Ones and Tens...Valentine Heart Style!

I won't even begin to waste time saying how long it's been since I last blogged or explaining why.  In a nutshell, being a full-time mom and full-time teacher is a "full time" job. Who knew?! :) Even though my daughter is almost a year old, (seriously?!)  doing the working mom thing is still not easy for me.  I don't think it ever will be. I struggle with it...a lot. Those of you that make it "look" easy...  I'm in awe! 

 Truth be told, there are STILL more mornings than I'd like to admit that I cry on the way to work and every afternoon is a struggle between wanting to run home to my family and staying at work just "5 minutes longer" to get things ready for the next day.   

Having said that, there are still moments every day that I LOVE my job and know that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.  I seriously miss blogging more and I know that eventually I will find my way back on a more regular basis, but for now I'm not going to worry about it and just blog and share when I can (like when I get 2 snow days in a row! yippee!).

This girl gets her "love" of cold weather from her momma, I do believe!

But we did enjoy our snow days for extra cuddling!  How is she 11 months old already?

If you follow me on Instagram, then you already saw the obscene amount of candy hearts we used last week! Seriously...these things taste disgusting so I KNOW teachers are the only people keeping the lights on in the candy heart factories.  Am I right?

We did probability, estimation, graphing, place value, and dissolving experiments with our matter unit so I got my money's worth out of the hearts!  I kept some "clean" for the kids to eat and we just used the rest for all of our activities.

Every year, some kids struggle with the one more/one less/ten more/ten less concept.  Since we are a little (gasp!) ahead in math this year as of now, I wanted to incorporate candy hearts into some extra practice.  I found these little dressing cups at Target (100 of them for 1.99!) and pre-made groups of ten to use.  We use ten frames and base ten blocks all.the.time.  and I just like for them to see these important concepts in a lot of different ways. 

Plus...I am a firm believer that a little novelty goes a long way!

By the way...We are not playing Race to 100, I just accidentally pulled these mats out instead of my regular place value ones! Pretty sure the ones pictured are from Cara Carroll's fabulous place value unit.

This activity made it easier to "talk" math and see who was still struggling because we could say "Do we need to change the number of CUPS or the number of hearts?"  I even had a few inquisitive minds ask if they could count the hearts in their cups to MAKE SURE there were 10 in each one.  Sheesh...it's like they've seen me make mistakes before or something. ;)  I also made one large tupperware container with ten of the "groups of ten" cups inside as a visual for what 100 looks like.  I forgot to snap a picture.

Even my little friend who doesn't speak any English was able to get in on the action and count some "ones" with his partner! YES!

I did an activity very similar to this that I blogged about here last year if you are working on this concept and it's NOT Valentine's Day. However, I really liked  having a visual "group of ten" so if I did this again I would probably use the little disposable cups again with groups of 10 M&Ms instead of the pretzel rods. Plus, the cups were fun to stack!

Do you notice a theme here with my math instruction?  FOOD! 

Hehe.

If you are looking for more place value and number sense activities, check out my "Making Sense of Numbers" resource HERE.

Happy teaching to you!

'

A sale, a freebie, and HAPPY December!

     Happy December!  I hope you had a Thanksgiving full of blessings, laughs, family, friends, and lots of yummy food!  I was feeling most thankful for my maternity jeans after all the food I ate this weekend.  Yikes!    (I am still trying to figure out why all pants are not made with those glorious stretchy waistbands.)

     My long weekend was extended an extra day because I am patiently awaiting my ultrasound appointment in a few hours to *hopefully* find out if our little sweetie is a boy or a girl!  You could say I'm just a taaaddd excited!  I may or may not have already checked out some cyber Monday deals online so I can do a little pink or blue shopping this evening. ;)

     I think we got our fill of all things TURKEY last week in first grade,  and now it's on to Christmas...so hard to believe!

 These scrapbook paper turkeys turned out to be one of my favorite projects we did. Adorable! 

If you are getting an early start on Christmas projects like we are...here is a little freebie to get you started.  We are participating in the Macy's "Believe" Campaign as a school.   We are all sending letters to Santa to support the Make a Wish Foundation.  Our local paper also publishes their letters...so our deadline is soon.

Here is a template for your Santa letters.  Click to download.

We are working on asking vs. telling sentences this week so in our letters, we will TELL Santa something, make two wishes, and then ASK Santa something. We also talk about *nice* ways to ask for something so it's not an I want, I want, I want letter. ;)

Here is an example from last year...

Dear Santa,

I am in first grade now and I lost two teeth!  I would like a Monster High doll.  I would also love to have a stuffed kitten with blue eyes. How are your reindeer doing?

Love,

a first grader :)

Do you have this book??

It is a precious read aloud to use when you are ready to write your Santa letters!

