Fun with Addition! {Freebies}

Addition and subtraction are definitely my favorite concepts to teach. It really is so much fun! I especially love using stories to go along with the lessons because they really help to provide a real-world context for solving problems. Over the past couple weeks, we read lots of stories, played tons of fun games, and even ate some yummy snacks! Many of these activities are now in our math centers for the kids to practice independently...  

If You Were a Plus Sign

"If You Were a Plus Sign" features tons of cute addition stories in a variety of different contexts. After reading, we made up our own addition stories and drew them on chart paper. The kids took turns telling the stories using words and then writing the number sentences. Then we made our own class book of addition stories! Click here for the Addition Story Template.

Animals on Board

We read Animals on Board by Stuart Murphy, which features some simple animal addition stories. Then we used animal puppets to act out our own addition stories. While students acted out the stories, the rest of the class wrote the addition sentences on their white boards. For independent practice, we used bear counters and zoo work mats to model addition problems.

 The next day, we used a felt board and animal props to model more addition stories. I just came up with this idea on the spot but the kids loved it! They took turns choosing animals, saying the addition story, and writing the equation. Then we did cut and paste addition stories from The Moffatt Girls! You have to check them out...they are super cute!

Ladybug Addition

We had so much fun with this one! I made a simple ladybug work mat and the kids had to roll a die two times to see how many dots to place on each half of the ladybug. They recorded the number sentences on their white boards. Then we made a ladybug addition craft. Didn't their little ladybugs turn out super cute?! Click here for the Ladybug Work Mat.

 One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

We read One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, then I brought out some Goldfish Crackers! First, we used the crackers to model addition stories and write the equations. As an assessment, they had to draw an addition problem in the fish bowl. Click here for the Fish Addition Template.

 Domino Addition

We read the book Domino Addition and practiced as a group using extra large dominoes. Then I put baskets of dominoes on all the tables. The kids had to choose a domino, draw the dots, and write the addition sentence. Click here for my Domino Addition Sheet. 

 Spill & Add

I made two versions of this one (5 and 10). The kids shook up a cup of 2-color counters, colored the recording sheet, and wrote the number sentences. Click here for the Spill & Add Sheets.

 Penny Toss

We read Benny's Pennies and then practiced decomposing number 5 with this super simple game. The kids shook up a cup of 5 pennies and drew H for heads and T for tails. Then they wrote the number sentences. Click here for the Penny Toss Sheet.

Toy Store Addition

We pretended to go shopping at the toy store for this lesson! The kids took turns choosing two items from the store, and the class had to model the addition with pennies to show how much money they would need in their piggy bank to buy the toys. The "shopper" got to model the problem on the board with magnetic pennies. Click here for the Piggy Bank Addition Mat.

Five Little Ducks

We sang Five Little Ducks and used fuzzy sticks and beads to decompose the number 5. This idea was inspired by Deeanna at Golden Gang Kindergarten! She is sooo AWESOME!

 

That's all for tonight! I hope you've found something you'll be able to use with your own class. Next up...subtraction!!

Easter Fun!

Since we didn't have much time to enjoy Easter activities before spring break, we continued our Easter centers this week. Check out all the fun we had! These centers are part of my Easter Pack (see my previous post).

The idea for these cute chicks came from Simple as That. For the feathers, we traced our hands.

Easter Baskets

We made these bunny baskets out of a paper plate. Then we went on an Easter egg hunt!!!

 Jellybean Graphing

Egg-Cellent Patterns

Bunny Money

Add & Cover

Springtime Sums

 Bunny Munch Mix-Up (Sight Words)

 Bunny Bowling (Sight Words)

 Easter Egg Hunt (Beginning Sounds)

 CVC Word Egg-Spert

Egg-Cellent Word Families

Springtime Sentences

We had tons of fun this week! Check back in a few days for some math freebies!!

Easter Freebies!

I  have a confession...I'm terrible at being on vacation! I feel like I've worked more this week than when I'm NOT on vacation! I think it's an addiction or something. Seriously. It's already Wednesday night, and I still haven't left the house! Actually, I'm lying...I did get to do some shopping! And I made a couple of cute Easter finds that I just have to share with you!

