Collecting, Counting and Contributing
May 24, 2023 | Kristen Jordan
For several weeks, the children have been working diligently on sorting and counting the coins that they collected during Lent so that ultimately, the money can be used to help others through Frontera de Cristo. The process involved many steps: First, trying to open the can and get the money out! It took a lot of stomping!
Then, children sorted the coins. It often takes careful looking to determine which type of coins are alike and which are different. Sorting is a very important math concept.
After all the coins were sorted, children worked to count the pennies. In order to fill a penny roll, each child counted 50 pennies (or 5 groups of 10 pennies). That’s a lot of counting!
After each penny was counted and rolled, some children figured out how much we had all together in our rolls: $10 in pennies!
Our collection activity finally culminated today in a walking trip to deposit the pennies at the bank, followed by a great morning at Stevens park!
Kristen Jordan
Teacher, Rivers Class
Kristen Jordan began helping at Mustard Seed School in 2006, after her daughter had been a student in the preschool. She substituted for many years in all grades; in 2011, she returned to the classroom and has been a teacher in The Nest ever since.
Prior to the birth of her daughter Clara, in 2002, Ms. Jordan worked in Brooklyn as a first grade teacher with the New York City Public Schools. During this time, her school collaborated with the Brooklyn Museum, and this work helped Ms. Jordan develop a real interest in the parallels between the process of making art and the process of writing in the classroom. She thoroughly enjoys teaching both art and literacy to preschoolers.
Ms Jordan’s background includes work with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. While at Teachers College, she trained with esteemed educator and author Lucy Calkins. Early in her teaching career, Ms. Jordan did not think that she wanted to teach very young children but her view has changed! She now really enjoys and takes great interest in young children and their development.
Ms. Jordan enjoys reading, working out, hiking, cooking, and spending time with her daughter and family. Although she has lived on the East Coast for a very long time, as a native of Oregon, she really loves the mountains!