I am participating in the big TPT sale today and tomorrow!  20% + 10% off....yes please! 

Here are some Christmas & Winter math stations, games and activities galore to get you going this holiday season.  Click the images to check out the free previews!

Don't forget to use the code CYBER for an EXTRA 10% off from TPT on your purchases!

OK...almost time to head to my appointment! Yippee! Fingers crossed that our little booger cooperates (and his/her legs are NOT crossed!) ;)

Boy or girl?? Any guesses??

Happy Monday & Happy Teaching to you!

Guess what?

I have a new blog design that will be unveiled VERY soon I hope.  I'm so darn excited.  Here's a little sneaky peeky...

Cuteness!

Stay tuned, friends!

I haven't been able to get back in my classroom for a few days but I've been working a little bit at home and my favorite finds this week were these lightweight, bright frames at Michael's! They were buy one get one free PLUS the sweet lady at the register had a coupon for 20% off instead of my 15% teacher discount. Woohoo!  I love them and I think (hope!) they're lightweight enough to stick on the wall with a command hook.

Everything looks better framed, am I right?  I obviously couldn't afford to frame everything on my walls so I decided to frame the rules and motivational posters.  Here is a start on that.

Click the links to be taken to the original source if you like these posters.

If You Can't Be Kind, Be Quiet  (Can I get an amen?)

Be Kind. No Exceptions.

And the class rules were made by yours truly.  

I actually posted a different one a couple weeks ago and I changed my mind on the color scheme (big shocker!) so...you are welcome to grab yourself a copy of either one if you want them!

Click here to download.

I like to keep my class rules short and sweet.  I let the kids have input on what kind of rules they want in the classroom on the first day of school...but for some reason they always get bogged down in things that pertain to physical violence and gross stuff.  Is that just my kids?

If I took all of their ideas, we would have 6,972 rules.  

1.  No hitting

2. No pushing

3. No kicking

4. No spitting in other people's food in the lunchroom (an actual one from one of my kiddos from last year)

5.  No biting

6. No calling people "cry babies" even if they are  (no...I couldn't make this stuff up)

etc. etc. etc. etc.

You get the picture.  So...I still get their input, but I have these 3 ready to rock because let's be honest I can slide any transgression into one of these categories.  I'm good like that.

Pretty sure spitting in other people's food qualifies as not being kind and respectful.  Just saying.

Last but not least,  I've been working on a little "Back to Basics" math and literacy pack and it's up and ready to go!  This is full of activities (whole group, small group, individual work, and partner games) that I plan to use to review basic skills with my first graders at the beginning of the year.  It would be perfect for kindergarten and Pre-K all year long.  I also plan to keep these activities handy to use for intervention as needed throughout the year in my first grade classroom.

Language Arts Skills:

first day writing template

-alphabet letter cards (lowercase)
-alphabet letter cards (capital)
-letter sounds picture cards (26 plus ch/sh/th)
-beginning sound assessment & answer key
-CVC picture cards
-CVC word cards
-"write around the room" CVC activity and/or assessment
-missing letter CVC assessment and/or guided practice
-DRAW IT (CVC word version)
-DRAW IT (CVC sentence version)
-rhyming picture match/pocket chart cards
-"No Nonsense" real vs. nonsense word rhyming activity
-rhyming sentence challenge activity

Math Skills:
-"A Number Book" (students illustrate simple sentences to show mastery of one to one correspondence with simple pictures)
(numbers 1-10)-"Adios Monsters" dice game & recording sheet
-"Spin it to Win it" card/unifix cube game (numbers 0-20)
-"It's All About the Dots" subitizing cards...perfect for number talks!
-"Fill it Up" card game (numbers 1-30)
-colorful number cards 1-30

It is ON SALE for 5 bucks this week. :)  Check out the preview here if you're interested!

I'd also love to GIVE IT AWAY to the first 5 readers that head over to my facebook page and leave me a comment there telling me you could use it! 

Happy Summer!

Photo Dump and INSTAGRAM PARTY!

I've missed you! I am in way over my head with wedding planning, long-ish term sub plans for wedding, pre-wedding celebrations, PALS testing, report cards, and oh yea...TEACHING every day! :) Ahh!

 

I couldn't miss out on a chance to link up to the instagram Party, though! What a fabulous idea.  I loooove instagram and have managed to find some of you, but this will be an awesome way to find new blogs AND to get my blog fix when I don't have time to sit at the computer and surf.  I'm happy to announce that "What Happens in First Grade" now has an instagram account.  Unfortunately, it will probably only have pictures of Sawyer until I can get to school in the morning and snap something else! ;)  Sorry...it's brand new!

 

 

Click below to link up!

 



Follow me on instagram @ whathappensinfirstgrade! I want to follow you, too!

