Math Monday: Comparing Numbers & Sets

I have been working with my kinders on comparing numbers and sets (K.CC.6 & K.CC.7). I think this is such an important skill for kinders to understand, but for some of them it is so difficult because they don't have a good number sense (although we have been working on it ALL year!). 

We used this activity (made by one of my friends down the hall) to practice comparing two numbers. My kinders loved it because it was a hands-on activity and they got to use the Expo markers and erasers. Plus the alligators were so cute! This was a great informal assessment to see who could write the numbers and decide which alligator needed to go in the middle. I put the pages in sheet protectors so they would be reusable and then we store the alligator pieces in the back of the sheet protectors so they are easier to keep together. 

After we finished this activity, I had my kinders do some practice on their own using these comparing numbers sheets from The Twenty Something Teacher. This was another good way to assess who understood the concept as well as who needed more intensive help from me.

Greater Than, Less Than Printables - NO PREP!

Do you have any other fun activities to help practice comparing numbers? I would love some new suggestions to add to my toolbox! Happy Monday!

It Was The 100th Day - Hooray!!

Yesterday was our 100th day of school! This is always a major milestone in any early childhood class but the kinders always get super excited when they see 100 in our class pocket chart. To celebrate the 100th day we did lots of fun activities. Here are some that I managed to get pictures of.

We made 100 Fruit Loops necklaces. I use mini tens frames to help my kinders count out 10 groups of 10 to make 100. This seems to help and makes it easier for me.

100 Fruit Loops necklace & Our 100th Day crowns from The Virtual Vine:

If I Had $100 writing:

I would spend it for 100 presents.

I would buy a mansion and a new car.
(I definitely want to know how she's going to stretch her $100 this far!)

My Favorite Part of the First 100 Days of School writing:

I liked when we went to the aquarium.

Hope you all are having a terrific Tuesday! If you have not already celebrated the first 100 days of school, I hope this will give you some ideas!

New Printables Pack

I just finished up my May Ready To Go Printables Pack and posted it to my TpT store and TN shops. These are activity sheets that are all ready to be printed and copied to be used in the classroom. Each sheet is aligned to at least 1 Common Core standards.

Currently the pack has 10 activity sheets, but I am working on adding more so purchase now while the price is still low. The pack will be $4.00 but from now until Wednesday, it is on sale for $2.00.

Here are some of the activity sheets included in this pack

TpT Store                                                         TN shop

Math Journal Prompts Combo Pack

Now that I have completed the prompts for October - May, I am posting them in a set on TpT that you can purchase if you don't want to purchase the individual sets. I plan on eventually adding September and possibly June prompts. The price for the combination pack is $20.00. If you purchase the set together you will save $4.00 off of the individual file prices and you will also be able to download the set again if I add more prompts without paying any more.

Kindergarten Math Journal Prompts Combo Pack

Spring Break 2013 & Math Journal Prompts

I have been on Spring Break this week. At the beginning of the week, my husband and I took a short trip since we haven't been able to do anything recently. We had a great and relaxing time which was just what I needed. 

I had big plans to do a lot on my blog this week, but that just hasn't happened. Instead, I have been busy doing things around my house in preparation for the baby's arrival in only 10 weeks. The countdown is on! I am getting very excited now. I can't wait to see her sweet little face in person.

We had a rainy, dreary day yesterday so I did sit down and finish my May Math Journal Prompts and have now posted them on TpT. These prompts are $3.00 just like the other sets. There are 15 prompts in this set.

Math Monday: April Math Journal Prompts

My April Math Journal prompts pack is finished. These are like the previous months' prompts with each being aligned to at least one Common Core standard. This month, many of the prompts focus on the addition and subtraction standards that my kinders are working hard on. This pack is $3.00 in my TpT store and TN shop.

TpT store                                       TN shop

Math Monday: March Math Journals

I finally finished my March Math Journals. These are just like the previous months' prompts with each being aligned to at least one Common Core standard. This month, many of the prompts focus on the addition and subtraction standards that my kinders are working hard on. Some of the prompts are related to St. Patty's Day and others are themed around bugs. This pack is $3.00 in my TpT store and TN shop.

TpT store                                     TN shop

Math Monday: February Math Journal Prompts

It is Monday and I am posting my February Math Journal Prompts on TpT early. Yah! I know it may not sound like a lot to other people but lately I can't seem to get much done early. There are 15 prompts in this pack and they are $3.00. Each prompt is aligned with at least 1 CC standard and the standard is listed at the bottom of the prompt.

