Second Story Window

DIY Muffin Tin Meal Kit

2012-01-27T20:05:00.000-08:00

Heidi gave me the most fun and thoughtful gift for Christmas. A muffin tin meal kit! Don't know about muffin tin meals? Read about them here.

Take a look at what Heidi included in the kit.

The majority of the supplies are in this box which has 3 interlocking levels. The bottom level has an organizer that I may or may not keep. I haven't decided yet!

This drawer contains "everyday" supplies:
- silicone muffin liners
- small cookie cutters on a metal ring
- tiny cups for dips, etc.
- egg molds (I'm so excited about these!)
- fondant circle cutters
- food safe markers

She included one special event drawer too, focused on Halloween.
- Plastic cauldrons (so cute!)
- a BUNCH of really mini Halloween cookie cutters
- Pumpkin food picks

There are a few more included items (shown in the first photo) that didn't fit into the box.
- the six opening muffin tin (of course!)
- Wonder Sandwich Sealer and Decruster
- alphabet and number cookie cutters (I love these!)
- A folder with meal ideas and technique directions.

She also made me a muffin tin meal planner and we're sharing the planning page with you today! You can download the page here and print out as many as you want for your own planning book, or just print them as you need them.

Here are a couple of meals I've thrown together recently for our color themed "Mommy School" (more on that later.) Having the tools on hand made it really easy to whip these up.

On the 12th Day of Christmas...

2011-12-13T22:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry this one is a day late. My roommates and I had "roommate Christmas" last night since we realized it was the last night we'd all be around for a while.

Anyway, here's a link to the 12th day of Christmas file. It's a math game. Each player needs their own tree and 2 dice. Players roll the dice and find the sum. The corresponding ornament is added to the tree. The winner is the first player to completely decorate her tree.

You'll notice that 1 is already on the tree since you can't get a sum of 1 with two dice. :) The Santa counts as a "wild." The player can put it on at any point when he rolls a number that's already on the tree.

Hopefully this will take up some time on our last 1/2 day before the break! Thanks to those of you who've been 12 Daying with us. I hope you're able to enjoy some fun and games with your littles during this magical season. Merry Christmas!

On the 11th Day of Christmas...

2011-12-11T17:02:00.001-08:00

How about 11 puzzle pieces? This is another project where it's nice to have baggies or envelopes for the kids to keep their little pieces in. Also, if you're doing this in class I'd recommend asking the kids to put their initials on the back of each piece. It'll save a lot of hassle come clean-up time.

The file is here.

On the 10th Day of Christmas

2011-12-10T17:56:00.000-08:00

"...my teacher gave to me 10 dots to link"

C'mon! This doesn't even qualify as a rhyme! Well, I guess "link" is closer than "connect" and do the kids really care anyway??

Probably not, so here are some little dot-to-dots. Yes, there are technically 80 dots in all, but the page was too bare with just one on it. You can get the file here.

I love the vintage-y look of the pictures.

I found these on-line years ago and have no idea of the source. If you know, please pass the info on so I can give credit.

On the 9th Day of Christmas...

2011-12-08T21:23:00.001-08:00

Who doesn't love tic-tac-toe? Especially with penguins and snowmen? C'mon you know you're gonna make yourself a set. :)

The kidlets can make these without too much fuss. It is helpful to have envelopes or baggies for the little pieces, though.

Get the files here.

Happy 3-in-a-rowing!

On the 8th Day of Christmas...

2011-12-07T19:23:00.001-08:00

Today's gift is the world's tiniest coloring book! At least that's what I tell my class. They love showing off these when they're done. This is another craft where you have to do some step-by-step instructions.

The kiddos need scissors and a copy of this page.

The idea is to fold it into a tiny book. These are easy-peasy when you've done a couple, but at first they're a little tricky. Here's a diagram to walk you through it.

If you're like me and need a step-by-step model, here's a 1 minute video I found on Youtube.

Just remind kids to only cut on the center dotted line. It's actually easier to fold if you cut a teeny bit (like 1/4 inch) above the center line.

And--voila--a teeny-tiny coloring book!

P.S. We did the 2nd day of Christmas today, and like I feared, reducing the maze to 1/2 sheet was a mistake. A few were willing to give it a try, but most took one look at the itty-bitty tree maze and decided it was impossible. At least they enjoyed the other side!

On the 7th Day of Christmas...

2011-12-06T19:50:00.001-08:00

Read about the 12 Days of Christmas booklet here.

Today we have a little 7-page story that the kids can help illustrate. We can call it shared reading for the day, right?

It's two days before Christmas and Santa has lost his hat! There's no time to get a new one, so he'll have to wear the one Frosty gave him. But what that looks like is up to you!

This is pretty simple to put together. Each kid needs a copy of the story. Just cut, assemble, and staple. I tried to leave a margin on the right side so no text/pictures gets stapled up.

You can get your storybook here.

On the 6th Day of Christmas...

2011-12-05T16:42:00.001-08:00

Read about the 12 Days of Christmas booklet here.

Halfway already! Christmas really is creeping up. One of my kids today said "Only 20 more days." My heart started racing. So much to do!!!

Anyway, today's fun-ness are some word searches for your little ones. You can get the file here.
I realize that three 6-word wordsearches is 18 words, but the page looked so naked with only 6 words that I had to fill it out a bit. The kids have never complained. :)

I limited the diagonal words to only one per puzzle (I think). Hopefully that means the kiddos can finish without taking too much of the day.

On the 5th Day of Christmas...

2011-12-04T11:10:00.001-08:00

Read about the 12 Days of Christmas booklet here.

...My teacher gave to me a 5-pointed star that's bendy."

Gah! Who writes this stuff??

Seriously, though, I've tweaked this for years and that's the best I came up with. Probably the reason I didn't choose "poet" as a career option. :)

When you're doing today's gift with the littles, it takes some explaining. We're going to be making a pop-out star. Here's Martha Stewart's glittery version:

This isn't quite that elaborate. For ours, each kid needs a copy of the paper, scissors, and crayons or whatever else you want them to decorate with.

Whenever you're doing paper folding with young children, I think it's easiest to have an example already done and another one you can model the steps with. In my class it would sound something like this.

"Everybody cut out the star on the black, dotted line. Hold it up when you're done."

I don't move on until I can see everyone has completed that step. I try to station myself next to the one or two kids that struggle when it comes to cutting/folding activities. There's always at least 1!

Once all the stars are cut, I point out the line that runs from the top point down to the bottom middle.
"Everybody fold on that line. If you've got it, check to see if a neighbor needs help. When you're finished hold it up."

After all of the stars are folded on the line, I have them fold it on the same line, but fold the star closed this time so you can't see the markings. Eventually we'll be creating mountain and valley folds, but it's just easier for them if all the lines are folded both ways first.

When all the lines are folded (and a few are probably mangled now), I point out how some of the lines are dotted and some are solid. The dotted lines need to be pushed out like mountains. The solid lines need to be pushed down like valleys. It might take them a second or two to get the hang of it.

And there you go! A pointy star ready to be decorated! And time for teacher to take some Tylenol.

Get the star paper here.

On the 4th Day of Christmas...

2011-12-03T22:27:00.001-08:00

Read about the 12 Days of Christmas booklet here.

Teacher thinks she's a comedian!

Today we're making a riddle-filled flap book.

For this activity, each student needs a copy of the main page.

Students should cut around the outside dotted line. That will leave them with a large rectangle. Fold the paper in half on the thick black line. Then cut each of the short dotted lines.

Everyone also needs a copy of the answers. There are 2 sets to a page. You know, fewer copies to make, right?

Have the kiddos cut out the answers and try to match them to the correct riddle. I tried to find riddles that 1-2 graders would have enough schema to understand. Mine seem to do okay with these, so I think they'll tickle most kids' funny bones.

