We have entered “Teen Territory” this week with the common core standards for recognizing and counting numbers in the teens.  Expectations are high with this standard, and kinders are being super-challenged to go beyond that comfortable 0-10 counting and number identification routine.  It’s a child’s first experience with place value, and as a teacher I want them to have confidence in what they understand about it.  It’s such a fun concept to teach!

One of the best ways to help students succeed with this standard is to immerse them in counting absolutely everything you can think of, then group them as one group of ten and ? more.  Do this repeatedly, and I mean OFTEN! 🙂
It is the constant, everyday practice of grouping, counting, writing and comparing of groups that will lead to a true understanding of teen numbers.  I ask students to count to twenty several times each day.  We talk about the transition from 12 to the teen numbers.  We talk about how the one on the left tells us a ten frame is “full up”, and the number in the ones place on the right tells us how many “extras” to place in the second ten frame.  We learn to count all of the squares in the ten frames after making 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and beyond.  We have lots of opportunities to draw 13 things, write 15 words, etc.  We also laugh as we say the the number on the right first, then let the one make us say “teen”.  Repetitive little things such as HOW we read the numbers makes a big impact on those little brains.  
One of the tools in our arsenal is the math journal.  Each morning we work on the next journal page that asks us to color ten, write the word ten, color 1, 2, 3…in the other ten frame, then make 13 objects at the bottom, and finally write the way the teen number should be written.  Journaling is a quick way to engage students in counting, and there are a variety of things you can do to keep kids interested.  We use paint dotters some days, while we may use mini stickers on other days, and on some days we draw objects to represent the group.  It’s an open ended resource that I keep going to each year because it really works! Here are your freebies for this all important skill from Maggie’s Kindergarten Printables! The complete journals can be found here.  Your freebie includes the first few pages of Math Journal 2:  Numbers in the Teens
In addition to the math journal freebie, I have included a paint dotting ten frame activity we are using this week.  I love how my students performed on this activity, and it will be used as an assessment mid-term.  I love comments! If you have other ways you will be using these, please share with my readers! We are never too old to learn new tricks! 
Hugs and Happy Wednesday!
Maggie
(click on the pics to download the freebies) 

10 Frames Paint Dotter Freebie