February Math Journal Prompts

Math Monday (On a Tuesday!): Building Shapes

This post was supposed to go out yesterday but I was too tired when I got home so here it is on Tuesday. 

My kinders have been practicing with 2D and 3D shapes for a while so I decided to do a fun activity to have them practice building 2D shapes using pretzel sticks and marshmallows. Each kinder got 6 pretzel sticks and 6 mini marshmallows (in case they needed extras). The kiddos loved this activity! They were on task and engaged throughout the entire activity and loved that they got to eat the manipulatives at the end of the activity. This activity focused on the Math Common Core standard K.G.5. Here are some pictures of their completed shapes.

BTW: I just found out this morning that I have been approved to attend the SC Kindergarten Teachers Conference in Columbia on March 4 & 5. I am so excited to be able to attend!! :) Are there any other SC kindergarten teachers out there who are attending??

January Math Journals

I am late, but I guess it is better to be late than to never get these finished. I finally finished my January Math Journal Prompts and posted them to TpT. There are 12 prompts in this pack and they are $3.00. If you would like to purchase them, just click on the picture below. 

January Math Journal Prompts

 

There is also a fabulous Kindergarten resources giveaway at Rockin' Teacher Materials. Click on this link to enter:

Rockin' Teacher Materials

Friday Freebie: Christmas more/less game (K.CC.6)

This is a more/less game created with the theme of Christmas. My class has been working on the CC standard K.CC.6 comparing two sets and this game has been great to use with my small groups. Each child got a mat and two sticks of 10 Unifix cubes in two different colors (10 of each color). Then we drew a candy cane card first and they put that many Unifix cubes of one color on the top row. Then we drew an ornament card and they put that many Unifix cubes on the bottom row. Then we compared the sets to see which had more and which had less. For example, the candy cane had less than the ornament because the candy cane had 2 and the ornament had 8. To make it even more challenging with my higher level thinkers, I had them tell me how many more one set had than another set.

In the spirit of holiday giving, this game is free on TpT. I hope you will hop on over and download. Please leave me some feedback! Thanks so much!

Christmas More/Less Game

In other news, I missed the big TpT Cyber Monday sale last week so I am throwing a weekend sale this weekend (Friday through Sunday) and offering 10% off all the products in my store. Please head over to my TpT store and see if you can find something to use in your classroom.

My Teacher's Notebook shop has a 20% sale this weekend (Friday through Sunday) if you would prefer to shop there! Thanks for your support!

New on Tpt: December Math Journal Prompts

I have just posted my newest set of Math Journal prompts for December. I am sorry I am a little late getting these out. There are 13 prompts in this set. They are $3.00 for the set. Click on the picture below to purchase.

Here is something to make you smile today. Jingles (our classroom elf) found his way on top of our treat jar this morning. My kinders were worried they would be able to get a treat if they did well because we can't touch him. It was the major concern of my kinders all day! I guess we know that I didn't get too much out of my kiddos today.

Math Monday: November Math Journal Prompts

This weekend, I finished creating my November Math Journal Prompts to use with my kinders and uploaded them to TpT and TN. Right now the set only has 12 prompts, but I will be adding more to the set. I have been very sick with a horrible stomach virus shared by one of my kinders so I have been working on them in between the sickness. Right now they are priced at $4.00 but they will go up to $5.00 when I get all the prompts added so purchase now and save. Then download the entire set when it is complete. 

This set addresses these CC math standards:K.OA.1; K.OA.2; K.G.1; K.CC.3; K.CC.4.a; K.CC.5; K.CC.6

Please click on the store you would like to purchase them from:

TpT                                        TN

I can't wait to use these in my classroom. I will let you know how it goes. If you use these in your classroom, I would love to hear how they are going.

Math Monday: Teaching CC Standards

Today we had a professional development after school on the new Common Core math standards. We have a lady coming in to help us each quarter with the standards we are supposed to be teaching and assessing during that quarter. She is fabulous and really helps us understand the standards. She helped us today on the 2nd quarter math standards.

K.CC.6: Greater than, less than, and equal to
One strategy she shared was to have the students practice using five and tens frames to compare sets. I made a set of five frames with 2 on a half page to work with my kinders in small groups. I think this will help them understand how sets match up and how one set is greater than, less than, or equal to another set.

I am so tired tonight that I can't share any more with you but I will share some more ideas for teaching the CC math standards soon.

Math Monday: Math Journals

This is the first year I have used math journals in my kindergarten classroom. I took composition notebooks and begged my dad to cut them in half for me. He just loves that he has a daughter who is a teacher so he did it! This is the final result. I thought they turned out well and he did for lots less than I would have had to pay at a printing store.