The pictures are glued underneath the flap, so make sure to stress not to cut the flaps while the paper is still folded. Of course, no matter how many times you remind them not to you'll still have one that does it anyway. Best to keep an extra copy on hand.

The pages can be found here.

On the 3rd Day of Christmas..

2011-12-02T21:21:00.000-08:00

Read about the 12 Days of Christmas booklet here.

We have 3 round circles.

Well, that doesn't sound too exciting.

Unless, of course, you get to use the circles to make your very own SNOWMAN BOOKMARK!

It certainly doesn't get more exciting than that.

Students can cut out and arrange the circles and then use the props to decorate their new snow friend or draw their own accessories.

I'm kind of partial to the fez/bowtie combo, but maybe you have to be a Doctor Who fan to know how cool that is. :)

Almost forgot-- the link is here.

On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

2011-12-01T21:36:00.001-08:00

Read about the 12 Days of Christmas booklet here.

Today we have 2 mazes. Fun for everyone!

You can download them here.

This year, in an attempt to save paper, we reduced these to 1/2 sheets. It worked okay the the square maze, but I'm afraid it made the tree maze too tiny for 7-year-olds to navigate. Oh well! I guess we'll find out for sure next week!

On the 1st Day of Christmas...

2011-11-30T16:23:00.001-08:00

Read about the 12 Days of Christmas booklet here.

I think this googledocs thing is working. Let me know if it's really not.

Here's what my kiddos get on the 1st Day of Christmas (12 school days before vacation). It's a doorknob hanger to color and cut out. Sometimes they have to take it home to finish, but most of them get it done since this is a quick one.

You can download it here.

Please ignore the terrible rhyming, but do come back tomorrow for Day 2.

12 Days of Fun (and a tiny bit of learning!)

2011-11-29T17:03:00.001-08:00

My first blog post from my new computer! The old laptop C-R-A-S-H-E-D so I had to get this new guy. Merry Christmas to me! You forget how much you rely on technology until it leaves you stranded. I'm just glad my files weren't lost. Phew!

Can you believe Christmas is already here? It seems like school just started for the year. Hard to believe it's almost halfway over. If you're like me, once Thanksgiving is over it's just a mad rush to January. There are so many fun books and writing activities and math games. I need an extra hour each day just to fit the Christmas stuff in! One thing my grade-level team has done for many years is the 12 Days of Christmas.

The kids are all given a booklet like this one:

There's a page for each of the 12 days. The idea is to give a little number sense refresher everyday. You can download it here. (I'm giving Googledocs another try. Let me know if it works. Fingers crossed!!)

Here's a breakdown of each different box. I'll use the 3rd day as an example.

1. Write the number word. [three]
2. odd or even? [odd]
3. Write an addition equation and two subtraction equations that all equal the day's number. [2+1=3, 10-7=3, 100-97=3]
4. Draw the hour hand on the clock. [3 o'clock]
5. Draw tally marks. [ III --how do you make tally marks in this font???]
6. How many more days until the 12th day of Christmas? [9]
7. Draw a coin combination. [3 pennies]
8. Write a story problem where the answer is the day's number. [I had 8 pencils. I gave some to my friend. Now I have 5. How many pencils did I give to my friend? 3]

Nothing too terribly difficult, but it's a good little practice.

What you can't tell from this photo is at the top of the page is a prompt, "On the ____ day of Christmas my teacher gave to me ___________."

When my team first started doing this, we actually gave them something everyday! 1 pencil, 2 erasers...11 M&Ms, 12 pieces of popcorn.

It got tricky to manage and pricey. One year I had a boy with diabetes so we switched to non food items (12 minutes of recess). But I slowly started adding in different things. Now I have 12 printable activities that we do. And I'll be sharing one of those activities each day for the next 12 days. So check back tomorrow for the 1st Day of Christmas!

ETA: How to make the booklet! It's pretty straightforward, but in case you're curious here's the how-to. For each booklet you need a paper for the cover and 3 white sheets. Print the cover out. Print the number of the day page on the front and back of each white sheet. That'll give you 12 days worth. Fold in half and staple. Voila!

November Writing

2011-11-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

After last week's INSANITY (Halloween, torrential rain = inside recess, power outage, field trip) it was a relief to get back to normal today. It gave us the first real chance to try out the November writing prompts. I gathered a bunch of journal ideas from the internet and wrote each one on a leaf. I put them all in a pumpkin and the kids could pick one if they wanted.

I found leaves and pumpkin at Roberts Craft for 75% off!! Score! Writing on the leaves was a bit tricky. I tried markers first, but they bled too much. I ended up using my favorite Muji pen and it turned out great. I imagine any gel pen would work as well.

Here are the prompts I thought would appeal to my 2nd graders. They're not my original ideas, but I didn't think to pay attention to my sources while I was collecting them.

Write a letter to a fall tree. Try to convince the tree not to drop its leaves.
What will you do during Thanksgiving break?
Write a recipe for cooking a turkey.
What if you found a magical pumpkin patch?
What if Thanksgiving were in the summer?
If your Thanksgiving turkey burned, what would you eat?
Imagine you'll turn into a pumpkin at midnight tonight. Write about all the things you'd like to do before you turn into a pumpkin.
Once upon a time there was a turkey who never...
Tell about your favorite thing about autumn.
Imagine the school voted you principal. What would you do? What changes would you make?
Write about an autumn day. What would you do? Tell about the colors, smells, tastes, and sounds.
Would a turkey make a good pet? Why or why not?
If you could have whatever you wanted for Thanksgiving dinner, what would you have?
Write a story about a squirrel getting ready for winter.

I also got the new lists posted, as well. This still isn't nearly as popular a choice as journals and letter writing are. In fact, I think maybe 2 kids chose it all of October. For now, at least, I'm going to keep offering it.

You can download a copy of the file here. The clip art is from Lettering Delights.

My goal is to get December's writing taken care of this week. Maybe I can get on top of this little project!!

Halloween Roundup & New Freebie Game

2011-10-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

We didn't get a chance to share any new Halloween posts with you this year. We've both just been crazy busy with other projects (busy bags, anyone??)

But we do have some fun ideas you may have missed so I've rounded up the ideas + freebies for you all in one post. And keep reading because at the end you'll find a FREE game that we're retiring from the shop. Yippee for free.

Printable Halloween Activity Pages

Printable Halloween Joke Book

Roll a Monster Game

You can read all the ideas we rounded up last year by checking out the posts under the Halloween tag.

And finally, a new freebie! We've decided to retire Costume Party Bingo from our etsy shop and offer it to you here for FREE. Click here to download the directions, calling cards, and bingo cards.

Don't forget, it's not too late to pick up one of our other Halloween games from the shop. Our Halloween favorites are: Costume Closet, Witches Spell, Trick or Treat, and Ghosts in the Cemetery.

Happy Halloween!

Toddler Time: Busy Bag Exchange Part 3 (& Freebie!)

2011-10-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

I'm sharing some experiences and ideas from the recent busy bag exchange I posted. You can read part 1 here and part 2 here. You can see the rest of the ideas I gathered for the swap on this google doc.

Today I'm sharing the preschool aged busy bags from the exchange.

1. Numbers Flip Book. This was my bag and I decided to go with something new that I could also share with you here! I was inspired by the flip book here to make a preschool appropriate one using numbers and number words. I choose to focus on zero through nine for number sense reasons and to avoid going into double digits. On the left side cards are numerical numbers. The child turns the cards on the left until they find the matching number word. I chose to include a visual representation of the numbers (with circles) to help reinforce the concept. I also kept the number words in order to make it simple at first. You could later on mix up the word cards and put them back in the book so it's a bit more of the challenge for the child. You could even reorder both sides if you wish.

Click on the picture or click here to access the templates.

