No Recess, Math Stations, & Polar Pals

I think I might go crazy if we don't have a recess soon. Since we've been back from Christmas break it's either been too cold or poor air quality to have recess. Four days straight without a recess is torture for first graders as well as the teacher. We are praying for a recess tomorrow but the weatherman is not giving us much hope until Friday. But even then it's supposed to snow. Oh well, more blocks, coloring books, checkers, and Blink. Blink is a really fun card game that my firsties love to play. You can find it at Target, Wal-Mart or Amazon.com

Here are a few new pictures of our math stations. I didn't have them up and ready the first day when we got back from the break and my kids were a little impatient.

They LOVE their math stations.

 We LOVE doing math games on the Kindles!

My kids love the site- ABCYa.com

 These previous 3 games are in my Winter Fun Packet.

This Subtraction Bump game I posted about last year. You can find it HERE.

These 3 clock games are from my new Star Wars telling time packet. My boys go CRAZY for these games. You can read about them HERE.

I posted a new packet called Polar Pals. There are 2 non-fiction booklets in color or black & white. One about Penguins and another about Polar Bears. We did compare and contrast, fact or opinion, and lots of vocabulary activities. Then with the information we've learned, we will write about both animals.

 You can check the packet out by clicking on my sidebar for a direct link to my shops.

I hope everyone is having a great week! Thanks for stopping by.

Math Station Labels and Charts

I've had a lot of requests for my Math Station Labels and Charts. When I first made them I was still very new to the blogging world and wasn't sure how it all worked. I've later learned a lot about copyright laws and such. One of graphics I used on my first set of labels I've learned I can't share. So I've created them again with graphics I CAN share! Here is what they look like now.

Click on the picture above for a FREE download.

I made the little picture cards so you can laminate them and write your kiddo's names with an erasable marker. Then you can reuse them next year. The 'Looks Like, Sounds Like' anchor chart can be printed on your printer's poster setting to make it really big. I hope this helps some of you get your math stations up and running. I sure LOVE math stations and so do my kiddos. If you are new to math stations you'll want to check out this book by Debbie Diller.

Kids need TIME and PRACTICE to process the things they are learning especially in math. Math Stations are a great way to let them get the time and practice they need.

I survived the zoo on Friday. It was soooo much fun. I ended up taking one of my groups around and it was a joy to see how excited they got to see the polar bears swim right up to their faces behind the glass. They wore me out though. I had 5 VERY ACTIVE boys that can really move through the zoo quickly.

This week is Apple Day on Wednesday. I love to make 1st grade Applesauce with the secret ingredient of cinnamon candy hearts! You can check out last years post HERE.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Swiper

My kiddos LOVE Swiper. He is a really big hit this year. Bigger than last year. I don't know why but he is. Don't you have years like that? Some times things just aren't a big hit and other times they are BIG. A few years ago I found this cute idea using Swiper (a character from Dora, the Explorer show on NickJr). I'd love to give credit to whomever came up with the idea because it's great!

I place his cute picture by my 100's chart and when they have gone home for the day, he 'swipes' some of the numbers from our chart. When they come back the next day, we try to guess which numbers he took and replace them. At first I just take a number here and there and not to high. As we get better, Swiper takes several in a row and all the way up to 100. I have a little envelope on the back of the picture where I keep the numbers. I don't do it every day so it doesn't get old. It's just a fun little review.
I also have a version of it in my math stations. You can read about it HERE.
My picture is from Google Images. You can grab a copy by clicking the picture below.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something you can use in your classroom!
I LOVE comments!

Beginning of the Year Math Stations- FREEBIES

We are beginning our math work stations. The kids are really excited! They love it! We are mostly doing activities with counting and numbers. Here are a few pictures and FREEBIES!

 This is called Grab and Count. I wrote about it in a previous post. You can check it out HERE and HERE along with other activities I do for math stations. I made the bag from a gift bag and added a label and I got the foam cubes from Dollar Tree. They are nice and quiet! 

 This activity I tweaked from a Math Investigations lesson. I have 6-7 boxes with items in them to count. The students count and then record on the sheet. I have things like buttons, beads, chips, clips, and tiny toys to count. Click on the sheet below for a PDF of the recording sheet.

This activity is an idea from Shari Sloane. She has tons of math center ideas. If you've never checked out her sight you need to go there. Click HERE for the link. I think she calls it 'Make a Train'. I added a few more ropes and a recording sheet and called it 'Make a Cube Train'. The kiddos straighten out the 4 different sized ropes and then make a cube train as long as each of them. Then they count the cubes and record the number. My kids LOVE to make cube trains. This is a very easy activity to make and lots of fun. Click on the sheet below for a PDF.

Another activity from Shari Sloane is 'Race to Trace'. She has one for numbers 0-6 and adding numbers. I made one so my firsties can practice writing their numbers 0-9. You'll need a 10-sided die 0-9 to play. Click on the picture above for a PDF.

