The Goodies Are Rolling In!

The goodies I've been ordering for my classroom have been rolling in! Don't you just love a box or two on your porch this time of year?! I know I do! Thank goodness I'm home to grab them before the husband sees, and tries to guesstimate how much I've spent....only to be shocked by the credit card bill how much it actually was. It's better he just sees the bill, freaks out & I'm like, oh yeah....I bought some stuff for school. By then, it's stashed in the trunk of my car or somewhere around the house, and there's no going back....only forward....to my classroom! So here's what came 2 shipments ago. This isn't even the latest stuff I've bought. I went on a girls day on Monday with some relatives to the Spa & there happened to be a Melissa & Doug store in the resort. All I can say is that I LOVE Melissa and Doug----and my own 3 children scored some sweet pool toys/diving games & my classroom will reap some rewards from that little shopping trip as well! More on that later....

Back to my Amazon goodies.....

Take a good look! You will see....

1. 1. My "Mrs. Powell" monogramed binder from Zazzle.com. It's BIG. And cute! All my assessments info. will be put into this binder this year. I always use a binder to store my running records, MLPP testing (letter/sound knowledge, concepts of print, etc., sight words data, DIBELS info., and DELTA Math info.)....it seems as if I have my Data Binder out every day, so this year I wanted to make it super cute. And for a reasonable price, I snagged this binder!
2. GIANT Magnetic Base Ten Blocks. I was really wanting some of these last year. I mentioned it to my principal as he did a walkthrough last year while I happened to be trying to model with base ten blocks that it would be really great if I had some that I could put on the whiteboard at our group area. Is it super sad I didn't even know they existed?!??! I'm ashamed to admit it. Glad I googled that one! It led to my wish coming true! 
3. Foam Bath Letters & (not pictured) the crab letter links for the water table. I bought two sets of the crab letter links and 2 sets of the foam letters. I figured I'll rotate sets so that the kids stay engaged/interested in them & purchasing 2 sets of each will ensure that there are enough vowels for kids that are spelling a variety of lengthier words! Check out this FREEBIE for your students to practice their sight words at the water table! Just post it on the wall above your water table. 

   

   Click HERE to grab this FREEBIE!
   
   

   

   Click HERE to grab this FREEBIE! 

4. Soft Number Dice. I also desperately needed these last year. What a perfect math station to just roll & add. You could add 2 numbers or 3 numbers. You could graph how many times you rolled a number. There are so many possibilities. Check out this FREEBIE for you using number dice. Don't want to purchase number dice? Simply download a template online, or use a sharpie and write numbers on a wooden cube.....I'm sure you have some of those! If you happen to like the number dice freebie I gave you, you can get LOTS more for your classroom in my Number Dice Activities Pack

5. 

   Click HERE to grab this pack! 
6. Belkin Rockstar headphone adapter. I'm very excited to get some of my audio books on an iPod or iPad this year so that the kids can listen to them digitally. That's a whole blog post for another day....but I am seriously excited about this little techy purchase. I'm such a geek! 
7. Letter Beads. These are great. I am very excited to add these to my word work station this year. I do have beads already, but some are old, some too small, and the pile has dwindled over the years. I'm re-stocking & plan to use them with my new items from A Differentiated Kindergarten! Thanks, Marsha!! 

  

Taking the 'Common' out of Common Core

The common core is everywhere! And in some States, it's not....anymore. For those of us that are still driven by the Common Core, posting those "I can" statements daily/weekly/permanently throughout our classrooms....how do you find ways to keep your classroom creative, fun, & hands-on, all while meeting those Common Core objectives?

Here's a few things that we've recently done in my classroom to keep our learning fun, fresh, and engaging! I thought I had a picture of this....but I can't seem to find it amongst the bazillion photos in my camera roll. So, imagine this.....a first grade classroom with a sand table? Yep--that's us! We often use it for math. Actually, it's not a sand table....but sand totes (the plastic rubbermaid ones). Since we live in Michigan where it still feels like the Arctic....we have laminated missing addend snowflakes buried in the sand. We call it Blizzard Beach. It's funny that none of my students found the mix of beach, summer, winter, & snow items all mixed together a bit odd----that's Michigan for ya! But it keeps sensory play in my classroom at the same time my students find missing addends. Using different totes for various levels of missing addend work keeps that station FUN & differentiated. I really need to grab a picture of that, but in the mean time, use your mental images, and look HERE.

