Take Home Math Kits

Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time. 

About a month ago I was on social media and saw Casey from Second Grade Math Maniac asking for people to review her new take home math kits.  I responded and was chosen!  I was so excited because I have been less than happy with our Envision math program.  Many of my kids need practice on skills already learned, but some are ready for some challenge.  This product was just perfect for that!

It was designed to be sent home for the parents to do with the students, but I used it in math stations since we are almost finished with school.  My parents might have mutinied with more at this point!  Haha!  I will certainly use it both ways (for home and math stations) next year.  

Casey thought of everything in the organization of this pack.  The table of contents lists the CCSS as well as what supplies you will need!  There are also already-made-up Sign Out Sheets and Parent Letters.  Love it!

There are 257 pages to this product so I chose a few for extra practice and a few for challenge. 

 We have already covered measurement so I printed Measuring Down on the Farm which practices inches and Measuring in Outer Space which practices centimeters.  

Measuring inches Down on the Farm

Measuring centimeters In Outer Space

We are forever working on estimation so we tried the Estimation Sweet Shop.  I flashed the candy jars at them so they didn't count them.  Are mine the only ones who try to cheat?  :-)

Then we counted the candy.  We quickly discovered the easiest way to do this was mark through the candy as we counted it, otherwise we lost our place (even I did)!  I had laminated the pages so this was very easy to do.  Journey did pretty well here except for the smaller candies/jar.  Which tells me I need to talk about this much more!

I printed the 3 digit Aliens vs Astronauts even/odd practice and really sold it to them that they were doing SECOND grade work in this station.  You should have heard them!  They were so excited when they could do it (and had to go brag to their friends that the SECOND grade station was so easy).  Love them!

Emojis are covering my mess I didn't see until I saw the pictures! Ack!

Time to the half hour has been a thorn in my side!  I still have a few sweeties who are off an hour no matter how much we have practiced.  So that means....more practice!  This is Tick Tock Time the Half Hour.  I modified it even more for these two who are REALLY struggling.  I limited the number of cards/matches so they would feel successful.  Our next step was to add all of the cards.

There is just so much quality material in these math kits!  It is perfect for 1st graders as well as 2nd.  I can't wait to use it all year next year to kick my differentiation up a notch!

 Thanks so much to Casey for letting me review this!  You MUST check it out!

Class Dojo Messaging

I am so excited to announce that the wonderful people at Class Dojo are unveiling a new feature today.  

Messaging for iOS and Android!

I know from conversations I have had with other teachers on Facebook and at conferences that many of you are hesitant to give out your cell phone number to your class parents.  I completely understand your reasons!  I have been lucky enough (knock on wood) to have no negative experiences with giving mine out yet.  But this feature will allow us to message with parents as easy as a text!

But better than a text!  We will be able to send out mass messages via Messaging just like in Remind 101.

As you can see from the picture above, we will also be able to privately message with individual parents as well.  

I can't wait to use this feature!  

It goes live this morning!

To learn more about Class Dojo Messaging:

Click Here

Sunday Funday Linky

Good evening, friends!  I should really be in bed since I have 3 alarm clocks set for 4:30 in the morning but instead I am blogging and Facebook Freeforall Hopping. So fun!  I am really trying to be a better blogger (because it makes me a better teacher).  

I am linking up with Lucky to Be in First and A Burst of First for their new linky:

So fun!  I am actually going to share something that happened a few weeks ago.  

As a first grade team, we are always saying that we need to fun fellowship more.  We decided to go to dinner and take a painting class together.  A few things you need to know about me:

1. I am not an artist.

2. I am not an artist.

3. I am not an artist.  

LOL, get it?  I went into the experience fully expecting to have a Jackson Pollack-ish painting at the end of the night.  And I was okay with that!  I was just there to have a good time.

We went to a place called Painting with a Twist.  I knew I was going to have a good time when I saw the rules on the wall.

When in doubt, have another glass of wine!  Yes, please!

There is an artist who walks you step-by-step through the entire painting process.  

My process: The pictures are a little blurry because the lighting was odd in the studio.

Final Product:

Not bad for a non-artist, huh?  I was SHOCKED at how pretty it turned out!  We took them to school and had a 1st Grade Art Gallery in our school foyer.  We had such a good time with this that we are now registered to do it again on March 16th.  A beach scene this time!  

Here are my girls (minus one who got cut out of photo somehow):

Does your grade level team do fun things together?  Give us some new ideas!

Have a wonderful week,

Show What You Know

She's alive! 

 I swear I think Blogger did a "Say Whaaa?" when I just logged on to the site.  It's been a very long while. 

 Friends, I have been in a rut.  Do you ever have those times as a teacher blogger where you feel like you don't have anything to share?  Nothing worth sharing?  Who cares what I think, do?  

That has been me.  <insert sad face>

But I do have something cute today!  This is my Show What You Know board.  

Phone picture--BAH!