 

 

We have indeed been busy, busy, busy in first grade despite my blogging absence.  Here is a quick "photo dump" of what we've been up to!  I promise I'll be back soon....even sooner if anyone wants to write a week's worth of sub plans for me.  Any takers? ;)

 

Fact Family Review

Some of our favorites:

-Number Sentence Sliders (super easy to make with sentence strips - cover one of the numbers OR the +/- sign and your partner has to guess what is hidden!

- "Visual Math" Number Sentence Shakers

 

 

 

Phonics Work with the Sounds of "oo" 

Fruit Loops and Sunglasses make everything more fun!

 

Money Practice Games

-Most are from from the fabulous Cara Carroll at The First Grade Parade.

-We also had an awesome time with my little "Money Bugs" count the room activity.

 

 Taking advantage of the pretty weather to do a little short i/long i partner writing sort with sidewalk chalk

 

 

PS - The UPS man just made my day with these precious little koozies for the wedding...

I'm ready to say I do!

 

Happy teaching to you...and see ya on instagram! ;)

 

Money Bugs!

Is anyone else working on counting coins this week??  I just finished making a few activities that I can't wait to use with my kiddos. My laminator is warming up as I type this!

 

My kids LOVE "read around the room" activities this year so I made a "count around the room" money game called "Money Bugs."  Get it? Like money bags? 

 

Get it? Get it?

 

 

I thought I was really clever but Andy just gave me a strange look when I told him.  Sigh.

 

If you are interested, check it out at my TPT store.  It includes dimes, nickels, and pennies but NOT quarters. Just FYI! :)

 

 

 

We have been enjoying an absolutely perfect Sunday.  I've been busy, busy, busy on plans after a long walk with the pooch and a grocery store run. Andy is busy studying for a BIG paramedic test for work tomorrow. 

 

lazy.

Today, I am thankful for the electrical outlet on my screened-in deck because it doesn't make me feel so bad to spend the entire day on school work when I can enjoy the fabulous weather and a cool breeze!

 

I am also thankful that yummy fruit is starting to be in season.  I can hardly stand to buy it in the winter when it doesn't even taste like real fruit!

 

Oh yea...and riesling.  I'm thankful for that too. ;)

 

I am also thankful that you decided to stop by my blog today so I have a FREEBIE for you.  This is basically the game of "WAR" with coins.  I just don't like calling it war...don't ask me why, I just don't...so I call it "top-it." 

 

Students will pair up and take turns turning over the top card on their stack.  The person with the highest amount gets to keep both cards...you know the drill.

 

This is war top-it of the coin variety and it's yours if you would like it!

 

Click Here to Download from TPT

 

This also includes mostly dimes, nickels, and pennies.  The last page does include some quarters in isolation that you can leave in or take out but it does not include a lot of practice with counting quarters. 

 

So if your kids are smartie-pants and already know how to count quarters with dimes, nickels, and pennies...SORRY!  hehe.  We're not quite there...yet...

 

but...practice makes progress!

 

Happy Monday and Happy Teaching to You!

XO

My clock is broken.

Seriously, it must be broken.  I woke up early, poured some coffee in my Bon Jovi mug (Yes...I have one of those.  Don't you judge me.) and watched part of the Today Show.  Then, I went to get my oil changed (wow.  WAY past due.), went by my parents' house, ran to Target, and I swear the next time I looked at the clock it was 6 pm. 

 

Why do spring break days go by so darn fast??

 

I'm going to blame it on Target. 

 

Going to Target on a weekday is a little slice of heaven...and it's possible I may have indulged for a little too long.

 

On that note, here is an ode to Target via Pinterest.  These make me laugh.

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't posted a lot lately because my student teacher took over full time teaching the two weeks before break and her time with us has been FLYING by. Is it seriously April?

I have been a labeling/filing/paperwork doing/grade entering/long-term planning FOOL while she's been teaching.  

 

I did want to drop in tonight and say a belated "HAPPY EASTER"...and of course...drop off a quick freebie!

 

This is such a simple math activity, but one of my (and my kids') absolute favorites.  They have no clue how much they are learning by doing these 100's Chart Puzzles. ;) 

They just think it's fun!

 

I made new ones this year because my originals were showing their age.  I leave these in my regular math tub rotation and keep some handy for early finishers because they learn so much by working them and noticing all of the patterns.  They will get REALLY quick at doing these eventually...but the first few times they are totally bewildered with all of the pieces and feel pretty awesome when they get it all put together!

 

Basically...I just printed this little 100's chart on lots of different colors of paper and laminated them.  (My Scotch laminator at home has a lot thicker plastic than the one at school, so I used that to keep the pieces a little sturdier.)

 

Then, just cut each 100's chart into crazy, zig-zag pieces and stick them in a bag. 