Recently, it was the 120th day of school for my students. 1.NBT.1 says that students should count to 120 starting at any number less than 120. In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of objects with a written numeral. So that we did! Not that we haven't been working on it all year----but because we HAVE been working so hard, we chose the 120th day to celebrate it!

We decorated our entrance to our classroom....and just in case anyone questioned the hustle & bustle, the giggles galore, and the multiple times the firsties broke out in tune ("Red Solo Cup....I fill you up..")

 Go ahead, I'll wait while you sing along...

....but just in case anyone questioned our day, I went ahead and posted my 1.NBT.1 objective right on our sign! 

Students decorated their own T-shirts----some were tallied, BeJewled, covered in buttons, painted, and more! Not one shirt was the same!

 And here.....you'll understand why Toby Keith is considering letting us cover his Kids Bop version of Red Solo Cup (wink, wink). There were multiple structures built throughout the day with 120 Red Solo cups. Cooperative learning, planning, and creating....I loved listening to their conversations, compromises, ideas, and minds at work!

Here's one child enjoying 120's day to the fullest....crown, 120 apple jack necklace, 120 pom-pom shirt....what's not to love about 1.NBT.1?! 

1.NBT.1 also helped my students satisfy their tastebuds by counting out 12 groups of 10 snack items to contribute to a trail mix. See? The Common Core is Y-U-M-M-Y! 

(Click the photo of the smarties above to get your own 1st Grade 120 Day fun!)

At this point in the year, if you are like me, you are finding the Common Core just another 'chore'. And when something becomes a little too chore-like....it means we need to spice it up! What fun ways do you put the paper/pencils down in order to take the 'Common' out of Common Core? 

@MiTeacherGirl

Grid Games & A Manic Monday FREEBIE!

Today's Freebie: GRID GAMES!

It's nearly the beginning of the school year, and for you PreK-K teachers like me, don't you think it's amazing how we seem to forget just how little the children are in those first few weeks (okay, MONTHS) of school?! They come from all walks of life, all sorts of backgrounds and experiences...including no experiences, for some of them! 

So...let's bring them in, put them in a room full of 16, 18, 20+ other children their age and begin to form  a cozy little family! HA! Easier said than done, sometimes. 

There are a million little details, activities, games, and ice breakers that you will no doubt implement in order for you to get to know your students, and for them to get to know one another. One (of many) of my favorite ways to get children working together is to sit down and play a little grid game. If you are looking for a great small group activity in the beginning of the year, grid games are great for your youngest and most inexperienced students - AND play can be modified to meet the levels of your higher learners. As the year progresses, your students will be able to play these grid games in a center, at an independent station, in pairs, or other small groups. 

What is a Grid Game?

A grid game teach is a type of board game that teaches one to one correspondence, counting, numeral identification, and even work on addition. To play a grid game, children roll a game die, identify the numeral (or count the dots) and count out that amount of manipulatives. Each manipulative is placed over one picture in the grid. Each player gets their own grid mat. Children play until the whole grid is full. The first person to fill their grid wins/that round is complete. Continue play as long as time/interest allows.

Why Grid Games?Board games are the original turn-taking games, and a grid game is one form of a board game. They can be played without having to remember a lot of rules, they are fairly fast paced, and it does not take long to wait for your turn to come back around----perfect for little ones learning to take turns and build patience.

Go ahead and grab your grid game freebie here! I hope you give them a try if you haven't yet used them with your students. If you are familiar...you know kids love these games, and it's nice to have different game mats to play with!   

Your students can practice counting, 1:1, number recognition, addition, and taking turns with this fun grid game!  There are 5 game mats with 10-frames & 5 game mats with 20-frames to use with your students' various abiltiies/levels.

These are great for a small group/center activity. Laminate and cut out game mats.