Supplies:
color printer (or access to affordable color printing)
cardstock (4 sheets per bag)
paper (1 sheet per bag)
templates
paper cutter
scissors
metal book rings (2 per bag) (or access to affordable spiral binding)
dry erase marker (1 per bag)
lamination (or access to affordable laminating)

Directions:

Print the template for each book you are making. This will take 3 sheets of cardstock per book. Cut out the pages on the small dotted lines. Do NOT cut the bigger dotted line between the numbers/number words. It is much easier to do that later. Laminate, if you are going to. Hole punch on the x's or have the book spiral bound. Assemble your book in order and secure with book rings or spiral binding. At the point use scissors to cut apart the number/number words pages. If you want, you can reorder the number words and/or numbers but I recommend keeping the numbers on one side and the number words on the other.

Print the template for the practice book on paper. Laminate. Trim. It is designed to be folded in half like a booklet. Include it in the bag with a small dry erase marker (small enough for little hands to trace easily.)

Details and Tips:

I searched local office supply chains and super stores to price out the book rings and found them significantly cheapest at Amazon. Thank heavens for 2 day shipping! I got it them the day of the exchange! You could definitely go with a smaller sized ring on this but I chose not to because the smaller ones were more expensive. I highly recommend laminating the books because as the pages are turned, the holes can get weak and rip out. It that happens, I recommend hole reinforcement labels. It might also be easier to turn the pages if you spiral bound the flip book, but of course that would add to the cost.

I also included the little number practice book. On the first page they trace the words with their fingers. On the second page they trace with a dry erase marker. On the third page they write with the dry erase marker. And on the last page they draw lines to match the numbers to the correct number words. I laminated the pages so the marks from the markers would be easy to remove. I also included the dry erase marker and tried to find a small one that would be better for tracing and writing.

Any questions I haven't addressed? Leave them in the comments!

2. Q Tip Counting Trays My friend had some trouble tracking down the water bottle ice cube trays seen in the link for a reasonable price in time for the exchange. The author of the link says she found hers at the dollar store so many you can find them there too? The variation my friend made is totally fun though so if not, don't despair! She used a regular ice cube tray labeled with numbers and included a bag of small beads. If my math is correct, you will need at least 136 beads per tray for this variation, if your ice cube tray also has 16 holes.

3. Number Wheel This link is pretty straightforward and includes the template. I think it might be good to print this on cardstock if possible. I will definitely be laminating this (along with the other paper pieces from our exchange since we didn't require lamination.) The clothespins can run expensive (especially on some of the bags below that require LOTS of pins.) I recommend shopping around. Here's a link for some on Amazon that cost .06 per pin.

4. Patterning Grids The link for this one includes the grid template. I was thinking that I might like to make this one reusable, so I plan to print the grids again on cardstock (+ a few more) and laminate them. I'm also going to start the pattern on a few of the strips so that beginners can just continue the pattern instead of creating it. I will still include some blank ones. The person who made this bag said it would be easy to add more/new shapes with small scrapbooking shape punches.

5. Clothesline This one is SO cute. You'll find directions + clothes templates for the felt cutting in this link. Super helpful! As I mentioned in #3, I recommend shopping around for clothespin deals

6. Animal Counting Cards This activity requires 4 milk caps per bag. If you're making 20 bags, that means you need to drink 80 gallons of milk at your house before you do this! Just kidding. You can ask around for your friends to save theirs for a couple weeks. The maker of this bag said she used juice drink caps too and between that and some donated from friends she scrounged up just enough! (Sidenote: I saved some caps for her and have continued saving them because I've seen some other really cute busy bag type activities requiring milk caps.)

7. Color Junk Sort This activity, while darling, does not make a cost effective activity for an exchange IF you make it exactly as show in the link. The plastic boxes aren't cheap and neither are the contents if you want a variety of cute items. If I were going to do this for an exchange, I would use clear, wide, disposable, plastic cups (like these or heck, even tiny condiment ones like these - shop around for the best price per cup) with numbered, colored paper circles in the bottom and a baggie of the "junk" to sort into the cups. I would limit the number of cups so that you don't have to buy a million pieces of "junk". I recommend looking at Oriental Trading (in their party supplies and craft supplies for beads, party favor assortment, buttons, etc. whichever come with the most for the price). You could also check Amazon or local craft, party, or super stores. (Sidenote: If you wanted to make just one or two of these for only your child, I say use the embroidery floss box because it's darn cute!)

8. Pom Pom Patterns This activity can be a tad tedious to put together because you need to look through your pom poms and know you have a decent amount of the colors/sizes needed for the patterns on the pages. You can double side the pages to cut down on the cardstock needed. We also thought this could be a fun activity to use the magnetic pom poms from the toddler exchange, or you could make these magnetic and use the papers on a cookie sheet.

9. Colored Pasta Beads + Stringing I think it's great to keep the colors sorted into baggies so the kids can easily make patterns with them or mix them if they want. The link has some pasta dyeing instructions. Like I shared on the toddler exchange post, I found I had to air my pasta out at least overnight if not longer to get rid of the alcohol smell.

10. Double Trouble Shapes You should be able to find foam shapes for pretty cheap in bulk or you can always cut your own from foam sheets. We didn't require lamination but it would be tricky to laminate these with the shapes already on them so she laminated them or covered them with contact paper or something because the front of the page is covered. So helpful!

11. Pool Noodle Lacing and Sequencing
So I inadvertently had a pool noodle lacing activity listed for both the toddler and the preschool exchange and they both got signed up for. Whoops! But I'm totally ok with it because the toddler one is a simple lacing activity and the preschool one includes awesome variations for number ordering, and color AND number patterning (with several cards for each.) We lucked out at and the noodles used for the toddler one are the same colors so we've also got built in replacements. The girl who did this bag retyped the directions in a cuter font but you can download the other one from the link above. The link also explains how to attach the bouncy ball "stopper" at the end of the rope (and how cool is that? It's brilliant.)

12. A-Z Clothespin Cards
The wheels are a printable from the link. As I mentioned in #3, I recommend shopping around for clothespin deals, especially since you need 26 for this activity.

13. Hot Glue Rubbing Plates There are tips on the link for making the glue thin and even. The maker of this bag included a stack of half sheet paper and went the extra mile with two homemade crayons! Very cool.

14. Popsicle Stick Puzzles Apparently it's a bit tricky to get the sticks lined up right to attach the picture for these. The suggestion to tape them down would probably be very smart! The maker of this bag found the images she used on the internet.

15. Popsicle Color Match Another link here. The popsicle sticks have the color labeled on both ends of one side (once written in the corresponding color for a hint) and the other side is labeled with the "flavor" and a colored swatch of the corresponding color for another hint. Nice touches to make it easier for beginners!

16. Shape and Color Memory Match I was told by the maker of this bag that getting the felt to bond to the discs took a really long time of holding the iron in it, so be warned. She also mentioned that it was tricky to cut the felt into small shapes without the felt pulling away. She used coupons to Michaels, JoAnns, etc. over a few weeks to get enough of the wooden discs for a decent price. If you need to order them online, I'd shop around etsy and other websites. Here's a link I found for some on etsy. Not sure how they compare to a craft store + coupon but worth comparing. And if you scroll down to the end of this post, the blogger gives a contact e-mail for someone she corresponded with who sells the wooden discs for a really reasonable price. It may be worth contacting him for a quote.

17. I Spy Bottles The maker of this bag photographed exactly what was in each one before putting them in, so smart! If your child isn't old enough or patient enough to look for specific things, you can take off the photo (attached to the lid with a rubber band) and just see what they can find on their own. For safety's sake, the lid was hot glued on really well.

18. Clothespin Matching There are a couple different concepts covered here so there's lots of little strips to cut. If you're looking to cut costs, I'd look for deals on the mini clothespins. You can get 250 on Amazon for .05 per pin, including shipping.

