Every month I like to send a mini project home with my little learners to complete with their family. In case you aren't unaware I teach TK which stands for Transitional Kindergarten. I know some of you are thinking that I'm crazy for sending these little babies home with projects already, or some of you might even disagree with me. However, I have good reasons for sending home mini projects each month. The purpose of the monthly mini projects is to involve the parents in their child's education, hold both the parents and child accountable for the child's leaning, and an informal observation of which families are actually involved (or starting to get involved) in their child's education. My goal is to get parents involved in their child's education as much as possible because TK is a new experience for many students since it's their first year in school. Not only that, but I just love family projects!!
This month's mini project was a math Shape Project focusing on the 4 basic shapes: square, circle, triangle, and rectangle. Students were required to find a minimum of 5 pictures for each shape to receive full credit for the mini project.
Parent involvement comes to play when they have to help their child search through magazines, newspapers, and/or grocery ads. The result of this month's project from my students and families was phenomenal!! I loved each and every one of the project turned in and the creativity of their pictures. It's amazing how they can connect shapes to real life objects through pictures.
Here are a few examples of my students' project:
This month's mini project was a math Shape Project focusing on the 4 basic shapes: square, circle, triangle, and rectangle. Students were required to find a minimum of 5 pictures for each shape to receive full credit for the mini project.
Parent involvement comes to play when they have to help their child search through magazines, newspapers, and/or grocery ads. The result of this month's project from my students and families was phenomenal!! I loved each and every one of the project turned in and the creativity of their pictures. It's amazing how they can connect shapes to real life objects through pictures.
Here are a few examples of my students' project:
This is the front cover for the Shape Project.
I just want to say that before handing out the mini math Shape Project I already spent a few weeks teaching my 2D Shape Unit. The students were exposed to square, rectangle, circle, triangle, diamond, oval, heart, and star. I finished my 2D Shape Unit a week after Thanksgiving break so I decided to send home the project in December. **I don't have a specific date to when I send home my monthly mini projects each month. Depending on when I finished teaching a unit that's when I send home my monthly family project.
Overall, I highly encourage teachers to incorporate family projects into their classroom/homework curriculum. It doesn't have to be a big project; it could be a mini project like the Shape Project here. The purpose of family projects is to bond students and parents together in a home environment aside from the required involvement during school hours. Not only are students held accountable, but parents too. It's a project that bonds parents and students together, and get them communicating with each other.
Click HERE or the picture above to download your mini Shape Project FREEBIE. You can send it home as a family project or if you prefer, a class project instead. If you send this project home, please make sure to add a description letter explaining when it's due, the minimum requirement for each shape, how much it's worth, and your expectations of the project.
Enjoy & Happy Teaching!!
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