 

Voila! Puzzles!

Click on the picture below to get your free copy!

(By the way - it is supposed to be off-center. I wanted the pieces to be more square instead of rectangular so I squished it to one side.)

 

Also...here's another fun 100's chart just in case you need one!  Feel free to grab it.

 

 

 

I'll be back soon with a brand new packet full of Reading and Writing Ideas to study Main Idea! Check back to WIN it.

 

Happy Spring Break and Happy Teaching to you!

 

 

 

Catching Up!

Well, hello!  It's been a while! 

 

My blog was having major technical difficulties for a little while and apparently...planning a wedding and teaching first grade is a full time job...TWO full time jobs...so, this girl has been a bit busy. 

But, in extremely important news...my gals are going to be STUNNING, aren't they?

 

I'm so excited.

 

My house is currently a disaster but my bridesmaids have dresses... and report cards are finished. Sawyer doesn't mind the house being a wreck, and I have a good excuse.  It's called...

I had to work on a SATURDAY.

 

Yep, it's true. I wouldn't kid about such a thing.  Working on a Saturday is not a joking matter. 

 

I know you don't believe me, but it's true.  Our snow days caused us to have staff development day last Saturday.   I had to present, so I was nervous and for some reason I kept thinking about the hilarious Kristin, aka the Teeny Tiny Teacher, talking about people throwing rotten tomatoes. 

 

(She cracks me up.  If you haven't checked out her blog...you must.  I especially love her Tuesday recaps of the Bachelor.  She makes me laugh out loud. A lot.)

 

Anyways...luckily, no one had any rotten tomatoes to throw so I'll take that as a success....especially for a Saturday. 

 

I actually presented about all of the fabulous resources in blogland and on TPT, Pinterest, etc.  So, basically, I've been too busy talking about blogging to actually blog.

 

Sigh.

 

Things have not slowed down in Room 106, though!  My student teacher has been gradually taking over more subjects and it's been eye opening to sit and watch from a different perspective.  It's crazy how many more little conversations I hear and things I notice when I'm not the one in charge of instruction.  I'm learning things about myself and the way I teach. 

Today, I heard one little guy say "I got the most sleep I've gotten in ages last night!"

He's like a 70 year old trapped in a 7 year old's body.  Cuteness.

 

I try to get things done that I never have time to do while she's teaching, but I have a hard time concentrating because I'm always turned around watching my kiddos and giving them "looks" when they are not acting right.  I can't help it.

 

I did go on a "labeling" spree, though.  Labeling things is therapeutic for me.  I use these cards from Creative Teaching Press to label EVERYTHING in my room.  Everything.  It's concerning, really.

 

 

I just noticed that they are out of stock until April 6th.  I will personally apologize for that.  If anyone needs some, I have approximately 700 packs hoarded in my classroom. ;)

 

We have been working on place value and numbers to 100 in math.  It's one of my FAVORITE things to teach. Love it.  I have oodles of resources for place value that I've collected over time...but most of my games are from Cara Carroll's Place Value Packet of Fun!  Awesome resource!

 

Race to 100 - We will continue to play this all year!  It's tough to learn to trade but when they finally get it, angels sing...or something like that.

 

Cover Up

 

"Make the Most" 

Super simple game played with numbers 1-9 of a deck of cards and unifix cubes to keep score.  Each student takes turns picking a card and deciding whether to put it in the "tens" or "ones" space.  It didn't take long for them to realize that if they got a high number they should put it in the tens place to make the biggest number!  Fun to watch the light bulbs go off!

 

 

Here are some fun websites to check out as well...
 

 

Big Count Bayou - Love this bear's southern drawl

 

Dogbone 100 - Addictive!
 

 

Interactive 100 Grid - So many possibilities

We worked on 1 more, 1 less, 10 more, and 10 less today.  Some of them got it right away...some of them looked at me like I was crrraaazzyy. 

So, while I was at CVS today using a coupon for some anti-aging eye cream,

(ever since this last birthday, I've been a little nervous about this whole "getting old" thing)

I had an idea!  Tomorrow, we shall EAT our place value and I am quite sure that will do the trick.  I got some pretzel sticks for tens (rods) and some M&Ms for ones (cubes)...because let's be honest...math is always better when you can snack!


We also studied the sun, earth, and moon last week.  I am a firm believer that sometimes the simplest of projects turn out to be the best!  We had some extra time on Friday, so I set out my basket of "space" books and piled scrap paper on the table and let them go to town making their own picture of what they had learned about outer space.  It led to a lot of great discussions and some pretty phenomenal pieces of art!




 

 

 

This picture has evidence of my sick labeling obsession. I wasn't kidding.

 

Happy Friday and Happy Teaching to YOU!