19. Spin & Spell This is such a fun activity. If you need to cut costs and can't find a good price for the letter stickers or rub ons, I'd very neatly write the letters on with a permanent black marker. Check the comments of the link for some ideas of what letters to use. Here was one for 3 bolts: F, L, M, N, R, S on the first hex, A, E, I, O, U on the middle one,B, D. G, P, T on the last one for 150 pronounceable combination. It wouldn't cost much at all to add more bolts to this. Our bag maker shared where she got her stickers so we could match the ones she used if we wished to.

20. Build a Cupcake Another idea here. I actually don't have photos of this because we were short at the exchange and I'm still waiting to get it from the person who ended up with an extra. But the link looks adorable!

I am still pinning ideas on pinterest as I find them. I would definitely consider hosting another exchange in the future (with different activities). Comment below if you would be interested in seeing more about busy bags in the future and possibly some more printable busy bag freebies from us?

Thanks for sticking with me on this long recap of the exchange. Let me know if you have any questions!

Toddler Time: Busy Bag Series Part 2

2011-10-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

I'm sharing some experiences and ideas from the recent busy bag exchange I posted. You can read part 1 here.

Today I'm sharing the 19 activities that were part of our toddler exchange. You can see the rest of the ideas I gathered for the swap on this google doc.

I'm also sharing what my 18 month old daughter, Adelaide, thinks of the activities we've tried as well.

1. Rainbow Rice We haven't played with this yet but it will be really fun in her sensory table, I'm sure. I know she's going to love scooping it. I think it would be good to give the rice separated into colors first so the kids can do the color mixing themselves.

2. No Sew Fishing Game The fish have 3 metal washers in them so they get picked up pretty easily by the magnet. It will be easy to add more to the set, as well. I think A could probably do this one soon.

3. Pom Pom Stuff It In A favorite of A! She would love to dump them back out again but doesn't know how to open the lid (yet!) It's the perfect size to throw in my diaper bag. She's played with it every week during church.

4. Button Snake It can be tricky getting the chunky button through the slits but after you do it a few times the holes become bigger. A isn't quite able to do this one yet and it doesn't grab her attention. Maybe in a couple months!

5. Pool Noodle Stringing With a little help, A can totally string these and loves doing it (and then taking them off again.) The chunky rope is a great size for her hands.

6. Wacky Sacks The only issue with us for these is that the eyes keep falling off. Some of my friends said their older kids (3+) have already broken and ripped these open. Maybe best for the very young crowd.

7. Color Matching Wheel So far A just likes to take off the pins that I clip on but soon I think she'll be interested in putting on the pins herself. The color matching aspect is a little ahead of her too.

8. Pipe Cleaner Toy (another link here) A is nuts for this activity. She has played it every day since we got it. She doesn't understand the color matching yet but loves putting the pipe cleaners in any hole. I think she also really likes the sound the cleaners make tinkling against the metal bottom of the Pringles can. I really like that she can grow into the color matching aspect of this activity. And the pipe cleaners are store inside which is just an added bonus.

9. Mini Reversible Felt Toy Wish I'd gotten a picture of this before A pulled all the pieces apart. She's not ready for creative building but she did enjoy playing with the pieces. It would be tedious cutting them all out, but felt is cheap at least!

10. Beads in a Water Bottle Pretty simple activity to put together: an empty water bottle + bag of beads! A loves dropping them in, especially the sound. She only fills up the bottom part before dumping them out again, which she thinks is so fun. I always stay close so these don't end up in her mouth and/or scattered all over the house. Definitely a hit with her!

11. Velcro Shape Sticks We haven't tried this one yet. I'll probably add a few more shapes eventually. May also add some sticks with velcro that can be used for free play. I like the color coding on these. I think it will be a big help when she's ready to try out building the shapes.

12. Discovery Bottles These are the prefect size for little toddler hands and go great into a diaper bag for an on the go activity. The problem for us is that A loves to drink out of our water bottles so she just holds these bottles out to us and whines because she wants to drink out of them! Don't worry, the lids are hot glued on.

13. Magnetic Pom Poms This is such a fun idea for pom poms! I am brain storming a way to make a smaller magnetic surface that can stay in the busy bag instead of having to get out the cookie sheet. That being said, the cookie sheet works great!

14. Lacing Cards A isn't quite ready for lacing yet but these cards are really cute! The templates would help make it a quicker project.

15. Spools and Straws This one is a hit with A! The problem? She's pretty rough with it and the holes have been mangled in the styrofoam and now the sticks don't stick up straight, which makes her frustrated. She loves this so much that we're thinking of making something small with wood that she could use and hopefully will hold up to her abuse!

16. Mix and Match Game A is too young to understand the matching component but enjoys playing with the little treasures. I have to stick close to her so that the little pieces all end up back in the container!

17. Race Car Shapes As soon as I laid this out to photograph it, A was immediately drawn to it. The person who put it together included a car which was great since we don't have any. I think A will really enjoy playing with these!

18. Play Dough Mats These are really cute mats. I will definitely be laminating them and hole punching them (the girl who made the bag included rings to make them into a booklet.) Be aware that if you don't have access to a color printer this project can get very expensive if you plan to print a lot of pages!

19. Pasta Sort
This was my project. First of all, dyeing the pasta was easy but took a lot of liquid food coloring (I used half a bottle of color for probably 2-3 boxes of pasta). I suggest double bagging the pasta while you dye it because I ended up with color all over my counters (but it cleaned up easily.) The alcohol smell really sticks around on the pasta. The batches I left out for a few days smelled better than the ones I made right before the exchange and didn't have time to air out for as long. If your child puts these in their mouth or gets them wet, the color will get on their skin. I included 4 cups (for sorting by color but you could include more cups and do shape sorting too.) I also included a shoelace and a few pipe cleaners for different options for stringing.

See the Preschool Busy Bag Swap HERE.

Toddler Time: Hosting a Busy Bag Exchange

2011-10-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Recently I hosted a busy bag exchange with 20+ of my friends (and their friends). It's an idea that I've seen around the web lately, especially getting inspiration from here and here. I liked the idea that I would work on one project (well two since we hosted two separate swaps) and in return get a variety of activities for my 18 month old daughter.

Here are my tips if you want to host an exchange:

1. Collect your ideas for everyone to choose from. First I made a pinterest board to gather ideas I found. Then I created a google doc for my friends to sign up. I made a long list of activities with links from around the web that they could choose from, or they could find their own ideas. This was pretty time consuming but so worth it. Because people could check it whenever they wanted it was easy to see the options and switch to a new one that was open if they wanted to. You can see my google doc here and hopefully use it to make your own swap sign up. (I will be highlighting each of the activities that we actually did soon.) It wouldn't hurt to have somebody else co-host this swap with you and help handle the organization and questions.

2. Set guidelines. How many people do you want to include? 20 is a good number, in our experience, when it comes to buying lots of supplies. What are your expectations for the bags? Should they be labeled? Should they include instructions? I found it easiest to share the information in a post on my personal blog. I would be even more explicit if I did this again because there was plenty of confusion and questions. I foolishly assumed that everybody was familiar with the concept of a busy bag swap, which many were not.

Our guidelines were:
- Keep each bag under $1 (I'd have emphasized this even more since many didn't stick to this guideline)
- You do NOT need to laminate any papers included (We can each laminate everything we receive if we chose to. I found a low priced place nearby and recommended it to others at the swap.)
- Put together the quality kind of bag you would want to receive in return. This is really important to remember! Of course we want to be cheap but we also want the activity to hold up to toddler use.

3. Choose deadlines. First you need a deadline for signups. I would have done this shorter, in hindsight. I kept it open for awhile to give everyone a chance to look over all the activities and invite their friends. The problem with that is that people couldn't work on their bags for awhile because they didn't know how many to make yet. Second you need your deadline for the swap.

