1000 Club

The 1000 Club Charter Members.

“I just think about it in my head.” This is how one student explains his achievement in figuring out the next number to reach 1000. He is a charter member of the 1000 Club in Mrs. Joy Murphy’s kindergarten class at Nine Mile Falls Elementary. Kindergartners are to be able to write numbers to 30. Mrs. Murphy decided to see just how far they could go and raised the bar to 100, 500, and 1000. Eighteen of her students have reached the 100 Club, 10 the 500 Club, with four students now in the 1000 Club.

During “Rotating Centers,” Mrs. Murphy’s students can practice writing their numbers on large grid paper that has been rolled into a scroll. Her main goal is to have the students see the pattern first, then work on forming their numbers correctly. Once the kindergartners see the pattern, they take off towards the 1000 Club. “I just know it in my head. I remember it,” shared a kindergartener on learning number sequencing. Mrs. Murphy has found that this also builds self confidence.

“I didn’t think I could make it to 1000,” admitted one club member. When he used to get stuck, he would look at the two number charts in the room to help himself problem solve. Now, the pattern is established and he plans to, “Keep going on and on and then get to a billion.”