To reinforce the students' number sense to 20 and the ability to count to 20, they were given different bags of concrete materials like erasers, ice cream sticks, square tiles, toy animals cubes etc to count. They were then to record their counts in an activity sheet.
The class is usually more noisy when we carry out hands on activities. But I am glad that as I moved around, I observed that they were making "positive noise". I am also teaching them to use their "indoor voice " since their friends are close to them. Sometimes, in their excitment they forget.
Beyond just counting, the students got a chance to learn to wait for their turns, help their friends to count together and even packing the items back into the bags.
These activites will help to sharpen their 21st century skills - cooperation , confidence and curiosity .