Valentine Tens and Ones and more SNOW!

This is the view looking out onto my back deck today!  The poor dog doesn't know what to think.

 

Here's my hubby snow blowing the driveway --- again!  He likes to complain about it then I see him doing a path in the back yard so he can get to his bird feeders.  Really?  If you're going to snow blow the lawn it can't be all that bad.

Me you ask?  I'm sitting by the fire working on some new units for school :)

and this is where I plan to spend the rest of the day :)

 

I have had the chance to finish up my Valentine's Day tens and ones activity.  It's available at my TPT store.

To save students from flipping back and forth with 2 pages I like to print the 2 students pages side by side on an 11 X 17 paper like this:

 

I will send a copy of this activity to the first 2 followers who made it to the end of this post and leave a comment with their email.

 

 

Happy New Year!

I hope that your family has had a wonderful holiday!  Our family had a great Christmas, but I must admit I am ready to spend the next week relaxing!!! We have had snow, snow and guess what we're getting tomorrow?  You guessed it  - more SNOW!  Enough already.  I love a white Christmas but it's over now so it can stop anytime!

I plan to spend some time with my kids, walk (if I can find the road) and of course, create some new units :)  Stay tuned...

In the meantime, don't forget about my New Years Math Freebie.  I know I'll be using it next week:)

You also need to head on over to Second Grade Nest for an amazing giveaway.  Five people are going to be very happy with the prizes Jessica is offering.  Be sure to check out giveaway #2 for a chance to win my Let It Snow Math Stations.

 Good luck and come back soon to see what I've been creating :-)

Mr. and Mrs. Fix It Missing Addends

Even though I promised myself I wouldn't work on them during the holidays (and I haven't!) I admit that I have been thinking about them.  We have a long stretch of time between our first and second tern report cards so we send home interim reports in a few weeks.  I know, right now you're so jealous, right?????

One of the ways we decide between appropriate development and strong performance with addition is whether or not students understand missing addends.  I created this activity awhile back to engage students and to check their understanding.

Students love choice so I created 2 different recording sheets for them to choose from.  There is an I can... card to build student independence.  Students choose a number sentence card then find a bolt that has the missing number to fix the equation.  Here's a peek at what's included:

 

This activity is available at my TPT store and is ready for you to print and add to a math work station.  I'll send this activity to the first 2 followers who leave a comment (with your email) on this post.

New Year Freebie

Are you looking for ideas to do with your students when you return to school in the new year?  Do you like freebies?  If so, you've stopped by the right blog! I just posted this activity at my TPT store for FREE!

I like to photocopy the 2 student pages side by side on an 11" X 17" page like this:

It's a little easier than flipping back and forth between two pages.  If you would like a copy head on over to my store and download a copy!  If you plan to use this in a math work station head here to get a free "I can..." card.

If you like this activity you will enjoy this packet available at my TPT store.  Each mystery picture is also available individually.

I just linked up to two wonderful New Year Linkies.  Click on the picture to head over to Teach is a Gift and you'll find all kinds of links to help you with your January planning :)

and Freebielicious has an amazing list of freebies.

I'm on my way back to grab a few more activities :)

Winter Math Stations

I had a snow day today!!! It's just what I needed to not only get through the rest of the week with my super, duper, excited firsties but also a chance to try out my winter math stations and get them posted to my TPT store. 

Hubby snowblowed the driveway not once, but 3 times today!!!  The neighbors must have been thrilled when he started at 5:45am.  Needless to say we are going to have a white Christmas!  The day was perfect ... until ... the power went out!  Yikes!!!  It went off for 4 hours!  To make matters worse my IPhone wasn't picking up a signal either.  I was completely off the grid.  If I learned one thing tonight it is that I am completely addicted to technology.

So, now that I'm back online here's a little peek at what is included in my Winter Math Stations unit:

I am anxious to put these in my work station tubs and have them ready to go when I return in January.  I will send a copy of this unit to the first 2 followers who comment on this post with their email.

Our Elf is Leaving :(

Our classroom elf on the classroom shelf is leaving this week :(  I don't know who will be more disappointed, the kids or me!  Each day my students wrote about his adventures and I could not have been more thrilled with their writing.  The details and million dollar words they included were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!

I created this writing page as a way for students to write about their favorite adventure.  If you would like a copy click on the picture.

I wonder what they will choose, bath time, zip line, snowball fight ...........

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary School

It's Snowing!!

It's a winter wonderland outside my window today!  It's just what I needed to get myself in gear and get the last of my Christmas shopping done.  After this week I hope to not see another mall until the new year :-)  The snow is also the push I need to work on my winter math stations.  I promise they will be posted within the next couple of weeks.
The weather today is perfect for posting about my Snowman Mystery picture.  It is available at my TPT store.

