Math Tub #1

Here is the first math tub I will be teaching when we return next week. The kids have used these sticks to practice counting since the beginning of the year. I used 5 gallon paint stir sticks (big ones from Home Depot - like 50cents). I have 20 colored stickers in increments of five. Kids have been using them to clip a clothespin on each dot to count all the way to 20.

Now they will extend their use by using clothespins with a colored star (just the colored foil stars) to add. In the example above, 3 blue stars + 2 red stars = 5 stars!! Partners can work together. One child can "make" a problem and the other child "reads" the problem. I do NOT use a recording sheet for this tub because the point is for them to "make" and "read" a simple addition problem. They enjoy doing this and become very proficient in "making" and "reading" adding problems.