What you need: Printable game mats & 1-2 dice (either with dots or numbers). That's it! With the 10 frames, students will only need 1 dice; with the 20 frames, students can roll 2 dice and add them together if you choose.

Cover the spaces with glass stones, pom poms---anything small enough to fit inside each box. First person to fill up their grid, wins! Play again and again as long as time allows! :)  

A Sweet Summer Freebie!

Go ahead...it's Friday night---just click, download, print & enjoy! 

Have a fun weekend, everyone!

Measure It Out!

Toward the end of the year, many students are working on units of measure. If you're not, maybe you can find somewhere in your math stations to review measuring with this cute little activity, Mouse Measuring!

I dug this out, after not using it for a year or so, and it held the interest of their eager little minds just as I remembered! Whether you are working on measuring with non-standard units of measure, or standard units, this activity is for you! You can use it either way. I love activities that grow with the children---you know you are getting great use out of it!

With this game, you will get mice labeled A-R. All you have to do is laminate the mice, cut out, & punch a hole in the black dot and attach yarn of various lengths to make a "tail". Only one tail per mouse, of course! 

If you are working with preschool students, you may only want them to measure with non-standard units of measure and opt out of the recording sheet. There were certainly a handful of my preschoolers at the end of the year who could measure and then write the numeral next to the corresponding letter mouse. (i.e.: we used unifix cubes and if the mouse A was five cubes long, they could practice writing "5" by mouse A on the recording sheet). 

If you are working with older children who are capable of measuring, and then completing the recording sheet, go for it! 

Mouse B is 6 quarters long! 

To see this game in my Teacher's Notebook shop, click HERE! 

On the Right Track with Numbers!

Ever since Christmas, I've been watching my 5 year old twins play their new Leap Pad tablets. They LOVE them! They come in handy in the car on long trips, or when a little down time is needed. We definitely monitor the amount of screen time that our kids have (and really, mine would rather dig in the dirt than sit in front of the TV most of the time anyway!). 

However, when they do play their Leap Pad tablets, I can't help but notice how drawn they are to the math apps on there (K-2 level apps). More than that, the concepts they are working on are strikingly amazing for typical 5 year olds. They start basic, but every level they reach, opens the door for more challenges. Specifically, my daughter LOVES the cooking/baking game. Today, I heard the game say "slice the bread into three thirds".....Fractions?! Really. I thought I was going to have to help out....but NOPE! She did it on her own lickety split! 

Another game that they adore is a number sense game----there are different scenes (space, etc.) in which random numbers are floating and they have to pull them down and put them in order smallest to largest. When they first got this game nearly five months ago, that concept was REALLY hard for them. Now, they totally get it and are quite quick with it. Amazing! 

Don't worry---I'm getting to the point here. 

Anywhoooooo----the point of this is not to dote about my cute little loves, but rather how quickly they acquired the skills (as most kids do) with a TECHY device! Technology sells---and kids buy into educational concepts through fun, flashy technology. Oh, how I wish I was about to give away a Leap Frog Tablet---but alas, I'm not. 

I wish, I wish, I wish I could click my heels together three times and have such devices for the students in my classroom. Since I don't, I had to think of an activity that I could change up the levels (differentiate) for my students, while still building number sense. There are many activities to do this (and store bought ones are expensive)----so for now, here's what I've come up with.

This activity can be used in a variety of ways, and would fit in well with your little ones who love trains, or within a transportation unit, or just because! Take a look....

This is not a good picture, but you can get the idea of how to print the pages and laminate them end to end form engine to caboose.

Using a visual timer (ie: sand timer), students will race to beat the clock to arrange the numbers in a variety of ways:

By 1's... (or 5's, or 10's)... 

By 2's/Evens or Odds...

Or by ordering random numbers smallest to largest. 

You will get numbers 1-100 with this game---so it's completely flexible for you to give your students the numbers they need based on readiness/skill!

 Print a few train track mats for a small group or for your math workstation boxes, have pairs of students work together, or use for independent practice. 

Like this game? Please let me know in a comment!

Have a bunch of Leap Pad tablets to donate to my classroom?! I'll take 'em! LOL 

Click HERE for this game!