This activity I got a long time ago but I again tweaked it a bit. I really like my kids to see the ten frames and tallies. You will also need a 10-sided die for this one too. Again, click on the sheet above for a PDF.

I don't know about you but I couldn't teach without 10-sided dice. I use them for tons of things. If you don't have any you can check them out here at Amazon.com

These are a few of the activities for my math stations this month. I try to change them every month and add new things that we've been working on.

I hope you find something that you can use in your classroom. Even if you don't do math stations, a lot of these activities can be used with your whole class or in small groups.

If you download PLEASE consider leaving some FEEDBACK. I'd love to hear from you!

Number THREE & a Freebie

Three weeks! Three weeks! That's all that's left of my summer vacation. In that three weeks I've got to get my room ready (I'm re-doing my theme this year so everything is coming down), finish making a bunch of stuff , re-organize my reading files (new core is throwing me a curve), and get my math map ready. I'm running out of time! AAAHHHH! Yesterday, I had one of those days where I didn't feel like doing anything. I finally slept in-until 7:30. Then I just couldn't get myself motivated to do a darn thing. Actually, it was really kind-of nice for a change. Gotta have a day or two like that. But today I'm up at 5:00 with a bajillion things to do.
First off, I uploaded some new packets to my shops. I'm really excited about these. Like I said before, I'm changing my theme this year. I'm going with "HAPPY CAMPERS". So I've been re-making lots of charts and signs. I made new number charts and they turn out great, so I made a bunch with other themes. Check out the pictures below.

Click on the words to go to my shops

TpT or Teacher Notebook 

The number word, numeral, tallies, and 10-frame are on each poster with a cute, colorful border. There is a chart for each number 0 to 20. If you don't see a theme to match your room, just email me and I'll see what I can do to make one for you.

***Because I'm feeling stressed about my THREE WEEKS of summer left, I'm going to give away THREE of the number charts to the first THREE that leave me a comment. Make sure you leave your email address and which themed packet you'd like!

Now on to the FREEBIE. I'm kind-of stuck in a number and camper mode. So I made a new BUMP game for my math stations at the beginning of the year. It uses a 10-sided die and the kiddos can have fun practicing their number words, tallies, or 10-frames. I hope it's something you can use.

Click HERE to DOWNLOAD!

Hey, when does everyone else start? We actually start in THREE weeks but the kids don't come until August 21st. I know some year-round school have already started. Sorry Shelley!
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something you can use in your classroom.

Requests

I've had several requests for my recording sheets for the Grab, Count, Graph activities I do in Math Stations. I posted about it back in October when I first started doing Math Stations. You can read that post HERE. Back in October, I was still very new to the whole blogging thing and making stuff. I've since figured a few thing out. I made these to go along with the ideas from Debbie Dillers book "Math Work Stations". So here are the recording sheets. Click on the picture to download a PDF.

Another request I get all the time is for my Math Stations anchor chart. I am NOT an artist so I like to make my anchor charts on the computer. I generally discuss with my class and make notes on the board with them. Then I tell them I will take our notes and make a nice chart for us to remember what we've talked about. It works for me. I print this on the poster setting of my printer so it comes out big. You have to glue it together. Again, click on the picture to download.

I've also had a request for my number bracelet booklet from a post I did in September. This is an AWESOME activity from Reagan at Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits. You can read my post HERE. Click on the picture for a download of my version of the booklet.

Graphics are from Scrappin Doodles, Lettering Designs, DJ Inkers, and some really old ones I have had forever and I can't even find a name on them to give credit where credit it due. So sorry.
I have also had requested that my new Nifty Number Practice Book by done in D'Nealian lettering. And I am working on one for 11-20.
Thank you bloggy friends! I LOVE all the comments and requests. Please keep them coming!
Have a fantastic Friday!

Wipe Out Freebie!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday. I know I am. Got a lot done today. Yeah! Flowers planted, house cleaned, laundry finished and ironing almost done.
Here is a little game I've had for years. Don't really know where I got it from but I fancied it up a bit with some new graphic from Scrappin Doodles and KPM Doodles. It's a game I like to play at the end of the year. The kids LOVE it! I don't know if its because they get to use the calculators or what. It's called Wipe Out. Maybe it's because they think they're surfing. They roll a die and record but if they roll a 6 it's a WIPE OUT and they lose everything. I added some other variations to it to make it harder for your high kids or for 2nd graders. Click on the picture to grab a copy.

I hope your kiddos love it as much as mine do.
Have a great Sunday! And thanks for stopping by.

Count the Tally Marks Freebie

Hey all! I  hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend. Mine has been super. The weather is sooooo nice. It's hard to be inside for more than a few minutes!

I've got a cute freebie for anyone who could use it. I just put it in my math stations this week. It's for tally marks and counting by 5's. It goes along with the new common core 1.NBT.1. Just click HERE for a free copy. The graphics are from Scrappin Doodles and From the Pond with fonts from Kevin and Amanda.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone has a great week!