Students need to read the number of tens and ones to find the numbers before they color.

7 tens 4 ones  74

If you are planning to use this as a math work station you can pick up an I can... card here.  It will work with any of my tens and ones mystery pictures.

The first 2 followers who leave a comment on this post with their email will get a copy :)

 



I Spy 2 Sounds of /oo/

My in-laws (who I love dearly) left a few hours ago to head back home.  As much as I have enjoyed their visit the past few days in the back of my mind I have been thinking about needing to get back to my blog!  I don't know about you but we have two (yes two!) more weeks of classes before we break for Christmas.  My kiddos are just vibrating with excitement for the Christmas season and I am arriving home every night exhausted.

I've posted another I Spy activity at my TPT store.  This one has students searching for and differentiating between words that have the short and long sounds of /oo/.

 

Students use magnifying glasses to dearch for 12 teeny tiny words and then record them on a choice of 2 recording sheets.  It makes a great word work activity.

After I get my house back together (and can see my laundry room floor) I'll choose 2 followers to receive a copy of this activity.  Just leave a comment with your email on this post and later this evening I will randomly choose two people to receive a copy.

 

Our elf on the classroom shelf has been around for a week now and they are loving all of his crazy adventures. The favorites so far have to be the glitter angel and the zip line he made across the classroom. Everytime we left the room that day he was in a different place along the line!

I'm just happy for two things. First, that he cleans up after himself - there was glitter all over! Second, that my students are doing some a-m-a-z-i-n-g writing about his adventures!

Have a great week everyone!

Penguin Mystery Picture and Currently

I just noticed that I have had over 20 000 views of my little blog!  I have only one word - WOW!  I started this in August and am humbled by the faithful followers I have.  Thank you all so much, your visits and comments always make me smile! 
I know there are some schools who don't celebrate Christmas so thought I would post about something else today.  I just posted my newest tens and ones activity over at my TPT store.  Here's a little peek:

I LOVE mystery pictures, but like my students to work to find the numbers before they color.  For example:

5 tens 3 ones  53  



Students will have so much fun they will not realize how hard they are working.  If you plan to use this as a math station you can download a free I can... card here.  I will send a copy of this activity to the first 2 people who leave a comment on thsi post with their email.

 

A few months have gone by since I linked up for the Currently over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade.  You should head on over to read about so many bloggers.

I love reading everyone's currently on all the blogs I stalk read.  I hope you enjoyed reading mine!

Have a great Monday tomorrow!

 

 



Happy December and Reindeer Names ABC Order

Happy December everyone!!!  Isn't it the most wonderful (I mean busy!) time of the year?  There just are not enough hours in the day! Between shopping, decorating and housework today I did find a few minutes today to create this reindeer names alphabetical order activity for my class and thought I would share with you.  If you would like a copy click on the picture to download a copy.  Enjoy!

Have you visited Math Coach's Corner yet?  If not, you are missing out!  The wonderful blog has received over 1 000 000 hits!!!  That's amazing and to celebrate Donna is hosting an amazing giveaway.  You do not want to miss this this one.

Good luck!  After you enter be sure to head on over to Freebielicious to score some awesome freebies from many talented teachers!

 

Is it Friday Yet?

Pleeeeeease tell me it's almost Friday!  My firsties have been a full of energy this week and as a result I have very little energy left.  Oh my ... I'm going to need to be one creative teacher to keep them engaged until December 21st!  Do all of you go until the 21st as well?  I keep telling myself that it'll be worth it after Christmas when I get to spend some quality time with my family and creating some of the many units that I have planned :-)

On the up side, I am amazed, flattered, and downright touched by the support I have been receiving at my TPT store.  I keep telling my husband how honored I feel that there are other teachers actually using my products with their students.  Reading the feedback I receive makes my day!

Before I head to bed for some much needed rest I need to tell you about an awesome giveaway that I am participating in.   Karen over at Mrs. Jones's Kindergarten in hosting 2 amazing giveaways.  You'll have a chance to win a copy of my I Spy Christmas Words as well as MANY other products.

Click on the picture to head on over to enter. 

Good luck!!!

I Spy Bossy 'e'

You might call it bossy, silent, or even magic.  Whatever you call it, the letter 'e' sure is a fascinating guy!  If your students enjoy using magnifying glass and you are looking for an engaging way to reinforce this skill then this word work activity is for you!

Included in this unit are 4 different pictures with a dinosaur theme.  I tried to think of a theme with bossy 'e' and came up with BONES.  I just might have been watching a TV show with the same name at the time :-)  Bones ... dinosaurs ... it works!  Within each picture are 15 teeny tiny words.  Ten of the words have a bossy 'e' while five of them have an 'e' but it is not a bossy one.  There are three different recording sheets for you to choose from.

