Math Work Stations Ch. 1 & 2

Math was NOT my favorite subject in school. I didn't "get" it. I still don't care for math but I don't want my students to feel the way I do. So I'm excited about being part of this book blog party. Even though we can't be together in person, blogging is the next best thing.

How do I differentiate my math stations? I don't. We all do the same thing.

But by the time I'm finished reading MWS, I will be differentiating my stations and doing a bang up job, lol. Right now they're not even really stations, according to Debbie's book. More like centers.

Here's where I keep my math stations.

This is our meeting place. The shelves are under my calendar board. I don't have that much. I've been at my current school about 5 years and there wasn't much in my room when I moved in. I was given a box of manipulatives that came with our math series. It wasn't a huge box, which is a good thing, after reading Ch. 2. It actually had about the right amount of manipulatives needed to teach the lessons. And along with the manipulatives were ziploc bags. Wow, just like Debbie suggested in Ch. 2. I'm halfway there as far as organizing and purging. (Halfway. As I was reading ch. 2, and Debbie was naming off certain manipulatives, I'd remember: oh yeah, I have coins in my closet, oh yeah, the double sided counters are in a cupboard, oh, all those little Judy clocks are in a basket.)

How do I keep my math materials organized? You're looking at it. But my plan is to buy some shoe box sized clear containers and use Deedee's cute labels to organize what I have. Like Debbie suggested, I don't need that huge tub of teddy bears or linker cubes. Nor do I need all those scales that I found in a cupboard when I moved in. Its time to share the "wealth" of manipulatives with my team or the math storage closet. Good thing school is almost over, as I'm packing up, I can organize it so I'll be all ready come fall.