Quality of Numbers: Nine & Ten

This Waldorf block is quite different from how numbers are introduced in traditional American schools, and the rationale behind it is fascinating!

I've now made up downloadable PDFs for both the Number Verses and the Number Riddles we used in this block. Here are my teaching notes as well:

• Quality of Numbers: One & Two
• Quality of Numbers: Three & Four
• Quality of Numbers: Five & Six
• Quality of Numbers: Seven & Eight

Tuesday, November 19

RNS prep beforehand:
cover ninth paper with salt

• have children solve the riddle for nine
• move salt to reveal Roman and Arabic numerals for 9
• read and perform "From Big Voice to Tiny Voice" poem from Verses and Poems and Stories to Tell by Dorothy Harrer
• rhythmical movement - the Elf Beatrix
• rhythmical movement - the Witch Raven
• rhythmical movement - her cat Hecate
• rhythmical movement - the Gnome Crystalline
• discuss What is Nine?
• practice drawing IX and 9 in the salt tray
• add IX and 9 to MLB
• add colored pencil drawing to MLB of nine gemstones sparkling on a cave wall underground, glue on nine green acrylic "gems"
• hear tenth riddle




The riddle for NINE:

If two's company
and three's a crowd,
what are four and five?

~ Nine

from The Big Book of Silly Jokes for Kids, p.106



The riddle for TEN:

Twenty white horses
Upon a red hill.
Now they stamp,
Now they champ,
Now they stand still.

~ Teeth

adapted from Riddles, a Steiner Schools Fellowship Publication
children have ten deciduous teeth in the upper and lower jaws

Thursday, November 21

RNS prep beforehand:
cover tenth paper with salt, create Roman and Arabic numeral rune stones ("mosaic accent" large iridesent white flattened glass gems from Hobby Lobby, gold Sharpie) and place in small green glass bowl, set up new scene

• have children solve the riddle for ten
• move salt to reveal Roman and Arabic numerals for 10
• read and perform "From Big Voice to Tiny Voice" poem from Verses and Poems and Stories to Tell by Dorothy Harrer
• rhythmical movement - the Elf Beatrix
• rhythmical movement - the Witch Raven
• rhythmical movement - her cat Hecate
• rhythmical movement - the Gnome Crystalline
• rhythmical movement - the Giant Sven
• discuss What is Ten?
• practice drawing X and 10 in the salt tray
• add X and 10 to MLB
• add colored pencil drawing -- a smiling self portrait -- to MLB
• match Roman numeral and Arabic numeral rune stones to unlock the hidden cave door and step into the magical Land of Numeria...
  (whose stories will be told in the second Math block of the year)



For the big reveal of our Land of Numeria scene, I pulled back the silk and lit the candle in the Mexican agate tealight holder. This agate piece was the secret cave door. The scene on the mountain is described in Marsha Johnson's notes for the Quality of Numbers block as a "strange pale world," so I had my silver silk and my white sand and I used white glass gems for the rune stones and gold pen for the numbers. The piece of agate I chose echoes these colors as well.

As it glowed, my students matched the Roman and Arabic numeral rune stones from the green glass bowl, which I uncovered when I lit the candle, and we placed them on the silver silk.

Then the cave door "swung open" (I moved all of the deep purple silks covering the new scene) and the flower girls thanked the majestic wise elk for all of his help and stepped into the cave and onward into the mountain.

Of course, being inside a mountain it is dark and so their guide through this mysterious realm is a small shy mole. The mole leads them into a wide and bright cavern deep underground. They see lots of rocks, a few bright gems which sparkle, and even the crystal throne of the King. The mole tells them that there are magical beings in this land that will teach them about mining and gold and jewels and how they bring them to the King. And we can't forget the symbols we just learned, for the flower girls will need them on this next part of the journey as well...

Again, I've relied on the notes from Ancient Hearth. I appreciate them so much and we have SO enjoyed this block. I will miss it now that it is over! And I know my students will miss the magic of this block too, especially the challenge of answering the riddles and the excitement of moving the salt to see what new symbol is revealed!

Friday, November 22

We read Two Ways to Count to Ten: A Liberian Folktale retold by Ruby Dee. And I put out a variety of math activities from which students could choose for follow-up to this block.

In the Montessori materials, the Spindle Box, the Small Numerical Rods and Number Rods Activity Set, the Hundred Board and Hundred Board Activity Set, and skip counting with the Short Bead Chains are good follow-ups for younger children (age 6-7).

We've also been having fun with the many game options in Tiny Polka Dot!

Racko and Bingo are both excellent games of reading and ordering numbers. Racko goes up to 60; Bingo goes up to 75.

The Hundred Board with Roman Numerals is good for those older children (age 7-8) who have a firm grasp of place value and want to explore this number system further. I like to cover Roman Numerals again (review I, V, X, and introduce L, C, D, M) in second grade when Waldorf does a Math Puzzles & Games block. It's quite a bit like solving a puzzle!

For something "in between" in difficulty, I like the Roman Numerals Box from Hello Wood and these Roman Numerals Activities from MathSphere.

We also numbered MLB pages, added the table of contents, and decorated the front and back covers. They are resting safe & sound in the console.

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