Have you guys seen these super cute bunny bowling sets at CVS? How about those little carrot "egg" containers? I found them at Walmart, but I'm sure you can also find them at the Dollar Tree. How I wish we had a dollar store here on Maui! We don't even have a Target! Ugh. How do I live like this?!

Anyway, when I saw these, I just HAD to grab them! They inspired me to create some fun (and educational!) games. Click the pictures for your FREEBIES!! Enjoy! And I promise I will have some fun tomorrow!

Common Core Math Posters FREEBIE

Oh well...so much for relaxing! One more post before I get some rest and then head to the beach! :)
Recently, my school has been delving into the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice and we came across these great posters: Math Practice Posters. These simple "kid-friendly" posters include easy to understand "I can" statements along with illustrations. They actually helped ME to better understand these standards myself! After seeing these, I decided I just had to make my own cute version to go along with my polka dot theme! And they match perfectly with my Common Core Standards Posters. Click the first image for your FREE posters!

 

If you're looking for some Common Core "I Can" Posters, you can find my matching set here: 

Easter Centers + FREEBIE

Woohoo! It is now officially spring break!! I promised myself I'd get to the beach over the weekend to celebrate. Well, I didn't exactly make it to the beach...instead I spent the weekend working on my all new Easter Math & Literacy Centers pack! I can always go to the beach tomorrow!

Here are some pictures of what's included in the pack. For many of the activities, you'll need those cheap plastic eggs that you can find just about anywhere. This was my mindset while creating this unit...just put stuff in eggs and kids are guaranteed to have a blast! Check it out...

Here's your freebie! Just click the image to go to my store and click on "Download Preview."

The colors on the graph go great with these "SweetTarts" Jelly Beans!

If you enjoy this freebie, please leave a comment! Have an "egg-cellent" spring break everyone!! I'll be back soon with some more Easter fun!

Dr. Seuss Week!

Oops! I just realized I forgot to share our Dr. Seuss activities from last week! Here are a few of the fun things we did. I didn't get pictures of everything, but here's what I've got...

Cat in the Hat

We read the Cat in the Hat and made these paper plate cats.

 This cute hundred chart idea came from Marlana at Lil Country Kindergarten. I called out the numbers and the kids had to find and color them to reveal the hidden picture! They loved it!

And of course, we made our own Cat in the Hat hats!

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

We followed up this story with a goldfish graphing activity. Click here for the Goldfish Graph.

Green Eggs & Ham

We read Green Eggs & Ham, then tasted green eggs and did some more graphing!

Bartholomew and the Oobleck

 This was a class favorite! We made Oobleck and did a sink and float experiment. Click here to get the sheet for the Oobleck Experiment.

 

Pots of Gold Segmenting FREEBIE!

What a crazy day today! We had a lock down for an hour and a half due to someone on the High School campus next door who was reported to have a gun. So scary! This happened at lunchtime, so my kiddies were stuck in the cafeteria without me. When I got back to them, they all hugged me and told me how much they missed me and how scared they were. My poor babies! I just wanted to cry! But the police were awesome and showed up right away. I'm so glad no one got hurt today!

In other news, here's a quick freebie for you! I found some of these plastic shamrock coins at the local craft store and I just had to use them for something! I'm using these in my small groups this week to practice segmenting. We use them like Elkonin boxes - the kids put their coins on the pot, then they slide a coin into each box as we say the sounds in the word (you could also use pennies, counters, or yellow circle die cuts). Click the picture to download. Enjoy!

St. Patty's Centers & FREEBIE!

Good Morning! I cannot believe it's already March and almost spring break (5 days to go)! With St. Patty's just around the corner, I decided I just had to make a new pack of math and literacy centers! I really wanted to get this ready before the weekend was over, so I spent the past two days working on it (literally like...48 hours!!). And now at...3:13AM, I'm finally done and soooo ready for some SLEEP!!! Anyhow, enjoy your Sunday and your FREEBIE! Click the first picture to go to my store. When you download the Preview, you will get "A Rainbow of Rhymes" activity for free!