This listing is for the digital PDF of The Gnomes' Gemstones. This file contains a story divided into twelve lessons, each with Teachers Notes. The story is about four gnomes who discover twelve gemstones in their cave and journey to ask their friend, King Equals, what to do with the gemstones. Along the way they encounter new people and places, all the while figuring out they each have a different talent when working with numbers.

* Suitable for Kindergarten through Third Grade.
* If followed as outlined, both reading the lessons and completing the projects, this covers about a six-week block of school time.
* A wonderful story simply for reading all on its own.
* Teaches children to identify with numbers one through twelve as a number form and in their environments.
* Introduces children to the four basic math processes--the stars of the book: Plus, Minus, Multiply, and Divide.
* Contains many fun art and craft projects.
* Incorporates focus on math as well as writing, reading, and art all in one.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK...

A Note to Parent/Teacher:

When my five-year-old son begged me for school, I explored the Internet, various books, and the knowledge of friends in search of ideas for homeschooling. My son’s interest in math seemed like a good place to start and after researching the different ways to approach math, I found a few criteria to focus on. This story and its related activities emerged from the desire to teach my son a feeling for numbers one through twelve and the four basic mathematical processes. My story was inspired by the math gnomes as presented in the Waldorf homeschooling method. In addition to the story, this book also features Teacher Notes at the end of each lesson suggesting discussions, main lesson book entries, and ways to use the story in other subjects of learning.

I’ve written The Gnomes’ Gemstones with the idea of what Waldorf homeschoolers would call a Grade One Math Block. Reading a new lesson every other day or so and doing the related crafts keeps a fun focus on math for the next six weeks. However, in regards to targeting the first grade, during this story’s creation, I also had a three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter. Their interest and participation in listening to the story and doing some of the activities gave me awareness that it is not restricted to a certain age or grade level but may be used for a wide range of ages and grades. Younger children enjoy simply listening to the story or watching you tell it with props. There are also crafts to enjoy together. Older children may be ready to use the numbers one through twelve in the four basic processes or even read the story themselves.

Sharing this story gives me great joy. My children along with friends and family have delighted in the creative freedom this book presents and I look forward to many more parents and children having fun learning from the gnomes and their journey.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Compton