4 pages.

Here's a list of my all-time favorite fire safety books.  I hope they help you with your story time selections.

1-2-3 Come Do Some Spider-ific Activities With Me!

I guess a lot of people must be doing a spider theme this month, as spider activities have been my #1 download this past week.  It's certainly a nice alternative if your school doesn't celebrate Halloween.

I have some quicky spider activities for you today. The Spider Web Roll & Color game will help students review math skills in a fun way.  Younger students choose a partner and take turns rolling a dice.  Whatever number they roll, they color in a section of their web.  I made the spider webs small, so coloring won't be so time consuming.

Older students roll 2 dice and add them together.  I've also included a web worksheet where children write down their equations.  There's also a prediction sheet.  Students take a guess of how many individual sections there are on the web, and then figure out the correct answer.  Click on the link to view/download the Spider Web game. 

Since the October Pumpkin and Fire Safety Bibliographies have been popular, I decided to make one for my all-time favorite Spider books too. Click on the link to view/print the Spider Bibliography. 

Finally, the Speaking of Spiders packet is chock full of writing activities and includes a venn diagram for comparing spiders and bats. 

Since many of my Y5's think that a spider is an insect, I also made a Venn diagram where students compare spiders with insects. Venn diagrams are a terrific way to practice comparison & contrast.

There's a Spiders can... worksheet, as well as a spider KWL and several fact versus opinion activities. 

Involve some science and have students label their spider.  I've included a fact sheet that will help explain the parts of a spider. 

Also included is a mini spider report - graphic organizer, as well as a spider acrostic poem page + 2 adjective and verb practice pages.

Click on the link to view/download the Speaking of Spiders packet.

I know a lot of my visitors collect the themed 10 frames to switch things up each month. 

If that's you, click on the link for the spider-themed 10 frames packet.  

If you also do the 1-2-3 Count With Me easy reader booklets, based on a 10 frame, click on the link for the 1-2-3 Count Spiders With Me  FREEBIE. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  I hope you can drop by tomorrow to grab some more FREEBIES.   I'm off to help my daughter with a children's sale.  Wishing you a fun-filled fall day too. 

"Good things are attracted to a good heart." -Kobi Yamada

4 pages.

Spin a Web is a fun way for your students to practice math skills.  Children choose a partner and take turns rolling a dice.  Whatever number they roll, they color in that many sections of their spider web. 

1-2-3 Do Some Fire Safety Stuff With Me!

This month has simply gotten away from me; with so much to do it's a bit overwhelming.  My "to do" list keeps getting longer; I no sooner cross a few things off, and then find myself adding a zillion more; I'm certain everyone can relate.

Unfortunately, I did not get to design any of the stack of fire safety ideas that I wanted to.  However, I do have quite a bit of fire safety FREEBIES from the past available. 

If you're looking for a list of tried and true Fire Safety books you're kiddo's will enjoy, click on the link to take a peek at my Fire Safety Book Bibliography, it's a list of 55 of my all-time favorites.

I know that the "official" Fire Safety Week, was last week, but with many teachers having conferences, and some schools not celebrating Halloween, I thought maybe some of you would be working on Fire Safety now. 

Since craft ideas seem to be the most downloaded and pinned lately, I thought I'd share the fire safety craftivities my Y5's have done in the past.  The handprint stop sign was a parent favorite.

We accomplished all of these "craftivities" in a week's time.  I set a new one up each day as a center. 

Our hallway always looked amazing and displaying their work not only helped build their self-esteem, but showed the rest of the school what we were doing. 

With each project, I reinforced life-saving fire safety rules, trying to gently beat into their heads that they should NEVER play with matches, etc.

Many of the "craftivities" reflect this important rule.  My personal favorite is the flip-up matchbook. I was also pretty happy with the way the Kleenex box - "House on fire" turned out too.  We did this as a shape review with our 2nd-grade reading buddies.

My Y5's also enjoyed chanting: "I'm alert, so I won't get hurt." little ditty that I made up, as well as giving themselves a "thumbs up" when we'd go over all sorts of fire safety rules that they had learned.

Even though they had a blast pretending to be on fire, and then stop-dropping-and rolling, they knew the importance of that advice. 

We also practiced dialing 911 on real (non-working) cell phones that parents had donated over the years. 

Since my Y5-er's were forever mixing up 6's and 9's, I wanted to make sure that they "got it!" Quite a few fire safety activities that I've posted, revolve around practicing 911.

After one of my more inquisitive kiddo's, dialed it for real, at home "to see if it worked" I made sure to explain in even more detail, that this was for emergency purposes only, and then we'd discuss what an emergency was.  Five years later, one of my kiddo's saved the day when he called 911 when his family's trailer caught fire from an electrical problem.

