Items filtered by date: December 2012

1-2-3 Count Coins With Me!

I always did my coin unit in February.  It made sense to me (no pun intended) because it was Washington and Lincoln’s birthday month and they are on 2 of the coins we had to learn to identify.

I decided to combine coins with penguins, as that’s a popular theme that many study in January, thus Cent-sational Penguins was born.

The Cent-sational Penguin packet will help you with Common Core State Standards: RF.K3c, L.K.2a, L.K.2b, L.1.2b, RF.1.1a, 1.OA.5, RF.K.3a, RI.K.7, RI.K.10

It’s an easy and fun way to review a variety of math and reading standards in a short amount of time.

Students trace and write the coin word and its value. They also circle the capital letters, add end punctuation, as well as color, cut and glue the matching coins.

There are additional writing opportunities, as students think of alliterative nouns and verbs to complete the last sentences.

The packet includes:

• The Easy Reader booklet: Cent-sational Penguins
• 3 worksheets about coins
• A graphing extension +
• A certificate of praise

Click on the link to view/download the Cent-stional Penguins Packet

For more money activities, click on the link to zip over to that section of my FREE shopping cart offerings.

For more FREE penguin activities, click on the link. Enjoy!

Thank you for visiting today.

  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find useful.

“OK, so you are 10-years-old and have a laptop, PC, IPod, Wii and Gameboy.  When I was 10 the only techno thing I had to play with was called OUTSIDE!” -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Make Some paper Love With Me!

Whenever there was something special going on during a particular month, my 1^st graders used to ask everyday: “When is our Halloween party?”, “When’s the fieldtrip?” “How long before we can open our Valentines?” etc. 

Sound familiar?  I decided to put up a seasonally- colored paper chain, for however many days in that month.

I’d link them in a pattern so that I’d have a quick teachable moment in full view.

Whatever we were doing that was extra special: parties, trips, visitors, I’d put an appropriate sticker on that link, so when a student asked a question like the above, I could say, “Well let’s figure that out,” and I’d refer them to the paper chain.

If you like this idea you can get the pattern for a cute dangler, that you can change each month. 

The apple piece is for September; there's a pumpkin for October etc.  I stick them on with Velcro dots. Hang the paper chains from that.

Heart Paper Chain:

I wanted to make a special paper chain for February, so I made the links in a shape.

This is easy to do.  Simply cut strips of colored paper on the paper cutter that are 1 inch wide, and as long as the paper.

Construction paper works fine, but cardstock paper holds the heart shape better, and is much more durable.

Fold a strip in half.  Bend the open ends in ‘til you have a rounded top heart, and staple them together. (See photo.)

As you can see, I made my strips white, red and pink and will have an ABC-ABC pattern going.

Fold as many strips as you need, but don’t staple them until you have looped them through each other to make the chain.

You can make this even more interesting, by writing a “secret message” on the paper strips before you put them together.

I did the paper chain activity during my calendar time, or before story time, as I hung the chain by my rocking chair.

After students have counted, recognized the colors and pattern, and you’ve done whatever else math-wise, you want to do with the paper chain, call on a quiet child to gently tear the end strip off and read the secret message.

These are so easy to make that I cut up a variety of colored construction paper strips and my Y5's enjoy stringing as many as they can before the timer rings. Younger students can simply make one; punch a hole in the top side and make a yarn loop for them to hang on a doorknob. 

Another thing you can do with them is to make a heart wreath for your door.  Double-sided scrapbook paper turns out lovely.  This would be fun for older students who are able to use a stapler on their own.

Scroll down for more things to do with this idea + the link for the packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away. Hope you can stop by tomorrow for more heart activities.

"It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense." - Robert G. Ingersoll

9 pages. Here's a quick and easy 3D heart that's perfect for all sorts of valentine activities.

1-2-3 Count To 100 With Me!

If you haven’t celebrated 100-Day yet, I think you’ll like this quick, easy and fun way for your students to count to 100.

Run off the star badge template on yellow construction paper, (when you color it, the colors still show up pretty good.)  Run off the star ribbons on white construction paper.

If you want to give their badges a bit more pizzazz and strength, run off the larger background star on a complimentary construction paper color.

Students cut out the pieces and glue them together.  The diagonal lines on the ribbons will help.

Simply rub glue on them, and then press to the back of the star.

Students count the stars as they count up to 99.  Did they count the big star? That will make 100!

Use safety pins to pin them on your star students, who’ve survived 100 days of school!

Be sure and make one for yourself, so that you have a sample!  You are a star too!  Click on the link to view/download the 100-Day Star Badge.  If you're looking for a few links, to other fun things, to help you celebrate 100-Day, you'll want to check out this fun "Find The Missing Animals" game. 

Students are asked to click on different number spaces in the 100 grid, when they click on the correct number space, an animal appears and goes into their "found" column.

Also, Joan Holub, who wrote 100 Days Of School for Scholastic, asked educators for their favorite 100-Day ideas.  She's published a list of 300 ! Click on the link to view 300 ideas for 100 Day.

Whatever you’re doing for your 100^th Day, I hope it’s simply sparkling! Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything that you think others may find helpful.

“So much to do; so little desire to do it!” -Unknown

Me and My 10 Frame

My 10 Frames have been one of the most downloaded items on the shopping cart.  (Over 100,000!)

I thought to spice things up, and keep your students interested, I’d design a mini set of 10-Frames they could manipulate, and make a set for each month (September through June.)

3 days, and 101 pages later, Monthly 10 Frames was born.

It will help you with Common Core State Standards:K.CC.2, K.CC.3, K.CC.4a, K.CC.4b, K.CC.4c, K.CC.5, k.CC.6 K.OA.1 K.OA.5

Your students will really enjoy the variety of hands-on activities they can do with this packet.

Now you can use a different-themed 10 frame each month. These can also be a fun way to individually or whole-group assess.

The packet includes:

• 10 different monthly 10-Frames in color. (September -June). Print & Laminate.
• I've also included 10 black & white monthly 10-frames, so you can run them off to give to your students.
• 20 different manipulative sheets with 80 pieces per page.  Print, laminate and cut out.  Store each set in a Snack Baggy.
  

• A blank set of 10-frames so you can design your own, or make 20-Frames for higher number math.
• Traceable numbers from 1-50 so students can make equations and then show their work with the manipulatives and 10-frames.
  

• A page of math symbols for the + sign, - sign, & = sign.
• A page of > < symbols.
  

• A "Trace & Write" skill sheet for numbers 1-50.  As a game have students choose a number and count from there to the end.
• Sort by 5's & 10's mats.
• Blank addition & subtraction mats for you to fill in with your own equations.
  

• 10 addition mats with equations for the fact families.
• 21 subtraction mats +
• 2 certificates of praise (1 for addition, 1 for subtraction.)

Partner students up and play math games. Use the manipulatives to make patterns.

Click on the link to view/download the 101-page Monthly 10 Frame packet.

Thank you for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find worthwhile.

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” -Martin Luther King