The kids have Post-It notes at their seats.  Periodically I will ask a question related to our current topic/lesson and they will write an answer on a Post It.  They place their answer on THEIR number.  I can very quickly look and see who has it/doesn't and whether I need to reteach or just pull a few sweeties to work individually.  It is a handy little tool!  Owls are from Carson Dellosa (I think) and the alphabet is from Lettering Delights.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but the owls are large enough that a regular size Post-It fits on their sweet little bellies.  :-)  

Have a great week!

Ten Frame Table

Just a quickie today!  This was my last day of summer vacation.  I am soooo sad!  I spent ALL day in my classroom and am dragging tail.  But I had to show you what I did to my table yesterday.

I turned it into a giant ten frame!!  It is so cute!

From above

Walmart had these plastic plates on sale for 50 cents.

Look how perfect they are as counters!  

I can't wait for the kids to use this!  

I am nervous about tomorrow but it will be all good.  Channeling Pete the Cat lol.

Bloglovin and InstaAddicts Anonymous!

Long time, no blog.

So I’m ridiculously slightly addicted to Instagram. I don't know why it took me so long to join! I joined in on #teachertalktuesday and this girl was HOOKED. It’s so much fun to see my favorite bloggers in a more personal light. If you haven’t joined up yet, what are you waiting for?! You know you need something else that you constantly check like FB and email. Haha!

 You can follow me here:

Some of my pics:

Haha!  Proof that I love my dog, the beach, hot men, drinks, and my Daddy..

Also, the end of Google Reader is just an hour away.  I will be honest and tell you that I used GR probably once, but all you bloggers have me a little freaked out!  So I joined in on the Bloglovin.  I mean, really, blogs and love.  Why not?!

Have a fabulous day!

What did they say??

I'm so tired, y'all.. Mentally tired!  I couldn't remember how to spell there earlier!

6 days and 2 hours left.  I think I can, I think I can....

I am linking up with Jessica at A Turn to Learn for her What Did They Say?

My kids are such a hoot that I have 2 for you.

I was on recess duty a few weeks ago and noticed a group of kids crowded in one area.  All of a sudden they all scattered in every direction and were screaming!  I went to investigate and saw one girl, normally very shy, walking behind them dragging her leg.  As I got closer I could hear her saying....
"I'm not a zombie!!!  I just hurt my leg."

Haha!

We have some bees that hang around during recess some days.  These bees are really HUGE.  We had a new student on the playground experiencing the bees for the first time.

The girls were sitting on the bench with me.  The new child was a bit freaked out by the bee and my student said, "Oh, he's just looking for snack.  But don't worry..he's fat.  Fat bees don't have stingers.."

I said, "Oh really?"  She said, "Oh, yeah!  Their bodies are so fat there is no room for a stinger.  My kindergarten teacher taught me that."

It was news to the K teacher when I talked to her later.  Haha!
Thank God for my sweet funnies!

Go link up!

Class Dojo-rific!

By now I'm sure most of you have heard of Class Dojo.  This is my second year using the program and I have nothing but great things to say!

If you don't know about Class Dojo, it's a real-time, internet based behavior program.  I love this program so much that I created a short video to show you all about it!  I'm talking very fast because there is so much to show and tell!


Have I mentioned that I really lurve Class Dojo?  Haha!

What I didn't tell you in the video is that I keep this up on my Promethean board all day.  It helps keep the kids on task just having it up.

My classroom parents rave about this program.  They can log in and check their child's behavior at any time.  And believe me they do!

Here is the take home form that I created to send home on Fridays.

Many of my students do not have internet at home so they do not get the emailed reports.  And I can't afford to print and send the color reports each week!  Plus I like getting the signed reports back so I know a parent is aware of behaviors.

As I said in the video, these are the negative behaviors that I have set up.  I know many of you like to focus on the positive.  But on this form I just try to be as explicit with my parents as possible.  This also serves as behavior documentation for me.

Please feel free to snag and customize this form to suit your needs.  I saved it as a Powerpoint with an embedded Excel spreadsheeet.   If you need help let me know!

All graphics from Class Dojo.com

Hope this helps!  If you have any questions or comments, please let me know!

How many more days?
Off to TPT shop!  Woohoo!

The Hug Bandit

No one but me may have this problem but I had to blog about a success! 

I have a student this year who is extremely, severely, powerfully,  intensely, excessively, and VERY ADHD.  He's honestly the Energizer bunny and like he's had 10 cups of coffee and a six pack of energy drinks...ALL...DAY...LONG..  He wears me out!

Of course he doesn't have any meds which is a whole other long and makes-me-want-to-bang-my-head-against-the-wall story.  Which I won't get into...{smiles}

He's mine for this year, and he needs my love most of all my kids in my class.  He seems to think he can get out of his seat as many times as he wants (even during spelling tests) as long as he is coming to HUG me.

I call him the Hug Bandit.  It makes me feel like an ogre when I'm fussing at him for hugging me.  I know he needs it.  But I just can't allow him to constantly be up out of his seat.  Monday he tried to hugged me 37 times.  I counted.  Seriously..37.