The Fire Safety Art & Activities packet is a whopping 63-pages long and includes some full color pictures, + copy-ready patterns and step-by-step directions for each project.  This was one of the first packets that I made when I launched the site, so it doesn't reflect all of the software improvements I now incorporate with recent designs, but it's still a favorite of many visitors. 

I really wish I had the time to revamp some of the older files, but a lot of them are 50-100 pages long, so I have to content myself with letting the past go and simply design new stuff each day with the quality I now have in place. 

These fire safety activities all involve many of your report card standards, so children are learning and reinforcing much-needed math, writing, and science concepts while enjoying art.

They are a wonderful way to help increase listening and following direction skills, as well as cutting and other fine motor skills too.  To me, there is nothing better than hands-on, when it comes to working with little ones.

Use their completed and adorable "mess-terpieces" as bulletin boards, hallway and classroom decorations or for portfolios.   My Y5's personal favorite was the Dalmatian puppy sock puppet, as well as making and wearing their paper fire hat.

My little ones got a kick out of writing their puppy's name on their adoption certificate, which is included in the packet. When everyone completed their Dalmatian, we'd sit in a circle on the carpet.  Wearing their puppy puppet, children would take a turn having their dog bark and say its name + a fire safety rule. 

We'd do the Puppy Pokey, and they'd place their puppy in the position of whatever spatial direction I called out.  "Put your puppy UNDER your arm, OVER your head, BETWEEN your legs etc." It was a fun way to get the wiggles out and review spatial direction words at the same time.

Click on the link to view/download the Fire Safety Art & Activities packet.   If you're looking for more fire safety FREEBIES click on the link to pop on over to that section of my site.  

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you like.   To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black. Now click on the "Pin it" button located on the burgundy menu bar.  If you'd like to see all of the terrific-educational items that I pin, click on the heart button to the right of the blog. 

"Never let your fears hold you back from pursuing your hopes." -John F. Kennedy

24 pages.

This packet will help reinforce numbers 1 through 6, subsidizing, recognition, simple addition/subtraction, greater and less than + sequencing in fun ways.

1 2 3 Come Do Some Nice Dice Activities With Me!

MY Y5'S LOVED playing with dice.   I did all sorts of fun activities with them to help reinforce math concepts with numbers 1 to 6, so I decided to design a dice packet complete with cards and activities. Click on the link to view/download this fun packet. Dice Activities That Teach Math Skills.

Dice are a wonderful vehicle for teaching your kiddo's to subitize.  Subitizing, was coined in 1949 by E.L. Kaufman. The term is derived from the Latin adjective subitus which means "sudden".  A person who has affectively mastered this skill immediately knows how many items there are, without having to stop and count them. 

According to studies most people can subitize up to 10.  Dominoes are also a fun way to get subitizing practice in.  Click on the link for my Dominoe Math Packet.

With that in mind, I thought it would be helpful to have a set of big dice flashcards to use for practice.  Print, laminate & trim the cards and fasten them together with a split ring.  Flash a card and have children call out that number.  To whole-group assess, flash a card and have children silently hold up that many fingers.  You can tell at a glance who is having difficulty.

The packet includes a set of large teacher dice cards, a smaller set for students to sequence, + a mini set so you can play a whole-group game of "Show Me What I Need To Make __________."  Teacher holds up her big card and asks children to show them what they need to make another number.  i.e. I hold up the #2 dice, and ask children to show me what other dice they need to make the sum of 5.  They would hopefully show me the #3 card. 

I've also included math symbol cards, so students can make equations, a bookmark you can use as a whole-group assessment game, a roll & dot dice game, 2 trace-write and match worksheets, + a What's Missing? activity. 

Laminate a set of bookmarks and use them for another math dice activity.   Review the numbers orally and have children point to that number and count with you.  You can count from a certain number up to 6 or even count backwards. 

Make extra copies of the medium-sized cards so students can play a Memory Match game. They can match the dice to the number box, or the number word, or all three.  I've also included a cover so students can sequence the cards and make an Itty Bitty booklet.  There's a separate set of dice-number-number word cards to print, laminate and cut into puzzles too.

These are a wonderful whole-group assessment tool too.  Give students one M&MM (mighty math marker) to move to whatever number is called out.  After glancing around, jot down names of children and the numbers they are having problems identifying.  I used sticky notes and a clipboard. After the game, students can eat their candy. 

Children can also practice one-to-one correspondence, by having them place however many pony beads or other small items, onto the square that will match the number amount on the dice picture.   Click on the link to view/download the Dice Math Packet. 

