Summer Greetings

Well, summer is already coming to a swift end!  I realized how easy it is for me to become uber-focused on planning for next year.  It is not easy, but I am trying to take some time to reenergize and take care of myself.  I hope each of you take some time to reflect on your successes and give yourself some time to relax and recharge.  Having said that, I did think of the blog while on vacation... 

Computation Stations

Hi All!  We have 7 more days of school and I have to say, I'm feeling a little crispy around the edges.  For those of you who do not know me, that means I'm burnt out.  I wanted to share something we do in our first grade.  Each Friday we have Computation Stations.  Computation Stations is a 1 hour rotation of math games and activities.  Some of the games/activities we do during this time have been posted on this blog.  I try to make sure the games/activities are hands-on, fun, and quick to do.  The children have 15 minutes to complete each station before moving on to the next.  One station is on the computers and SmartBoard.  The other stations are on the floor or at tables.  I set my timer and off they go!  I give them a five minute warning and then a one minute tidy time to ready the station for the next team.  Most of the stations focus on computation, but I also rotate in stations that focus on the current concept (time, money, geometric shapes, etc.).  The children love it and complete a ton of math in a short time.  They have so much fun and don't seem to realize how hard they are working.  Well, these sweet little friends asked if we could do "every single Computation Station we ever did!"  I have to say, it was a proud moment for me!  As a "special treat" they wanted to do HOURS of math!  I just love those learners!  Well, there are too many stations to set up in our classroom so we will need to move to the gymnasium for the day.  I can't wait for Computation Station Marathon!  It should be great fun and a fantastic way to close our math learning for first grade!  I hope the end of your year inspires you, too!

Google Docs & Me

Hmmm...I am apparently not very observant.  I just noticed that none of this blog's printable versions worked on Google Docs.  I have switched the setting and you should be able to access any of the printables.  Thanks for your patience!  For my colleagues in the north, five more weeks!  So much to do!  For my colleagues in the south, you must be down to a matter of days!  Enjoy your much deserved vacation!
Fondly,

Mining For Jewels- Version 2.0

I created a poster to use for a second version of Mining For Jewels.  Instead of opening the jewels and using the numbers inside to create math facts, the students use the key on the poster to practice adding money.  Students use the butterfly nets to scoop up two or more (depending on skill level) jewels.  They use the key to determine what coins (or bill) they will be adding together.

Click here for the printable version!

Fondly,

Syllable Score

You have to love seasonal merchandise!  Once again, the mother ship was calling me home.  I found some unique Easter eggs at Dollar Tree.  The eggs are decorated to look like basketballs and footballs.  I have been making a lot of math games lately, so I decided to put together a literacy game.  Syllable Score is a game for students to practice identifying and marking syllable types.  I wrote one syllable of a nonsense word on the inside of each half.  The students write the nonsense word, scoop the syllables, and label the syllable type. 

Unfortunately, you can not see the syllables very clearly.  On the second picture the egg has the syllables so deam written inside.  The students would rewrite the syllables on a piece of paper and then label the syllables. 

The students would scoop the syllables, label the syllable type, and mark the vowel sound.  Now that we have learned all six syllable types, this is a great way to practice recognizing and marking syllables. 
Fondly,

Mining For Jewels

Happy Sunday!  We had a little fun in math this week with a new game I call Mining For Jewels.  I made the game with some deals from...wait for it...Dollar Tree and...wait for it...Walmart!  Around Easter, I found some beautiful metallic plastic eggs at Walmart.  Really, they are so pretty!  Not only are they metallic, but they are the prettiest jewel tones.  Frankly, they reminded me of jewels.  I bought several packages of the jewels (formerly known as eggs) and wrote one number on the inside of each half.  Next, I found butterfly nets at the Dollar Tree for, of course, one crisp dollar each!  I have all the jewels in a laundry basket.  My first graders use the butterfly nets to scoop one jewel, open it, and write a math fact with the two numbers that are inside the jewel.  Then they write the whole fact family! 

A lot of fun for a little money and building math skills, too!  What could be better?

Fondly,

Checker Facts

My students really enjoy playing sight word checkers, so I thought I would create a checkerboard with math facts.  Once again, I went to Dollar Tree to get more checkerboards.  I wrote addition facts in the red squares.  The idea is similar to sight word checkers; to move to a square you must solve the fact.  If you are planning to jump, you must solve the square you are jumping to and the square you jumped over. 

Here is a recording sheet I created for Checker Facts.

Click here to download the recording sheet!

Then I thought it would be great to practice place value using a checkerboard.  I used one board for tens and ones.  This is how it looks!  The rules are the same as above, but now the students write the number that the tens and ones make.  Great practice for a tricky skill!

Fondly,