Number Sense with Peas and Carrots

How do you establish number sense in Kindergarten?  I like to go about things from a slightly different perspective.

I like the one number a week model.

We play with it too.

We look at all the ways we can make our number.  We do this with Peas and Carrots (green and orange connecting cubes).  Once the routine is established it is not hard to increase the numbers each week.  And then move from using the word and to using the symbols + and = .

We stop at five and play some more....trying to get plenty of practice to begin to establish fluency.

Then we stop again at ten.

I made this:

to last the whole first semester.

I made this as well for day three or four of our number week....More or Less.  That is another tricky concept for Kindergarteners and we practice it each week with every number.  You can grab this for free.  Just hop over to my facebook page and it is a free gift for you.

Each week we follow the same routine.  Introduce the Number, Peas and Carrots, More or Less.  We take longer at the beginning, and as the routine is established students do get quicker.  That leaves more time for other concepts (like shapes), and more time for centers.  By the time we get to the tricky teenagers, my kinders are ready to shake it up and start some new routines.