These half size composition notebooks are perfect for my kinders. We just started doing the math journal prompts at the beginning of October. My kinders are loving it. They love showing me what they know! Here are some pictures of their work:

I created these prompts based on the standards we are currently teaching and working on. The October Prompts can be purchased for $3.00 in my TpT store and TN shop. 

I am working on the November Math Journal Prompts now and will upload them as soon as they are complete.

Friday Freebie: Counting Up To 10 (With Numbers)

During the first quarter of the school year, I always begin teaching my students one-to-one correspondence. I teach this using many different kinds of manipulatives. For some kinders, this seems to be a quick skill to master while for others it can be very difficult so I always give lots of practice. I also teach my kinders to count pictures on paper. I created these 2 counting sheets with DJ Inkers clipart to use with my kinders for homework. I hope you can use them too!

Counting up to 10 objects (with numbers) activity sheet

If you download and can use these activity sheets, please leave me a comment. I love hearing from you!

Math Skill For the Week: Sorting

I am writing this post while sitting in my swing outside. We are having some fabulous fall weather here in SC. It is only 78 degrees this afternoon and it was only 65 degrees when I got up this morning. We don't have really cool days until much later in the year but boy am I thankful for these wonderfully cooler days. It was so nice outside at recess today that I didn't want to come in.

On to other news...this week, we have been working on sorting in small groups. My kinders are starting to understand sorting by colors and sorting by shapes, but they are still having a lot of difficulty with sorting by size. This is always the most difficult for most of my kinders but they do eventually understand it.

Sorting by color

Sorting by shape

So how do you teach your kiddos about sorting? Are there any other ways that I should try for those who are still struggling to understand the concept?

Friday Freebie: Trace the Shapes activity sheet

Since it is the beginning of the school year, I am working with my kinders on skills that many of them come to kindergarten lacking. I have many kinders who didn't know how to hold a pencil and weren't able to recognize their names on the table. This week I am working with them on the basic 4 shapes so I created this simple activity sheet to have my kinders practice tracing the shapes correctly.

Trace the Shapes activity sheet

If you download and can use this activity sheet, please leave me a comment. I love reading them!

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Just a little plug from me:

I have 3 Donors Choose projects that are currently posted. I would love to have these projects funded. If you enjoy downloading my freebies, I would love it if you could donate a little to one of my projects. You can also search for a match code that will make your donation worth twice as much!

Zero the Hero's 10th Day

Yesterday was our 10th day of school and the first day for a visit from Zero the Hero. It was a great day and my kinders had lots of fun but I forgot my camera at school yesterday so I wanted to show you what we did.

Zero the Hero was sitting under our calendar board when the kinders arrived at school. He had a poem explaining his visit and a fun activity sheet about the number 10. (Both of these came from Kreative in Kinder's Zero the Hero Fun pack.)

In order to complete the activity sheet, I projected the sheet using our interactive projector and we did it step-by-step together.

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Today my mom brightened my kindergarten team's day by sending each of us a potted flower with a sweet note attached. It was such a sweet surprise! It means so much when you realize that someone is thinking of you!

Zero the Hero Update

Last fall, I posted about using Zero the Hero in my classroom on each 10th day of school. My kinders have always loved this event and look forward to it. They also learn how to count up to figure out how many more days they have to wait for Zero the Hero to return to our classroom.

If you have not seen the other post, please click here for what we do for the 10th, 20th, and 30th days.

I have had a request for the other days, so here you go.

40th day:

40th day poem

50th day: I created a fall patterns sheet with 50 fall leaves.

50th day - patterns

50th day poem

60th day:

60th day poem

70th day: Since it is in Dec. near Christmas I had my kinders draw 10 lights on each strand on the Christmas tree for a total of 70.

70th day poem

70 Christmas lights

80th day: I gave my kinders a present with 8 sections. They drew 10 polka dots on each section to make a total of 80 polka dots.

80th day poem

80th Day - dots on present

90th day: We made a number line with numbers 1 to 90 by having the students trace the numbers and then cut out each strip. The students then put the strips together by putting a dot of glue on the star at the end of each strip.

90th day poem
90th day - number line

This year, I purchased the Zero the Hero Classroom Fun pack from Kreative in Kinder and I plan to incorporate it into my Zero the Hero days. It is a great pack if you have not purchased it already.

When I taught first grade, I had my students write about Zero the Hero at the end of each 10th day. Here is the writing paper, I used if you would like it.

Zero the Hero writing paper