Estimation Station

My kids visit the estimation station once a week. For the first 6-8 weeks, I fill the jar with various objects. Once we start our “Celebrity of the Week” {star student}, I let the kids bring in their own items to add to the estimation jar. I’ll send the estimation jar home with my Celebrity of the Week with instructions to fill the estimation jar with their choice of items WITHOUT counting what they put inside. The jar stays in the estimation station for the week and each day a different set of kids visits it to make their guesses. When they visit the estimation station, they write their name on a post it note along with the number of their estimation and stick it on the estimation station poster. On Friday morning, we take all of the post its and sort them into groups {based on the number of their estimation}. We count the objects in the estimation jar together and then we use the post its to graph the results in various ways…who estimated greater than/less than/same as the actual number; how many boys vs. girls estimated greater/less/same as the actual number; etc. The post its are perfect because they can be easily moved around for quick graphing and the kids LOVE it! Here’s a little peek at our estimation station…