As far as dice are concerned, I really like the large foam dice that they sell at The Dollar store.  They are easy for little ones to hold, don't fly on the floor as much, and are blessedly quiet!  If your Dollar Store doesn't have them, you can also purchase them from Oriental Trading.  They are only $4 for a dozen.  They come in an assortment of rainbow colors, so i also used them for patterning.

Another quiet way I had my students "roll dice" was to recycle those mini water bottles.  I'd toss two dice inside, fill with water and a bit of glitter and glue the caps shut with Gorilla Glue.

Students enjoyed shaking up the dice and then peeking on the bottom to see what their numbers were.  Use a drop of food coloring or a pinch of plastic seasonal confetti, for extra pizzazz or to make special ones for Halloween, Valentine's Day etc.

I wanted to include a photo here, so I Googled waterbottle dice and found a teacher who also uses them, over at Kids Count.  Shari has some math FREEBIES using dice as well.  Click on the link to check out her wonderful creativity. 

As mentioned yesterday, some clever person has come up with a little dice INSIDE a larger dice. Woo hoo for creativity.  I'm sure they'll be a hit with your kiddo's.  You can get a pack of 8 for only $2.28 from Pure Fun or $2.69 from On The Fly Supply.

One of my favorite ways to review the numbers on a dice was with a "magic trick".  I'd use a big foam dice and choose a child.  They'd come up to the front of the class, look at the dice and choose a number they wanted to show the other children. 

I reminded the class NOT to shout out the answer, or they'd ruin the trick.  Carefully, so they didn't reveal the face of the dice and the number to me, they'd keep it facing the class and hold it above their head.  I stood behind the child so I could see the number on the back of the dice.  I'd pretend to be "reading" their minds and then ask: "Are you looking at the number 3?" 

I also had a dice and would show them that number.  To their utter amazement they were looking at that number!  "Do it again!  Do it again!" could be heard, as well as, "How did you do that?"  I did not reveal the answer to the trick 'til I was done using this as a number review game.  I told my students I'd let them know the answer, when everyone could recognize numbers 1 to 6, then they could practice and do the trick for their families.  

One of the parents of my Y5's told me at conferences that her son Garret couldn't wait to find out.  She asked about the trick, so  I showed her and shared the secret.  Karen taught high school math and wondered how she could do it with her students.  I told her to use it as a math problem.  Demonstrate the trick and then have students try and figure out how it was mathematically done.  She reported back that it was a HUGE success, and has used it every year! 

The secret?  The front and back numbers of a dice, when added together, will always-equal 7, so if you are looking at the number 5, your students will be looking at the number 2.  Cool huh?   I hope you have as much fun with this as I do. 

I found this photo of a tot with a jumbo dice and thought that would be a really fun size for this activity.  Even after searching, I could not find a source to buy just one jumbo dice.  I found really humongous "cheese" ones with green dots (Go Packers!), but nothing this size.  Anyone out there know?  You can leave a comment here, or shoot me an e-mail: diane@teachwithme.com

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and blog daily, so I hope you can stop by again tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES.  You can PIN anything from my site.  Just think how much easier our lives would be, if more people made the time to share. 

To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the burgundy menu bar.   If you'd like to take a peek at all of the wonderfully educational items I pin, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.

"I am learning all of the time.  My tombstone will be my diploma." -Eartha Kitt

1-2-3 Make A Graphic Organizer With Me!

I LOVE graphic organizers.  They are especially helpful for my visual learners. I took this concept and made it work for a number worksheet.  It's quick and easy to implement and can be part of your daily or weekly table top lessons, or plugged into your math center. 

If you need "stuff" for your early finishers to work on, or some activities for your sub folder, these are perfect.  Many teachers have asked for simple homework lessons, because their districts require homework! 

These make that task less work for you, and more fun for your students.  As you can see in the sample, a lot of Common Core math is covered in a fun way.

I've used the same template and changed the clip art, so you have a variety of worksheets for each month and LOTS of themes. This packet is a whopping 94-pages! 

Pick and choose what suits your kiddo's. By repeating the format, students feel empowered and can get right down to business.  Because they know what to do, they can work independently, you're not wasting time explaining directions, and are freed up to work one-on-one with strugglers.  Things stay interesting and fresh, because of the seasonal clip art and the new number that they choose.

Students roll one or two dice to arrive at their number for the worksheet, or you can have children choose a number card from a seasonal container.  (I've made cards for numbers from 1-120.) 

You may want to make extra sets for students to sequence and play games with.  I've included a blank grid children can write numbers in, or laminate some grids and have students place tiles on them. 

I was bopping around the internet and found a little dice INSIDE a larger dice!  How cool is that!  Less noise and less likely to have one flying on the floor. I think your kiddo's will think they are especially cool too! 

I Googled where you can buy them and found several places.  You can get a pack of 8 for only $2.28 from Pure Fun or $2.69 from On The Fly Supply.