4. Encourage the participants to look closely at the costs. Some of the ideas I shared were just that: ideas. But some of the people who signed up thought they had to follow the idea to the letter and therefore spent much more than $1. I would be sure to tell everyone that ideas can and should be adapted to be as low-cost as possible while still being functional. I can tell you from experience that if you do not price out your materials (and shop around with coupons if necessary) it WILL cost you more than you expect.

5. Make an exchange plan. When it came to the actual exchange, things got pretty tricky. You can see in the pictures below that we had a LOT of bags, a LOT of people, and not much room to work. (The pictures only show a portion of the bags and the people there. It was probably 3 times that once everyone was there.) Most people also didn't bring containers big enough to hold everything they were going to take home! What we found to be easiest was for each person to explain what their bag was and show how it worked and then to pass their bags around the circle where each person took one and added it to their pile/box. We had several gals who couldn't come to the exchange so we had to make piles for them which also became tricky since we had to keep track of which bag they brought and not give back that one to them. Printing out my list of who was participating and what they made was very helpful. This also helped us when we went through our own bags to make sure everyone had them all.

As I mentioned earlier, we did two separate swaps: toddler and preschool (although we held them on the same evening because most of us participated in both.) You could certainly do one swap with ideas from both age categories but our kids are so varied in ages that I felt like it was better to be more specific. I will be sharing pictures and details about the bags we did and any tips we have for you. So come back soon for that!

P.S. The elements I used in the top graphic are from Crystal Wilkerson.

Daily 5--Work on Writing

2011-10-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited that I've finally got my writing center up! This week we finally started doing the Work on Writing component of the Daily 5 independently. I realize that it's clear into the 2nd week in October, but I didn't decide to try the Daily 5 until the middle of August, so I was doing all sorts of overhauling/creating on top of getting ready for school to start. Consequently I'm a bit slow. A few weeks ago, my to-do list for this project seemed insurmountable. I contemplated tossing the whole thing out the window. Now it's all pulled together AND the kids are loving it. Every time I look at that part of my classroom I smile. :)

Here's what the finished product looks like:

I used some writing centers I'd seen on Pinterest as inspiration. This one is from Jessica Meacham.
And this one from Katie at Persnickety Pickles:

Here's a look at the choices I give the kids. The first thing is to work on a piece from Writer's Workshop (I do a more focused writing time in the morning).

They can also write in the class story journals (another Pinterest idea from Delightful Daily 5 Cafe). There's so much emphasis on nonfiction and persuasion in the new core, that I was sad to see a lot of the personal narrative time lost. Hopefully this will be like a sort of personal narrative patch.

I put out some "Take it to Your Seat Writing Centers" from Evan-Moore that I'd inherited from Em.

Students have the choice of writing in their journals about any topic they choose or they can pick one of my suggestions. I started with some general prompts (What's your favorite holiday? What do you think about frogs?) that I printed on stickers and put on Popsicle Sticks (Pinterest idea from First Grade Fresh).

Since I don't have a Jehovah's Witness student this year, I'm going all out for the holidays!! For October, I got some little notebooks in the Target Dollar Spot. I cut out all the papers and wrote a prompt on the inside cover. The bowl is also from Target. The rule is they have to write about whichever prompt they pick UNLESS they've already done it.

I originally started with 12, but since this is such a popular choice I ended up using all 18 little notebooks. Some prompts I found, some I made up.

If a witch lost her cat, what could she use for a pet?
What would happen if you were in a graveyard at night?
Imagine you run a restaurant for monsters. What sorts of things would you serve?
What if you were trick-or-treating and your bag broke? What would you do?
I think my teacher should be ____ for Halloween because _____
Have you ever been really scared? What happened?
I wish I weren't afraid of ...
How would you make a robot costume?
What do you think about spiders?
What do you think about mummies?
How would you catch a vampire or a ghost?
The mad scientist was creating a new monster that could...
How do you carve a pumpkin? Write all the steps.
What if you had a pet werewolf?
Imagine you're walking your dog and he runs into a creepy, old house. You follow him. What happens?
Tell all about your favorite thing about Halloween?
What were you for Halloween last year? What did your costume look like?
Pretend you have a magic broomstick. What does it look like? What does it do?

I have a bunch of notepads from the dollar store and Target Dollar Spot. The rule is one "fancy" paper per day. I wish you could find stationery sets like they used to sell at the dollar store, but I guess no one writes letters anymore.

Writing letters is the favorite choice right now.

The idea of a classroom post office has always scared me, but this is running really smoothly. Our mailbox is a plastic container from the dollar store. Unfortunately, I waited to cut the slit until AFTER I'd painted so it got pretty thrashed from the scissors. :( And, of course, I'm now out of blue spray paint. The battered box drives me nuts, but the kids don't seem to notice.

I read all the letters after school. In the morning, I have one of the early birds hand them out. So far it's running well and I've only had to weed out a couple mean spirited notes and one love letter.

I love the list choice, but so far no one has been interested in it. You can get the list steps here.

I found some printable Halloween labels and added Octobery themed prompts. You can download the file here. I don't know who created the clipart and I've tried doing a Google search. If anyone knows, please tell me so I can credit the designer.

The right side of the bulletin board is our stamina graph (from F is for First Grade.) The kids get so excited to beat their time everyday!

Once we're done needing the daily stamina booster, I want to add poetry and research in as writing choices. However, I don't have a clue how to set those up! Any suggestions??

Words Their Way--Resource List

2011-10-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be nice to have all the Words Their Way resources in one post. I'm also including a link to the sort sequences that I use to organize my binder.

Letter Name Alphabetic sorts
Within Word Pattern sorts
Syllables and Affixes sorts

At the bottom of each "unit" (?) I listed the games I use to reinforce those concepts. Some of the games are in our Etsy shop.
For the Letter/Name Alphabetic stage, we have:

The R-Express (r blends)
Welcome to the Neighborhood (short e,o,a word families)
Cops & Robbers (short vowels)
Terrific Teeth (ch, th, sh, wh)
Reindeer Feed (short/long vowel sounds)

For the Within Word Pattern stage there's:

Double Sound Dominoes (sounds of oo, y, and ow)
Magic Lamp (sounds of c and g)

Syllables and Affixes:

Ghosts in the Cemetery (sounds of c and g)
Bonkers -- FREE DOWNLOAD --(review of vowel patterns in 1 syllable words)
Smack Down -- FREE DOWNLAOD -- (vcv and vccv patterns)

I give this form for students to take the assessment.

And this form to record their scores.

I keep track of my groups in this book.

There's also a cover here.

If you missed the earlier series on Words Their Way, here are the links.

1. Words Their Way Overview
2. Assessment
3. Organization (part 2)
4. Word Study

Let me know if there's something you'd like to know more about or a part of Words Their Way you're struggling with. I'm by no means an expert, but I've been doing this long enough that maybe I have a tip or two.

Happy spelling!!

Read for the Record

2011-10-06T09:47:00.000-07:00

Today you can help break a world reading record with Jumpstart's Read for the Record. Head over to their site and see what you can do to participate!

Very Pinteresting...

2011-09-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

Do you Pin? I'm like a Pinterest fiend. Clicking that "show more pins" button is like getting a little fix.

Ok, I'm not really that bad. :) But I do la-la-love Pinterest! Love it to the point that I'm finding it difficult to get to sleep at a reasonable hour. I don't suffer from Pinsomnia. I enjoy every minute of it!

But I can justify this time wasting because there are such good ideas--especially for school. I went and bought some rolly bins after seeing this brilliant idea from Mrs. Bond's Fantastic First Grade.

At first I was afraid it would take up too much room, but it ended up freeing a whole cupboard and then I can use the space on top as an additional shelf. Plus, all that holiday stuff is neatly stowed instead of a big jumble.

This idea from Sunny Days in Second Grade was a huge hit at my back-to-school open house.

I first saw this Lakeshore teacher organizer on Pinterest. It's made me so much more organized and totally worth $50!
This genius idea is from Clutter-Free Classroom. It's made it so much easier for me to know which of my dawdlers still haven't turned in their spelling. (Bless their hearts)

I actually used this idea from Hello Literacy in a lesson today.