So I came up with this little management plan.  He has a Hug Bank.  I put 5 magnet shapes right by his seat and told him that he can give me 5 hugs today.  

We talked about how he needs to space them out and plan them so he doesn't run out.  He used up 2 in the first hour of school.  When I showed him that he only had 3 left to last the rest of the DAY, it finally started to register.  He used the others after lunch and tried to give me 2 more later.  I just said "Oops, sorry!  Your hug bank is empty."  He laughed and sat down quickly and never got up again!

Oh my stars, y'all!!  It WORKED!  I wanted to dance and sing when the day was over! 

He was so excited when he found out this morning that he gets 5 more today.  He used one right away and then another 30 minutes later.  I reminded him that he only has 3 more for the whole day.  He looked up at me with these big brown eyes as he hugged me and said, "That's okay..I just really need one right now. I love you."  Melt.my.heart! 

So if you have a hug bandit like I do, give this a try! 

Pass the Torch Linky

Get Ready for Bloggy Olympics!!!

Join The 3AM Teacher, the Reading Olympians, and over 80 SUPREME education bloggers as we take you through a tour of the Reading Olympians Root Study Program!!
    ********************************************
Hi everyone!  I'm so happy that you are here visiting me on my blog!  

Wow, what a week!  It was so hard to come back after spring break.

I'm so thrilled to be joining lots of fabulous bloggers in the Pass the Torch Linky.  I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get everything done in time to actually show you anything!  As I said, we were on break last week and this week was CRAZY.  The bad part about living in Tennessee is that on an early spring day, the temperature might start out at 32 but end up at 70.  It makes us all a little bonkers! 

I was so excited to see this program and how it would relate to my firsties.  Krista and Julie (the Reading Olympians) have done such a wonderful job creating this study.  I'm very impressed with how it is broken down for the teacher.  It is completely teacher-friendly!  

First I showed my kids the book from the Reading Olympians program to introduce the concepts. I gave them a little history about Greece and told them  some of the names of the god and goddesses to go along with the book.  I couldn't help it!  Michelle's graphics are so great!  

I have always been interested in Greek mythology (that's the inspiration for the Athena in my email and Blogger id).  I actually went to Greece in 2005 and it was a-maz-ing!  I shared some legends about the gods and goddesses but honestly wish I hadn't.  Because as we went through the book on the screen, they wanted to know who each character was!  And to tell me which one THEY were.  It got us waaaay off track.  Ack!  Live and learn!  

My sweeties were fascinated with the clip art from the 3am Teacher!

Okay, back on track...
I decided to focus on just suffixes -s, -er, and -ed for now.  I will definitely use the entire program over time (and beginning earlier next year).  In the program there are great visuals that really allowed us to not only talk about what suffixes do but also what they MEAN.  They caught on right away and were coming up with words of their own.  Makes a teacher's heart sing!

I like to tie any concepts that I teach to kid literature when possible so I used the book Happy Endings.  I bought the book from Scholastic for a reasonable price.  It's over 18 dollars on Amazon!  It is a great book to really help the kids take note of the suffixes and how important they are in words.

We did a quick visual to show how the word changes with the new suffix.  I took pictures...I know I did!  But somehow they didn't end up in my Photobucket.  Technology..grr!!  

Anyhooo, I chose the words jump and play and made large cards with them.  Then I made cards with s, er, and ed.  We had jump stay in one place and the kids with s, er, and ed took turns moving in behind jump so they could make the connection that only the ending changed!  We repeated with the word play.  I heard some ahhs by the time we were finished.  Yay!

I also threw together a quick practice activity for -s, -er, and -ed.  I had these printed intending small groups to do them, but time was not on our side today.  We did them whole group instead with me showing the words and the kids telling me in which category to put the word.   They completed the recording sheet as we went along.  I will change the words this weekend and let them practice in small groups with new words.

The words in front of me.. I really need to clean that board!

Words on the screen.  Can you tell I LOVE my Promethean board?

Click on the picture to snag it.

Graphics by Creative Clips (Krista Wallden)

I just love first graders!  We had free AR time after these lessons and they drove me crazy showing me the suffixes in their books! Haha! 

But I am so excited by this honestly because I can really see the power of being suffix detectives!  I can't wait to see the impact in their writing!

I hope you got a little something while you were here and come back and visit me sometime.  

Enjoy the rest of the linky!

Discover the program IN ACTION in more K-6th grade classrooms as you Pass the Torch!! Get ideas, discover the progression of the program, and enter the Raffle for a chance to win ONE of the three prizes listed below!!

First Place Winner : Gold Medal

  Prizes: Complete Reading Olympians Program
            $50.00 Amazon Gift Card
            50% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Second Place Winner: Silver Medal

   Prizes: $25.00 Amazon Gift Card
              40% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Third Place Winner: Bronze Medal

    Prizes: 30% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Pass the Torch!!!
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