Students write their number in the middle square and fill in the rest of their graphic organizer.  

Children can write in the coin values, or/and you can have them cut and glue the appropriate coin tiles to their worksheet.  (A coin template is included for a penny, nickel, dime and quarter.) Ask students to write down one way to arrive at the coin value, or several.

For the group/set section, children can make dots, X's or whatever, to show how many.  For smaller numbers, students can use stickers or a seasonal stamp.   Click on the link to view/download the Monthly Math Graphic Organizer packet.  

While I was didling around designing this, I thought I'd include a separate mustache-themed packet, because "mustache mania" is still going strong.  

This packet's number cards have a mustache on them.   Click on the link to view/download the Mustache-Math Graphic Organizer packet. 

Thanks for visiting today.  I blog and design daily, so I hope you can drop by tomorrow too.  Feel free to PIN anything from my site.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the burgundy menu bar.  

If you'd like to check out all of the awesome-educational items that I spend way too much time pinning, click on the big heart button to the right of the article.  

"It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful." -Ann Landers

10 pages.

This packet is perfect for a daily or weekly table top lesson, math center, something for early finishers to do, nice for a sub folder activity, or great practice for a take home worksheet.

50 pages

This packet is perfect for a daily or weekly table top lesson, math center, something for early finishers to do, nice for a sub folder activity, or great practice for a take home worksheet. I've used the same template and changed the clip art, so you have a variety of worksheets for each month and lots of themes.  This Packet will be FREE for an entire year! Woo Hoo.  After which time, it will be revamped and included in my whopping 106-page Seasonal Print & Go Daily Math Worksheet packet in my TpT shop.  Click on the link to zip on over. For your convenience, I've included a PREVIEW here.

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Spider Stuff With Me!

The spider shape activities are popular downloads, so I decided to do a few more spider-themed things.  All of these lessons will help your kiddo's practice upper and lowercase letters.  (To see the spider shape activities, scroll down for that blog article.)

Since the apple and pumpin clothespin "craftivities" were also very popular, I thought it would be fun to design a spider one too.  I named him Alphie.  Use my patterns to make templates; and then trace, cut and glue your spider together.  I added wiggle eyes and black pipe cleaner legs for that extra pizzazz. 

So that students can self-check, I've included a spider ABC chart.  For more letter practice, I designed a match the uppercase letter to the lowercase letter worksheet as well.

Alphie makes a wonderful independent center, or something for early-finishers to do.   You may want to make a few extra spiders to send home with children who are struggling.  I've included a note home, + a reminder note incase a family "forgets" to send Alphie back.  Click on the link to view/download the spider alphabet matching game.

I had a request for some spider alphabet cards.  If you collect ABC cards so you can change them each month, I have lots of themes available, and am always open to any requests visitors have for others. (diane@teachwithme.com). 

I've also included a BLANK color, as well as a black and white set of cards, for you to program with whatever + a 3-page tip sheet of ideas for games and other activities that you can do with the cards.   Click on the link to view/download the spider alphabet cards.

Because assessing can be overwhelming for little ones, I like to dream up fun ways I can do that.  Assessing is time consuming too, so I did a lot of whole-group assessment to weed out the strugglers.  

Playing "I Spy" is a fun game that enables you to see at a glance who is having difficulty.  I designed a spider upper and lowercase letter bookmark that's perfect for an "I Spy" game. 

Run off the spider bookmarks and give each child a spider ring or piece of candy corn to use as a manipulative.  Whenever I'm using candy as a marker, I always allow students to eat one at the beginning of the activity. 

It saves a lot of time reminding students that they cannot eat the candy 'til the game is done, and helps them enjoy the game and stay focussed better. 

The teacher starts by calling out a letter, children move their marker to that letter and raise their hand to signal that they have "spied" it.  The teacher then calls on a child to choose the next letter.  Play continues 'til all of the letters are called.  If you don't want to reuse the bookmarks each year, students can also circle the letters and then take their bookmarks home.  

If you are doing an individual assessment, circle the letters the student does not know, write a note on the back asking parents to work on those letters and send it home with the child.  There are also 6 alphabet worksheets for even more practice.  Click on the link to view/download the spider alphabet activities.

Finally, if you're looking for a bit more, you may enjoy an older Spider packet that has a few alphabet activities in it, as well as lots of math fun.  My kiddos especially enjoyed working with the paper flies and spider web sorting mats. 

If you want to see all of the other spider freebies I offer, click on the link.

Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you found something you can use for your spider studies.  I'm off to check the basement after a ton of rain.  Hopefully there are no disasterous puddles down there, or spiders for that matter. :-)

"Children don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." -Unknown