You can find this unit at my TPT store.   The first 2 followers who leave a comment on this post will get this unit for free! Don't forget your email :-)

Elf Math Game Freebie

It's time for a FREEBIE!  These elves were just too adorable not to create a math game :-)  To play students roll 2 dice, add 2, then color.  I have included two different elves for your students (or you) to choose from.  I have also added an I can... card to help with student independence if you use this at a math work station.  Click on the picture to download a copy.

If you use this game I'd love if you take a second to let me know.
Enjoy!

Elf on the Classroom Shelf Linky

Is the Elf on the Classroom Shelf visiting your room this year?  Our elf is being delivered from the North Pole on Friday and I can hardly wait!!
I've created my first, ever linky as a place to gather ideas to make planning for your elf easier.  Feel free to share pictures, blog posts, activities or anything else about your classroom elf.  If you have a blog I would appreciate a link back to this post.  Feel free to grab my picture :)  If you would like to add the link to your blog I have included the code at the bottom.
I can't wait to see what kind of mischief your elves get into!!

 

How about a little freebie to add to your elf file? Click on the picture below for an Elf on the Classroom Shelf wordsearch.

 

Here is the link to the blog hop if you would like to post it on your blog: get the InLinkz code

Liebster Award :-)

In the last few days I have been nominated 5 times for the Liebster Award!!  I can only think of one word ----- Wowzers!!!! I am feeling the love today!  Thank you to The Price of Teaching, Beach, Sand and Lesson Plans, Curious Firsties, Little Second Grade Somebodies and Whooo's in Second for nominating me!  The Liebster Award is designed to bring attention to bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

Here are the rules:

1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.

2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.

3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.

4. Choose 11 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers to nominate and link them in your post.

5. You cannot “tag back” the other blog, but leave a comment on this post with the URL of your Liebster post so I can learn more about you & see who you nominate.

 

So, here are 11 random things about me...

1. I have 2 AMAZING children who I am so proud of.

2. I have another 21 children that I spend  my days with through the week and am proud to be their teacher.

3.  I have been teaching for 21 years - how is that even possible????

4. My favorite TV show is NCIS - it's one of the few shows my hubby and I both enjoy :)

5. Our local mall just opened a Bath and Body Works - FINALLY!  I've been travelling 3 hours for my fix!

6. I love to do cross-stitch - my house is full of my 'artwork'.

7. I love my flower gardens, especially the perennials that come up year after year with little effort :-)

8. My husband gets home from work before me and cooks dinner almost EVERY night - I literally walk in the door and sit at the table.  Yep I'm spoiled!!

9. I do laundry everyday - seriously the pile never gets smaller!

10. Blogging has made me a rejuvinated teacher! I have gotten so many ideas from my teacher 'friends' who I have never met (although I would love to sometime!)

11. My hubby and are celebrating our 20th anniversary this summer and we cannot decide how to celebrate ... ideas anyone?

 

Since I was nominated by 5 wonderful teachers I am going bend the rules a little and answer a few questions from each of them.

1. What do you do most when you are bored?

Bored?  I'm never bored!  If I were though I would pick up a good book!
2. When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I'm a third generation teacher and always thought I would be.  I can;t imagine doing anything else!
3. Do you have pets?
I have one dog and as much as I love him his constant barking drives me crazy!

4. Are you a middle child, oldest, or baby of the family? Or are you an only child?

I am the third of four children.  We recently celebrated our parents' 50th wedding anniversary and relived some great memories.  It's not very often we are all together.

5. How did you pick your blog name?

That was easy - I need to laugh, otherwise some days I would cry.  The stories some of the kiddos have break my heart.

6. Would you rather live in a place with a cold or warm climate?

As much as I love living where there are 4 very distinct seasons I wish the snow would stay off the roads :(

7. What is your favorite book?

Right now - it's Elf on the Shelf

8. Have you or anyone in your family ever served in the military? If so, what branch?

I am the proud daughter of someone who served in the air force.  I also have a brother and brother-in-laws in the army.

9. Do you intend to "Black Friday"?

I bought a few things today :)

10. What is your favorite food?

That's easy - chocolate!

11. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?

Today - I work with the best group of people ever!

