Learning Numbers and Shapes with Helping Hands

This week in Helping Hands we focused on numbers and shapes. The children already had some basic knowledge in these areas ; however, there was still room for great improvement. I planned and initiated two different activities. In the first activity the students used the ipad to play different games which taught them how to pronounce and identify each number. Once they mastered this skill, they moved onto addition and subtraction games.

Prior to this experience, the kids had never been exposed to an ipad. This was a very special experience for them. However, we had to consider ethical implications. We had to ensure that we did not seem showy by using this advanced and expensive technology. The local kids are not as fortunate as those from OSC. The money spent on an ipad could go a long way in their families, therefore we had to ensure to keep that in mind. The following is a picture of the children during this activity.

 

After the numbers activity, we moved onto an activity focused on shapes. We used blocks to show the different shapes and teach the children how to pronounce the different shapes. It was enjoyable to watch the children develop these new skills. They had the most trouble pronouncing the word rectangle. However, by the end of the lesson they had greatly improved in their pronunciation.