A String of Beads, by Kelly C. Mead

Here is one fun math activity (and tie-in to the 100th day of school) you can count on!

September 1 may be the first day of school for my incoming kindergartners, but I'm already looking ahead and thinking about February 9. Why? Because that's the projected date for our 100th day of school, and in my classroom we have a very special celebration on that day. I've designed a fun math activity called Beads that I use in conjunction with our 100th day observance that my students really love.

Setting the stage.
On the tenth day of school, part of our math focus is Beads. This provides many repeated opportunities to practice a variety of essential math skills – counting, patterning, sorting, comparing, making sets, predicting, identifying numerals, sequencing, adding on, learning about place value, estimating, building math vocabulary and more.

Setting the stage for the Beads activity begins during "calendar time" on the first day of school. I explain that we'll be keeping track of the number of days we've been in school and we must begin on the first day. Sometimes it takes a while for some students to understand that the calendar is for keeping track of the days in a month and that the number of days in school is something quite different.

What day is it?
Various methods are used to track the number of days in school and these are documented in several places around our classroom. Each one teaches the kids a different fundamental math concept.

1. The first is a "tally chart." Bundles are made with sets of five tallies. After two bundles are made for a total of ten, I draw a red circle around them to signify an important milestone in our classroom. I do this with each successive set of ten until we reach one hundred.

2. The second place we note the addition of another day is on a cumulative number line we call our "counting children." As the year progresses, the students make predictions about which "child" comes next. When they describe the counting child (or number) they think it will be, they're not only improving their math skills but also their descriptive language skills. A red circle is put around each set of 10 to signify the extra special math days in our classroom.

3. 

   A third location to record days is a pocket chart that features place value – ones, tens, hundreds. Each day the children add a "stick" to the ones place to represent an additional day we have been in school. This shows that the highest number that can be in any place is nine. When 10 is reached, the kids quickly realize that it's necessary to make a bundle and move it to the next place. By the end of the year, most of my students have a basic understanding of place value.

4. A final place to keep track of the number of days in school is a hundreds chart. Every day a square is filled in with a special color. The distinctive color pattern that is generated allows the children to begin to recognize and understand patterns that are created on a hundreds chart.

Bead days.
The tenth day and each successive tenth day are our designated math Bead Days. To prepare for these days, the children work diligently at the beginning of the school year sorting and organizing a variety of "pony beads" by color. Usually there are 10 different color choices. There will be two additional colors – gold and silver – which will be offered as the choices for our "special beads."

On our first official Bead Day, everyone selects his or her own piece of yard-long round cord elastic, which has a special "anchor" bead tied at the end. Names are written on a piece of masking tape that has been attached below the anchor bead.

The containers of presorted beads are arranged in a long, single row so they are readily accessible. Everyone is encouraged to select two colors for their first pattern. I ask the students to choose four of one color and five of the other for a total of nine beads. Cards with these numerals are placed near the beads to serve as a visual reminder.

The children lay the beads out in a A-B-A-B pattern. Once they have named their pattern and counted them to an adult, they choose their special tenth bead – either gold or silver – and add it to the end of their pattern. As the year progresses, they'll learn that one of the math sentences for each set of beads is 5+4+1=10.

Now it's time to string the beads onto an elastic. When they're finished, I tie a "magic" slipknot that enables my students to untie their own knot on the next Bead Day. Their creations are prominently displayed on hooks in our classroom.

The next set of 10.
Excitement builds as each successive Bead Day approaches (day 20, 30, 40, 50, etc.). I often overhear the kids discussing how many days until they get to add their next set of 10 to their necklaces. Some students decide to continue with the same pattern while others change with each set of 10 beads that is added.

Not only does this 100th day activity teach kids a variety of essential math skills, but it also encourages a sense of pride in their own creation.

Happy 100th day!
On the 90th day, I ask my students to check their strands for accuracy. This helps to prepare them for the upcoming 100th day. The questions they must answer are: Does each set have 10 beads? Are the patterns all A-B-A-B? Do they have nine sets of 10?

Finally, on the 100th day, the tenth set of beads is added. As part of the celebration, I meet with each child and he or she counts his or her beads by ones and then by tens. After that, the ends of the elastic are securely tied. I place the bead necklaces over my students' heads in a ceremonial fashion and they wear them with great pride.

To a casual observer, the completed necklaces might simply appear to be an arts and crafts project. My kindergartners and their parents know otherwise. They've learned so much during their first 100 days of school and they're always eager to explain the math involved in the creation of their bead necklaces.

Kelly C. Mead is a kindergarten teacher at Vine Street School in Bangor, ME.