Common Core & Common Sense in Kindergarten: Setting up Math Workshop : Space and Time.....and Classifying!

As we learn about sorting and classifying sets of objects, we're repeating skills and vocabulary with a few different activities. I've included a few photos of my kiddos' work from this week, but also a quick glimpse at their work spaces and material organization that takes us through the workshop.

Two quick tips to share today about making Math Workshop work comfortably, efficiently and consistently...Be consistent with your space and organization. Probably "a given" or default for some, but if not, my experience is that this helps get your students engaged more quickly.

Next, give your students not only the sense of space and time to work, but the physical space and time as well. When kids get used to hearing that they do, in fact, have time to work (versus, "Hurry up! Come on! Let's go, we'll be late!") their effort can reflect that. Using a simple timer, repeating the time scheduled for work stations and extending the sense of time to cleaning up makes for a more respectful Math workshop. I find it helps some students put more ownership into their work.

Here are a few visuals to help you understand how we implement and run Math Workshop in Kindergarten. I make changes based upon what works best, but all this helps me get 50 full minutes of math engagement each day....from kids who are 5!!! Sounds crazy but it works!