math problems.
Later in the school year, kindergarteners manipulate base ten blocks to understand the relationship between the different columns on a place value grid.
Primary Shape Templates
Geometry in kindergarten includes the study of basic chapes. These templates help our little learners draw each shape in varying sizes and orientations.
3-D Geometric Shapes
Students now have three-dimensional shapes to hold and explore when learning geometry and developing spatial sense.
Gigantic Displays
A gigantic number bond makes it easy for a teacher to demonstrate addition and subtraction skills to the entire classroom.
Activities with ten frames enable children to think of numbers in terms of their relationship to ten. Each classroom now has a gigantic ten-frame.
Getting a Handle on Math
These double-sided write-and-wipe number bond and ten frame answer boards match the style and colors of the gigantic versions provided to each classroom. The grant we received even provided the storage racks !
Dot-to-Dot Pads
In the past, teachers have been purchasing dot-to-dots with their own money and said they never had enough. We created our own quality (even if we do say so ourselves) dot-to-dots and bind the 13 pads according to the level of difficulty. That way, teachers can select just the right skill level for each child. While the kids think the puzzles are only for fun, they are improving fine motor skills needed for writing and mastering number order.
Every summer, these teaching tools are cleaned and damaged/missing ones repaired/replaced.
Kindergarten and first grade is the best time for kids to fall in love with math! Math builds on itself and it’s important for our little students to have a solid foundation. Our innovative Lil’ Mathematician program has three components: tutoring, kid-sized materials, and teaching tools.
Tutoring
Instead of the traditional in-person tutoring model, we adapted the award-winning Khan Academy Kids app to tutor kindergarteners and first graders both in the classroom and at home (via iPads and cellular internet). As each child progresses at his/her own pace, we supplement the online learning with targeted math activities.
Kid-Sized Materials
Dot-to-Dot Pads
To date, 13 dot-to-dot pads are in production. In the past, teachers have been
All Direction Number Bonds
This colorful page has number bonds in all four directions. Each direction is a
Teaching Tools
We wish to bring math instruction to life with memorable learning experiences. These teaching tools were requested/inspired by the classroom teachers and will be used for years to come.
Math Cubes
3-D Geometric Solids
Primary Shape Templates
Getting a Handle on Math
Gigantic Ten Frames
Math News
Base Ten Blocks
Taking Care
Thanks for Continued Support
New: Lil’ Mathematician Webpage
Mathseeds
Burger Buns & Pickle Buttons
Our Sponsors:
We thank our Know & Grow Lil’ Mathematician donors:
Walmart River City Marketplace
Linda Brunson, Board Member
William & Helen Thomas Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee
CSX Transportation
Sam’s Club, Busch Drive
Florida Philanthropic Network
Glenn W. Bailey Foundation
We thank our paper sponsor, Walmart River City Marketplace, and our cadre of volunteers who cut and assemble the student materials. Year after year, they make our kid-sized materials possible!
