A Peek Into Our Math Tubs

I love teaching math!  I love hearing my students talk about math and their thinking.  But if you were to ask my class what they love the most about math, they would say Math Work Stations.  They are so excited when I put anything new into our math tubs.

Here is what is currently in our tubs.

1.  Tops and Bottoms Subtraction.  

2.  Deedee Wills' Need for Speed Kindergarten Addition and Subtraction Fluency; an all time favorite!

3.  Miss Kindergarten's Flying Facts.

4.  Make a Ten; insect edition.

5. Subtraction Slide Down; a great visual and kinesthetic center.

6. GeoBoards on the iPad using First Grade Blues Skies GeoBoard It! unit.

7. March Madness Basketball Subtraction; a freebie from Primary Grafitti

8. Bloomin' Subtraction QR Codes from Smedley's Smorgasboard of Kindergarten.

My math program would not be as successful without the help from these wonderful teacher creations.  Thank you for being a part of our learning!

Happy Teaching!


PS-
Lois Lamb you are the winner of a Mrs. Wishy Washy big book.  Please contact me soon via email.

4

Wishy-Washy! Wishy-Washy!

I recently was contacted by Hameray Publishing to review their new Joy Cowley Collection.  I have used Joy Cowley's work in my classroom for over a decade so I was thrilled for the opportunity to preview some of her newer work.  

I decided to use these books (the two lower ones) with my Intervention group during our Interactive Writing session. Working for over a period of days, we used her work as a springboard for our writing.  

During the course of our sessions, I was able to show this group much needed mechanic and grammar skills. More importantly, they learned that writers are passionate about their work.  Each day, they looked forward to writing their story.  We planned, revised and reread our work along the way.  

I am excited to offer one of my Followers the chance to win a big book written by Joy Cowley to use in their classroom.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There's more!  Go here to enter to win over $400 worth of Joy Cowley resources or better yet, nominate your favorite teacher.

Looking for Wishy-Washy inspiration? Follow my Wishy-Washy Pinterest board.

Readers of this blog can save 20% off their purchase on the Hameray Publishing site by entering this code: ZJCC13; now through 6/30/13.

Happy Teaching!

Please note:  I was not compensated for this post.  I did receive two complimentary books in exchange for my opinion and review.  

5

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Craft

Spring is in the air!  I created this Very Hungry Caterpillar craft to go along with our study of insects.  

To make, you'll need:

a precut leaf

3 2"x7" lime green construction paper

1 2"x7" red construction paper

1 small post it for eyes

purple scraps for antennae

First, fold the post it in half and draw an oval.  Cut.  (Cutting the oval eyes was difficult for some.)  Finish the eyes with green marker.   Next, glue eyes onto the red strip.  Make the mouth.  Last, loop the red together.  Do the same with the green strips.  Carefully, glue onto the leaf.  Make antennae and glue behind red loop. Hole punch around the leaf to complete the project.

Happy Teaching!

1

QR Codes Meet Reading Foundations Skills

QR Codes are a big hit in my classroom!  

I love how integrating this technology tool takes a concept such as reading a CVC word and matching it to a picture to a whole new level.  

Working independently, the child opens the QR Reader app and scans the QR code.

Then, the child reads the word.

Lastly, they match it to the picture.

That's it! QR Codes in three easy steps!  

Happy Teaching!

Common Core State Standards
K. RF.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

7

Parents and the Common Core

Teaching the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has caused us to shift some of our teaching from what was "familiar and safe" to exploring new learning; such as decomposing numbers into pairs.  The question we have faced is how do we keep parents informed of the changes.

Our team has worked tirelessly to address these needs.  First, a colleague and I presented Parent/Child Workshops.  Each of the three workshops addressed a component of the Common Core.  Their child served as a mentor as we modeled how we learn these skills in our classroom.  The workshop gave parents a chance to see the standards in action and us an opportunity to support the learning at home.  

At times, the language has been daunting for us to understand.  We knew that this would be the case for our parents; especially, since grades are given on standards such as Number and Operations in Base Ten rather than skills.

What does that mean in kindergarten?  To help, we broke the standard down into Parent Friendly language.

As we met with families at conferences, we presented them with a Parent Friendly version of the CCSS in addition to their assessment reports and progress report card.  I highlighted skills within each section; green-at level, yellow-approaching, pink-below expectations.  I also wrote comments in the Notes section.

Truth be told, it has been a lot of work.  But, now that it is behind us, I am pleased with the work.  It has helped keep our families informed of the changes but made it accessible for them to understand. 

If you would like to learn more, go here.  

Happy Teaching! 

4