 

Here are my 11 questions for the blogs I am nominating:

1. How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a teacher?

2. When did you start blogging?

3. What is you favorite word word activity?

4. What is your favorite television show?

5. Who is your favorite author?

6. What is your favorite children's book?

7. What is your favorite food?

8. What's at the top of your Christmas list?

9. Do you have any pets?

10. What is your favorite childhood memory?

11. What is your favorite part of your teaching day?

 

 

Here are the blogs I'm nominating:

The Teaching Bug

Johnson Creations

2 Super Teachers

Little Red's Schoolhouse

C & C  Teach First

Look Whoo's in First

Twirlybird Teaching

O "FISH" ally a First Grader

Primary Paradise

Kindergarten Squared

Taking a Walk on the Wild Side

 

Don't forget to leave me a link to your blog so I can learn more about you! Hope you enjoyed learning about me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Math Work Stations

I've had some requests for a post about my Christmas math work stations.  I started introducing them to the students today and let me tell you they are some EXCITED!!

Included are 10 ready to use stations.  Each station includes an I can... card which makes it easy for students to get started when they get to their station.  Some activities have recording sheets and include two I can... cards so you can choose to use the recording sheet or not.  I am on a photocopy 'budget' so need to be careful how many copies I make.

 

Here's a peek at what's included:

 There are a variety of skills covered including:

1. Base 10 Match

2. Light Bulb Spin and Graph

3. Greatest / Least Number

4. Ten Frame plus 10

5. 3 Dice Cover Up

6. Number words to 20

7. Tens and Ones

8. Skip Counting by 2's, 5's and 10's

9. Greatest Number Game

10. Light Bulb Patterns

 

Here's a few pictures from today:

 

 

You can find this holiday unit at my TPT store by clicking here.   As you know I LOVE giving copies of my products away. I am heading out for a few hours. When I return I will randomly choose 2 followers who leave a comment on this post to receive a copy.

 

I am currently working on my math stations for January.  Are there any special skills that you would like to see covered?  If so, I'd love to hear your ideas :)

 

 

 

I Spy Rhyming Words

It's time for me to giveaway a couple copies of my newest unit from my TPT store.  My I Spy activities have been such a hit both in my classroom and in my store that I created a new one.  This time students are on the hunt for rhyming words. 

Students need to use magnifying glasses to hunt for 20 teeny tiny words in each picture.  The 20 words make 10 pairs.  I chose all of the rhyming words from the list of 37 dependable rimes and  I included 3 different recording sheets for you to choose from.

 

I think these graphics from Scrappin Doodles are absolutely adorable and perfect for this activity.  Who wouldn't love this farmer????

I also decided to bundle a few of my I Spy activities to save you some money.  You can find I Spy Bossy e, I Spy Rhyming Words and I Spy Silent Letters bundled here.  You'll also find a complete bundle of all my I Spy activities here.

I'll send a copy of I Spy Rhyming Words to the first 2 followers who leave a comment on this post!

I Spy Christmas Words

My students cannot get enough of magnifying glasses!  I find December challenging to keep students focused and productive especially during independent work time.  So, I came up with this I Spy activity.

There are 4 I Spy pictures for students to search for teeny tiny hidden Christmas words.  There is a choice of 2 recording sheets for students to record the words they find.  One page has students printing the words.  The other has students printing the words and then finding them in a word search. Magnifying glasses and a wordsearch - your students will love you and they'll never know they are working!

 

You can find this activity in my TPT store.  I will send a copy of this activity to the first 2 followers who leave a comment on this post with your email :-)

 

 

Tens and Ones Christmas Mystery Picture

Okay ... the Christmas music and hustle and bustle at the malls have me doing my Christmas shopping (I really need to) planning.  I love Christmas and now that report cards and parent-teacher conferences are behind me the planning is in full swing.  I have my Christmas math work stations posted at TPT and I'll be doing a post about them soon :-)

 

For now I thought I would show you my Christmas Tens and Ones Mystery Picture.

Students need to solve each number then find the number and color.  For example:

4 tens 7 ones ___

 

 

You can find this activity at my TPT store.  Students pages are black and white so you can save your color ink :)  If you plan to use this as a math work station you can find a free I can... card here.  I am going to help the first 2 followers who leave a comment on this post with their Christmas planning.  I'll send them each a copy of this activity. (Don't forget your email)

 

Also, don't about the ongoing fundraiser for Georgian teacher Teresa Williams who remains in CCU.  You can see the details at 2nd Grade Pad.

 

 

I Spy Silent Letters

I just posted a word work activity that I am really excited about!

This word work activity has students using a magnifying glass to search for hidden words with silent letters.  Aren't the gnomes from Scrappin Doodles just perfect (and cute) for this activity????

I have included four different recording sheets making it easy to differentiate.  My students never get tired of I Spy activities.  You can find this activity at my TPT store.

I am going to be away from my computer for the next few hours.  When I return I will randomly choose 2 followers to get this unit for FREE.  Just leave a comment on this post with your email and when I get home this evening I'll select and post the winners.

UPDATE - I'm back and asked my daughter to pick two numbers between 1 and 5.  She came up with 3 and 4.  I'll be sending you a copy ladies!