I just copied the top part of the chart to start with and we'll add the "deeper connections" on in a few months.

I'm jumping into the Daily 5 this year, and it's seeing all the ideas on Pinterest that gave me the courage to give it a try. (Of course, I didn't make this decision until the middle of August, so I'm still not completely up and running but we're making progress.)

One of the first steps in the Daily 5 is teaching kids the steps to choose a "good fit" book. There are lots of cute posters on Pinterest like this one from Mrs. Hunt's Teacher Resources.

Or this one from Laurie Exner on Picasa.

Since I've got a pirate themed room, I wanted to go that route for my poster. I used the ideas from Pinterest and came up with this. You can download it here if you're also in need of a pirate themed I PICK poster.

I also taught my kiddos the I PICK rap which is cute even if it sticks in your head like a wad of gum.

I have a whole board of other Daily 5 ideas. I also have ones for math, literacy, science, holiday fun, general classroom stuff, writing ideas, word games, and vocabulary.

If you're not sure how Pinterest works yet, Em posted an introduction a few months ago. Truthfully that's how I figured out how to get the most out of Pinterest.

So get pinning!

Words Their Way--Record Book

2011-09-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to making a new record book for my Words Their Way groups. My last one lasted me several years, but it was finally full. So here's the newbie. I got the cute clipart from Lettering Delights.

I like to keep track of which group is one which level, so I made some easy check-off-the-box type forms. Then I took it all to Staples to get it coil bound.

After I started using this, I realized I was still having to label each group early, middle, or late. So I updated the file to include an e m l under each stage. That way you can just circle which level they're on.

I only have 5 groups (well, 5 groups and 1 little guy who is so low that he's his own group :( ), but I made a page that has 6 groups in case you have a really wide range of abilities in your class.

You can get the pieces here:
cover
5 group record sheet
6 group record sheet

Happy spelling!

Homework Folders (a.k.a. GOLD Folders)

2011-09-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Heidi and I started using these homework folders several years ago. We certainly didn't invent the idea, although I believe we've made it our own and came up with our own acronym. It's been revamped many times since we started but meet the G.O.L.D. homework folder, as Heidi is using it this year. G.O.L.D. stands for Getting Organized, Learning Daily. We used to have one called FROG which stood for Fully Responsible Organized and Growing. The original idea for these called for using 3-ring binders, but we just couldn't afford that. So our folder is the flexible, plastic, 3-pronged kind.

Folder Contents

(Click on the photos to see them larger)

The front inside pocket is for Important Papers from School such as school newsletters, fliers, etc.

The first item in the folder is a fabric zipper pocket for Money and Permission Slips, the important stuff such as lunch money, book orders and permission slips.

The very first page is an introduction to the G.O.L.D folder and Do's and Dont's for using the folder.

The next page explains what's in the folder and where everything should go. After that is the classroom newsletter/calendar.

The next pages are the lunch calendar, classroom schedule, homework tips and handwriting guide. In general, we wanted the page protector portion of the folder to be items that don't need to be changed often, if at all.

The last page is information about sight words and the 100 2nd Grade Sight Words. Next is a plastic folder sheet (with tab cut off.) The front pocket holds regular homework and the back holds the monthly reading calendar. When we first started these, we had a separate pocket for each type of homework (spelling, review, fluency, reading calendar, etc.) Those extra pockets made it difficult to close the brads on the folder and one two-sided pocket works just fine.

Last comes a few sheets of paper for writing notes between the teacher and home. I tried to check these quickly every day for any notes. I also tried to write at least a quick note every couple of months, just for a personal check in with parents.

The last pocket for Super Duper Work to Keep at Home holds student's finished work.

Storing the Folders in the Classroom

Heidi and I both keep our student's desks turned around so they don't use the insides. Instead we use a plastic drawer system to hold workbooks, notebooks, etc. (See photo below.) Each table stacked their GOLD folders on top of their table's drawers. That way I could see who was bringing them each day and I could quickly flip through them for lunch money, notes from home etc. But I did also set the expectation that if there was something in their folder I needed to see that they were supposed to put it on my table in the morning. I still tried to check them daily because not all students were aware when a parent had written a note in the back.

Here is an old photo of the drawers in my classroom. The folders would be stacked where the table names are, on top of the drawers.

Supplies for Making the Folders

- flexible, plastic 3-pronged folders (1 per student)
- zipper pouch, 3-holed (1 per student)
- plastic page protectors (4 per student)
- plastic pocket dividers like these (1 per student)
- notebook paper (3-5 sheets per student)
- shipping style labels, 10 per sheet (1 sheet per student, but you won't need a whole sheet)

We're sharing for free download some of the papers for the folders. Click on the links to download.

GOLD Folder Labels
GOLD Folder Rules and Introduction
GOLD Folder Explanation and Table of Contents
GOLD Folder Handwriting Guide
GOLD Folder High Frequency Words

One of the earliest incarnations of this type of organizations systems was as a M.O.O.S.E. binder. There are all sorts of resources on this blog. If you scroll down on this post, you can read how other teachers use theirs. Plus there are nearly 300 acronyms to fit any theme! And Mrs. Mecham's blog explains her classroom BEE books.

Hopefully you can find some tips if you plan to make homework folders for your own class!

Price Reduction

2011-08-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

As we get ready to add some new and exciting items to the shop we decided to lower the price of our Banana Split Math fact. You can now snag this awesome program for $8! Head on over to the shop to get yours today!

Saturday Story Time--Tomorrow's Alphabet

2011-07-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some pictures and came across these that I'd forgotten about. Are you familiar with Tomorrow's Alphabet? It's a pretty clever idea. For each letter of the alphabet, there's an example of what it changes into. Like, "Y is for wool, tomorrow's yarn."

I read it to my class as an introduction to a science unit on change, but there's loads you can do with it. It's great for prediction. There are vocabulary words like ember and bud. You could tie it in with life cycles, producers and consumers, recycling, art...It's a gem of a book! Has anyone else used it?

My one complaint is that the answer for each letter is on the same page. So if you're trying to get students to infer the answer, you have to be careful how you hold the book.

After the story I had my little ones give it a try. They came up with some pretty clever ideas.

It's Summertime...

2011-07-19T23:11:00.000-07:00

It's the middle of July! How did that happen? I hope you're enjoying lazy days by the pool, sipping cool drinks, and losing yourself in breezy romance novels.

Yeah. Me neither.

People keep asking me if I'm enjoying my summer and I tell them no. Then I mention something about preparing to transition to the new Common Core as if that would mean anything to non-teachers. But you get it, I'm sure!

Every time I think I'm getting close to being ready for this switch, I realize there's another huge project needing immediate and sustained attention. Granted, I bring a lot of this stress on myself, but I don't know how to be a different kind of teacher! The harsh truth about myself is that if it isn't ready to go on the first day of school, I won't get back to it until next summer.

Last week we had a 2 day training on the new writing core. I left feeling like I need another 2 months of summer to get ready for the fall. On Saturday I was feeling a bit down about the small number of things I've managed to check off my to-do list. I decided to work on something small and accomplishable (that really should be a word!).

Eric, one of our literacy specialists, shared a cute book at the writing training. It's called Happy Birthday to Whooo? Have you seen it? It was new to me. Our training was in the computer lab, so while Eric was giving his presentation, I just ordered myself a copy. I do love Amazon Prime!!

It's by Doris Fisher (her One Odd Day book is a personal favorite). Amazon has a Kindle version as well, so you lucky Smartboard endowed teachers could go that route. In this book, each page is an animal birth announcement that gives clues to help you identify the new arrival.
For example:

We are tickled pink!
Here at last on July 2,
Mr. and Mrs. Ever Glades
welcome their hatchling
that is just a featherweight at 3 1/2 ounces.

