The National Pre-School Curriculum (KSPK)

According to the National Pre-School Curriculum (KSPK), these are the concepts and mathematical skills that children from ages 4-6 will acquire in pre-school.

Pre-K (4 Years Old) Tracing dotted lines Concept of same/different Concept of big/small Concept of long/short Numeral writing 1-10 Counting 1-10 Identifying 1-10 Recognizing 1-10 Bigger number Concept of more/less Smaller number

K1 (5 Years Old) Sorting same/different Colour Shapes Comparing big/small Comparing long/short Comparing tall/short Seriation One-to-one correspondence Numeral writing 1-20 Counting 1-20 Identifying 1-20 Recognizing 1-20 Comparing light/heavy Comparing more/less Sequencing Number before/after Bigger/smaller number Introduction to addition Introduction to subtraction

K2 (6 Years Old) Counting 1-50 Identifying 1-50 Recognizing 1-50 Ascending sequence Descending sequence Addition Subtraction Time Money

Musical Pebbles - Sorting, Counting, Data Recording, Comparing weight, More and Less

make and listen to different sounds and noises.

provide pebbles, plastic jars and several types of natural materials for children to shakers to make sounds with.

Let's make some music with pebbles. What can you put together to reinvent your very own musical shaker?

Each child will make one or more shakers of their own. They will have to choose the materials they wish to put into the shakers along with one or more pebbles. When the shakers are made, crank up the music and let's shake to the beat!

Describing
- What is in your shaker?
- What does your shaker look like?

Recording
- Making the shaker.
- Can you draw a picture of something that makes the same sound your shaker?
- Can you write down the number of things you used to make the shaker?

Reasoning
- Why is your friend's shaker louder/softer than yours?
- How can you make your shaker heavier/lighter?

Opening Out
- What other things can we use to make shakers?
- What else can we compare about the shakers?

Sorting
- Sorting the natural materials to record data.

Counting
- Counting the natural materials used to make the shakers the amount.
   For example:
       The number of pebbles.
       The number of scoops of sand.
       The number of sticks.

Data Recording
- Writing down the natural materials that they used into the recording chart.

Comparing Weight
- Comparing the weight of different shakers from different children with a balance scale.

More and Less
- Putting in the same material into different jars with different amounts of the material to
    compare more and less.

Development of the Activity

Prepare some recording charts, plastic jars and some natural materials such as pebbles, sand, sticks and leaves for children to put into their shakers. The children will put the natural materials into their plastic jars and fill in the recording charts by writing down the amount of materials they have put into their jar. Then, the children can decorate their shakers with paint, paper shapes cut outs or any decorative materials they wish to use. Paste the recording chart onto the jar too. Each child may make one or more shakers of their own. 

There will be a question session where the adult asks the children about their shakers. At this time, the adult will also bring out a weighing machine to let children compare the weight of their shakers.

After the question session and the weight comparison activity, put on some music and let the children dance to the beat with their shakers!

Variation of the Activity

1. Instead of using natural materials, encourage children to find and put in small objects that they can fit into their jars.
2. They can also use in only 1 type of material of the same size. Then, put the materials into different jars with different amounts of the material in different jars. By doing so, children will also learn the concept of 'more and less'.

The shakers can be used in any singing sessions.

Preparation for the mysteries: Sticker Paper for the Recording Charts Natural Meterials (Pebbles, sand, sticks, etc) Acrylic Paint Paint Brush Decorative Items (Paper, glitter, etc) Balance Scale

For each child, you will need: Plastic Jars Drawing and writing Instruments Data Recording Chart

Rocky Eggies - Counting, One-to-one Correspondence, Value of Numbers

   

put small things into containers/ boxes/ jars etc.

provide tools for children to make sense of numerals and their value.

Can you put the hen's eggs back into the egg carton? The hens have left a clue in the egg carton to help you put the eggs back. Can you figure out how?

Describing
- What do the eggs look like?
- Can you tell be something about your pebbles?

Recording
- Can you draw the hen with the eggs?
- Can you take a photo of the egg carton once you've put the eggs back in place?

Reasoning
- How do you know where to put the eggs?
- What things do you know that are smaller than the tiny eggs?

Opening Out
- How many eggs can you fit into a dimple?
- What else can we use as the eggs, so that we can put more eggs into the dimples?

Counting
- Counting the amount of eggs that have to be put into the egg carton.

One-to-one Correspondence
- Putting the eggs into the dimple with the same numeral value with same amount of eggs.

Value of Numbers
- Knowing the value of each numeral before putting the eggs into the dimples.

Development of the Activity

Prepare an egg carton with 10 dimples. Then, paint or decorate the egg carton and write the numerals 1-10 on each dimple. It is optional to cut egg carton into smaller pieces to design the shape and size of the egg carton.

Each child has a bowl with 55 small pebbles and an egg tray with the written numerals 1-10 on each dimple. The children will be given the time to think about how they would fit all the pebbles into the egg tray.

Variation of the Activity

The egg trays can be cut and arranged to fit the children's capability. More advanced children could have egg trays with more dimples, vice versa for the younger children.

The Little Red Hen by Margot Zemach

The little red hen is a story about a hen who finds a grain of wheat. She asks the other farmyard animals if they will volunteer to help her plant the grain. No animal steps forward to help her.

Then she keeps persevering with the other animals and asks them to help her water her wheat, harvest her wheat, no one helps and finally make the wheat into flour for bread and of course none of the other animals help.

Finally she makes a loaf of bread and asks the other animals who will help her eat it and  every one volunteers. However she tells them that as no one bothered to help her make the bread then they weren't going to get any and instead she turns to her chicks and gives it all to them.

Story retrieved from DisABLEd Positive parent

Preparation for the egg cartons: Egg cartons Paint Paint Brush Decorative Items Markers Camera

For each child, you will need: A bowl