Every day at school, we have a snack together. This is a time that kids typically look forward to, as we enjoy some nourishment and have conversation. Though it may seem simple, our snack routine provides abundant opportunities for learning and growth.
As you may recall, we began the year by offering children a portion of snack already on a napkin along with a cup filled with water. We then moved to having children take their own snacks from serving bowls and pouring their own water. Each of these steps has provided logistical and physical challenges and encouraged children to notice and get to know each other.
Now that kids have the hang of taking their own snacks and passing bowls, we offered another challenge: the snack board. On the snack board, teachers record how much snack each child can take. We ask children how many they think our drawing represents. Kids might be able to tell just by looking (called subitizing) or may try to count from their spots on the rug. Many will hold up the same number of fingers that they think it is. We discuss all of this, and then count the quantity together, as a teacher points to each picture on the board. There might be conversation about this – how did someone know how many it was? Look, someone is showing three on their fingers. Someone else has a different way to show three on their fingers. Someone else might be holding up a different number of fingers. How many are you holding up? How do you know? How could you check?
During snack time, the board is placed where kids can refer to it. Some children are able to remember the amount they should take or check just by looking at the board. But many really need to go close to the board and physically point to or touch the pictures while they count them to be sure. Then, they’ll return to their spots and recount the snack items to make sure they match. Sometimes they’ll go to the board and count, return to their seat and count and return to the board again to count. Some children hold up their snack items next to the drawings of them on the board.
This routine provides children with the concrete experience they need to develop a strong sense of quantity. It generates many conversations about number. If someone looks over at my napkin and tells me I didn’t take the right amount, I might protest, but then I’ll probably look again.
How does one know how many three or four is? They come to know it through repeated experience. Though most children are able to recite the number sequence in order, this is very different from having an understanding of quantity. Children really need to construct these concepts through meaningful experiences. The snack board is just one of the ways we encourage mathematical thinking and discussion in the classroom. It is especially powerful since children are so deeply invested in snack. We hope that these early experiences provide a foundational understanding of number and an appreciation of mathematical concepts that will endure throughout their lives.
A reminder about using Remini at dismissal:
We’ve noticed that not all kids are getting checked out at dismissal. When picking up your child or when another caregiver is picking up your child, please use the QR codes on the fence along the sidewalk to do so. Please make sure you have the Remini App downloaded and/or have shared your caregiver’s Approved Pickup Code with them so they can check your child out from school. Here are the instructions from the portal.