Can you guess? When you turn the page, you see the little family and get some additional information about them.

The new writing core has a much stronger emphasis on informational texts than our last curriculum. I'm a little (a lot?) nervous because I've never had great success with having kids do independent research. I'm excited to do this activity because the kids only need to find 2 or 3 facts about baby animals. I think even my strugglers could do this!

The back of the book has a blank birth announcement that students could fill in, but I wanted something easier to copy. So this is what I did on Saturday.

You can download a copy here . It's all gray scale because our only color printer is in the principal's office. Plus, this way the kids can personalize it, right?

I haven't tried this out yet, but the plan is to do something like this:
After helping the kids find their baby animal facts, I would give them a blank paper and a birth announcement. The announcement should be folded on the dotted line. Glue goes only on the back of this folded part. The announcement should be positioned in the middle of the page. Then the students can fill in their facts and draw a picture underneath. Most of the animal should be hidden under the announcement/flap, but they can have a bit of feathers or fur stick out as a clue (like in the book). Once the drawing is done, they can add one more interesting fact that they learned. I think the kids would just be over the moon to get to share their finished work with the class!

Well, there's one thing off the list. Two things if you count blogging about it as another task. And three whole weeks to finish the rest!

Second Story Window Summer Reading Challenge

2011-06-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

And now we'd like to tell you about the

Second Story Window 2011 Summer Reading Challenge!

Read 10 new books and you can earn a free $5 game from our shop. One game per child. Parents can read books to a non-reading child. Download the form here. E-mail photos or scans of completed forms to sstorywindow@gmail.com and specify which game you would like from our shop. Now get reading!

Questions? Leave them in the comments!

summer reading programs

2011-06-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

image via

Boy have we been busy lately! But don't be too sad about our blogging absence, it's because we're working on so many fun new things for the shop.

Let me tell you, there are so many great programs going on right now encouraging summer reading. Here's a quick run down of some programs from major retailers, most of them involving free books or other rewards!

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading
Grades 1-6 - earn free book from selected titles by reading 8 books & turning in completed journal to B&N store before 9/6/11. Information here.

Borders Summer Reading
Kids 12 and under earn free book from selected titles by reading 10 books & turning in completed form to Borders store between 6/1/11 and 9/5/11. Information here.

Half Price Books Summer Reading
Kids 14 and under earn $5 Back to School Bucks by reading at least 600 minutes in June & July. Turn in reading log July 25-Aug 7 to receive reward. Information here.

Pottery Barn Kids Summer Reading
Kids 10 years and under complete one of the reading lists to earn a free book. 5/31/11-8/24/11 See the list here.

TD Bank Summer Reading
Kids 18 and under read 10 books to earn $10 to be deposited into their TD Bank Young Saver account (or used to open a new one). Form must be returned to local TD Bank location. Information here.

Chuck E. Cheese Summer Reading
Kids earn 10 free tokens for reading every day for 2 weeks. There are other rewards charts available at this link, as well. Limit 1 redemption per day. Information here.

Kids Bowl Free
Kids within age limits specified by participating bowling centers can receive 2 free games a day, all summer long. Information here.

PBS Kids Summer Reading Challenge
A free 6 week program to help kids discover the joy of reading. Chances to win prizes daily. Information here.

Check back tomorrow for information about the Second Story Window 2011 Summer Reading Challenge where each child can earn a free game from our shop by reading 10 new books.

another giveaway- this one's a good one!

2011-04-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

We were asked to donate a copy of Banana Splits Match Facts to Rays Homeschool blog. Well the giveaway ends tomorrow and there are zero entries so your odds of winning this one are PRETTY GOOD! :) Banana Splits Math Facts is an activity you'd love in your classroom in 1st or 2nd grade, it's a fun homeschool activity, and it would be a really fun summertime activity to keep the little ones learning. So head over to Rays Homeschool Blog and enter before tomorrow! Good luck!

P.S. Did you have a nice Spring Break? We did! I went to Utah and Heidi went to Europe! I think Heidi wins but we both had a great time. Will be back to regular posting soon!

April Fool's Day!

2011-04-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

Ha ha! The joke's on us! We didn't get this posted in time for April Fool's day fun, but hopefully you can get some use out of it regardless.

It's a homophone riddle book for your little jokers to complete. Print the pages, cut in half, and staple in order. Voila! A lesson and a giggle in one!!

Download the pages here.

Words Their Way--Word Study

2011-04-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

Edited to add: There is a more recent post about Words Their Way resources. To view this post, go here.

After all that prep work it’s finally time for the kids to do some learning! With Words Their Way, the focus is on sorting the words. It’s a great way for the children to learn about spelling patterns, but it can be tedious doing it day after day. The book has lots of different sort suggestions and I’ve tried most of them. Over the years my system has evolved, it always seems to be “in-progress,” but this is how it’s been going this year.

Monday—a part of their morning work, the kids glue last week’s sort into their notebooks. In the afternoon they cut out their new sort. They write their initials on the back of each word card and store them all in a zipper pocket.

Tuesday—During morning work, I call each group back to the rug and introduce their sort for the week. They highlight the category cards and one exemplar for each category. I think it helps them remember their categories better. Then they take their words back to their desks to sort and write.

Wednesday—Students sort, draw, and label as part of their morning work.

Thursday—Students sort and graph as part of their morning work. A couple years ago I had a student who HATED word sorts. He invented sort & graph as a shortcut. The students sort their words and then draw a graph in their notebooks. I let them choose what kind of graph
to draw. Sometimes they do tallies, most of them choose bar graphs, and occasionally someone will make a pictograph.

Later in the morning, the kids play a game using the words in their sort or a recent sort. I have files of the games and made enough copies for a group of 8 to play each one. Some of the games come from the WTW book. Most are games I made up. You can find some of them in our Etsy shop (Terrific Teeth, Ghosts in the Cemetery, …) . While the kids play games, I do any assessments.

You can download a free game for your students here (and the rules for playing here). It's a crazy-8 style card game called Bonkers to help practice vowel patterns (CVVC, CVC, CVCe, CVCC) in single syllable words.

Fridays—As part of their morning work, kids look through books to find examples of words that fit their categories.

That’s what works for me these days. I’m sure there will be some tweaking to it next year. There’s no denying that it takes a lot of work to get this program up and running. Some years I haven’t been diligent in following this program and it shows in when my children show a weak understanding of vowels. Even the good spellers don't really understand why words follow particular patterns.

It's been 6 years of trial and error, but Words Their Way has helped me be a better spelling teacher. I love the power of knowing how my children think about spelling. Being able to help them progress as readers and writers is worth all the effort.

Words Their Way--Organization

2011-03-25T12:53:00.001-07:00

Edited to add: There is a more recent post about Words Their Way resources. To view this post, go here.

One of the most helpful bits of WTW advice is something I heard in a workshop: do what you can. If you feel like you can manage 8 different groups with weekly reassessments, then go for it. If you only feel ready to take on 2 groups with words sorts every other week, then that’s ok too. Make it work for you!

After testing your students, the next step is to organize them for word study. It works best for me to write the levels down one side of a paper and then list the students next to their level. I decided I could handle 4 groups, so I look for ways to divide up the kids.

That’s the easy part.

Then it comes down to managing this 4-ring circus!

I ended up making a half-sheet form for each week. I cut down some post-it notes and listed the kids for each group. Then I list the sort for each week.

I found that I was spending a significant portion of my planning time on Mondays getting sorts ready for the week. Instead I found some 4-pocket folders and assigned one of the pockets to each of my groups. I put a week’s worth of sorts in each folder and then I’m set for 5 or 6 weeks!

The past few years my school has stocked a filing cabinet with wordsorts so anyone can access what they need.

