Monday Mood Lifter #3

Happy Monday teachers!  We know it will be extra difficult coming back to school for a full week after those snow days.  Here are some uplifting words to help you start your day.

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." -- Benjamin Franklin

What are some ways you involve kids in the learning process?

FUN FRIDAY!

Here we are for another Fun Friday activity!   I started out by reading this book and discussing the idea of groups.  The kids in the story end up building 2 snowmen that each have 3 balls.  We drew the pictures of the snowmen on the whiteboard so the kids could see 2 groups of 3.  Then, we talked about how that would be 2x3=6 and how we could break it down into 3+3 or 2+2+2=6.  I also drew a third snowman and asked them, "How many snowballs do we have now?"  They could see the groups of three.

Next, I gave them our Build a Snowman File Folder Game.  You just stick velcro pieces on the inside of a laminated folder,velcro on the snowman pieces, and give them the question sheet, and they are ready to go.

Now they get to start building their snowmen in the folder.  This is a 2 ball snowman.

This is a 3 ball snowman.  They will draw more to help answer the questions or you can give them more snowman pieces to help them answer the questions.

Now we can answer our questions after we build the snowmen.  The students will start to see how groups are formed for the beginning of multiplication.  Some of my students were actually ready and excited about writing a multiplication problem.  This little girl said"Oh, I see, the snowmen are in groups of 3 and I made 5 snowmen so I can do 5x3=15 snowballs."

WOW!!

She also decided to write a problem for the sticks she drew on the snowmen.  "I have 5 snowmen and they all have 2 sticks so 5x2=10 sticks.  That is also counting by 2's Mrs. Beckner."

What a fun way for your students to start learning the beginning of multiplication as they build snowmen and see groups forming!

We have this file folder game ready to be cut out and used.  It is only a dollar this weekend so you can grab it for next week.

We hope this will be fun and educational for your students!

Remember to check back next Friday for FUN FRIDAY!

Monday Mood Lifter #2

For those of you that are off today, enjoy a nice relaxing day.  If you are teaching, here's something to lift your spirits:

Snowmen At Night

So, this is our first FUN FRIDAY post.   Every Friday we will post something fun!  It may be a video, game, or activity.  We hope you will enjoy it!

This is one of my favorite winter books!  I read it to my class today and then I gave them black and white construction paper to create their own snowmen.  We also used fun things like sparkle pieces, pom poms, google eyes, and foam pieces.  My students loved this!  They even enjoyed writing about what their snowmen did at night.

These are some pictures of the creative process going on.  Wait until you see the final products.:)

What fun things have you done with this book?  We would love for you to share!

We hope you will visit us next Friday for "Fun Friday"

Monday Mood Lifter #1

Here is an inspirational quote to start your teaching week right:

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, nothing can be done without hope and confidence." -- Helen Keller

How do you inspire hope and confidence in your classroom?

How do you encourage your friends?

These are samples of what my students did with "January Word Activities."  I was so proud of what they wrote for the bonus question of how they would encourage their friends.  I think they are "Quality Students."

Classroom "Store": Hands on Learning

From Brittany~

My aftercare kids came up with a fantastic idea this month.  We turned our room into a Target.  Our Target has a Starbuck's in addition to a cash register.  We spent 45 minutes brainstorming what the children want in their Target store.  We talked about the different items inside the store and vocabulary that is centered on retail.  Kids learned the words "retail," "product," "employee," and "policy."

 The kids used our wooden blocks to create products for their store.  They wrapped them in butcher paper and drew products on them.  They also took additional paper and made price tags.

The best part of this project was the "Employee Checklist" we made.  We brainstormed responsibilities for the kids and they have fun performing them as part of the dramatic play.  We "reshelve," clean floors, and do other productive tasks.