Before we had the filing cabinet, I made my own sort binder. Using the WTW level books from our school library, I copied each sort onto a yellow sheet of paper (yellow so I don’t lose my master among the copies!). I copied each of the assessments (also from the WTW level books) on pink so I could find them quickly.

Then I organized them in a binder. If the filing cabinet is running low on sorts I still have to make copies, but that’s much less frequent now.

Guest Posts + Giveaways

2011-03-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

You can read my guest post on A Heart For Home about teaching the alphabet here. And check out this post to enter a giveaway for the Alphabet Games Set 1 + 2 games of your choice (that's 5 games!)

Today you can also find a $20 gift certificate to our shop being given away on Simply Utah. That one is a quick one, ending tomorrow. But it's really easy to enter so check it out.

And don't forget about our newest free printable game: ABC City found here.

Be sure to keep checking back for the great information Heidi is sharing about Words Their Way this week. If you have any questions about the program that you'd like Heidi to answer, please leave a comment for her.

Words Their Way--Assessment

2011-03-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Edited to add: There is a more recent post about Words Their Way resources. To view this post, go here.

ETA: sorry for those of you who tried to download the documents from Google. I've uploaded them to box.net and everything should be working! Sorry about the hassle.

On the last Words Their Way post, Mrs. Ibarra commented:

I have a copy of this book, but our Reading program does word sorts and uses them as spelling words too. It teaches a 2-3 patterns at a time...ay and ai for example. Do you think I could combine the two? I haven't looked at the book in a while. I purchased it for a Graduate class, but really haven't looked at it since.

Mrs. Ibarra, I’m not sure how your reading program is set up, but with Words Their Way instead of doing whole-class sorts, you teach students on their levels. The assessment piece is what I think makes Words Their Way so beneficial.

To start off, you give the class a (lengthy) spelling test. There are a couple of different versions depending on the grade you teach. Since I’ve got 2^nd graders, I use the Primary Spelling Inventory (PSI). On the Pearson website, you can see an example of the different tests and a rundown on how to score them.

Then you get to grade them. I love looking at the data, but I hate doing all the recording. When you’ve got 20+ students, it can take a while. It helps to think happy thoughts. “I only do this 4 times a year…I can watch some Richard Armitage while I grade…”

Each of the words is broken down into key components—beginning sounds, vowel sounds, suffixes, etc. You don’t analyze every part of every word, so you need the feature guide to show you what you’re looking for. You put the student’s test in front of you and start checking off what was written correctly.

The feature guide in the book is horizontal, but I found that it’s easier for me to grade in a hurry if the page is vertical, so I retyped the info on my own form. Also, I like to use the same page for the whole year so I can easily track student growth. I use a different color pen each time I give the test and color the key at the top of the page.

After checking each word, then you total the number of checks in each column. The different columns represent different levels of spelling mastery. Each feature is checked in 7 different words. If a student correctly writes the feature (for example, short vowel sounds) 6 or 7 times you know it has been mastered. If a child gets 5 or fewer correct, that’s considered the student’s level.

If you look at this sheet, you'll see how this student has progressed over the year.

At the beginning of 2nd grade, she misspelled two of the short vowel words. In that column (on the left), I recorded her score in black. If you look at the next column, you can see she got 6 of the features correct. Even though she technically passed that column, I went back to the first level where she missed two or more words to determine her level. In this case, Letter-Name Alphabetic stage. A little low for 2nd grade.

When I gave the test at the end of 1st term (burgundy numbers), she'd mastered the short vowels, digraphs, and blends. But she missed every single one of the long vowel patterns. So I knew her level had moved to middle Within Word pattern stage. This is where most of my 2nd graders fall.

On the third test at the end of 2nd term, she'd mastered long vowels, but not all the vowel patterns like aw, ir, etc. So that's where we're working now.

When my student teacher finishes up, I'll give the assessment again to determine where she should work for the last part of the year. If I'm really feeling motivated I may give the test again at the end of the year to see how far she's grown, but by the end of May my enthusiasm for grading is minimal. :)

The interesting thing about the WTW assessment is that it's as focused on mistakes as it is words spelled correctly. For example, a child that spells goat “gote” obviously can’t spell the word goat. But what the error tells you is that he understands that something has to happen to a vowel to make it long. In this case, the speller knows that silent e often plays a role. So this student is probably going to be in the middle of the Within Word Pattern stage and ready to practice long vowel patterns like ai, oa, ue, etc.

You can download a copy of my version of the feature guide here. This is only for the Primary Spelling Inventory. The upper grades have a different set of words.

This is a copy of the form that I give my students to write on. I really hate waiting for them to number their papers from 1-26. Plus this way I can do some record keeping right on their forms.

ABC City: A freebie for you!

2011-03-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

We are participating in the Alphabet Craze event at A Heart for Home March 21-31. We'll be sharing a guest post and a giveaway so be sure to check over there.

And to celebrate this alphabet event, we're offering our game Alphabet City as a free download. Click here to download the directions and game.

P.S. Words Their Way day 2 post coming later!

We're linked up at ABC and 123.

Words Their Way--Overview

2011-03-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

Edited to add: There is a more recent post about Words Their Way resources. To view this post, go here.

For all its craziness, the English language is based on patterns. So it makes sense, when we're teaching little ones to read and write, to focus our instruction on those patterns. That's why I love Words Their Way. It's an assessment based, hands-on approach to teaching spelling.

I really believe in this program, but it is rather tricky to get it up and running. If you're using Words Their Way (I shorten it to WTW) with your class or children, please chime in with your experiences. And if you're considering trying this or frustrated with how it's working for you, maybe something we share this week will help you out.

For the record, here's my background with this program:

It's encouraged, but not required in my district. Teachers have a lot of autonomy about how they implement.
I've taken a couple trainings, but most of my know-how came from the book and trial and error.
My students have a weekly sort, but I don't use it for my spelling words.
I have the Words Their Way book and my school has a set of the sort books for each level. There are a lot more resources under the WTW umbrella, but I haven't seen any of them.

Check back tomorrow when we tackle the biggest WTW hurdle: organization.

Lucky Science: Cloud in a Bottle

2011-03-12T09:57:00.000-08:00

March may come in "like a lion" but this is one cloud that won't dampen your spirits (or your clothes!)

Cloud in a Bottle

What you need:

One liter clear plastic bottle + cap
Foot pump with rubber stopper attached
Rubbing alcohol
Safety glasses

While wearing safety glasses, put just enough rubbing alcohol in the bottle to cover the bottom and swirl it around. Put the rubber stopper on. Pump the foot pump 5 times being sure to hold the stopper tight to the bottle. Then pull out the stopper and you will see a faint "poof" of a cloud. If it's very faint, that means there wasn't enough pressure. Repeat the experiment pumping 10 times this time, still holding the stopper tight to the bottle. This time the cloud should be more visible but you may wish to repeat again with 15-20 pumps, still holding the stopper tight to the bottle. Then after removing the stopper you should see a good cloud.

What's happening?

By pumping the bottle with pressure, you are forcing the water molecules to compress. When the pressure is released, the molecules expand and cool the air. The cooler air allows the molecules to condense and form tiny water droplets.

You can watch Steve Spangler do the experiment and explain it on this video and you can read about the experiment here.

Lucky Science: Potatoes

2011-03-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

Few things are as synonymous with Ireland as the potato. They're a staple in most kitchens and they can also be a great learning tool.

What you need:

Potato (the older the better). Look for one that's already started sprouting or has several eyes (bumps that show where the potato is about to sprout).
4 toothpicks
Wide-mouthed watertight container. (Choose a clear glass jar so your children can spot the first rootlets growing.)

Sometimes potatoes from the supermarket have been sprayed with a substance to keep them from sprouting. Scrub your potato well to make sure it will sprout.

Stick four toothpicks around the middle of the potato. The toothpicks should be placed equal distance around the potato, like the spikes of a bicycle wheel. The toothpicks will act as the supports you need to suspend the potato on the rim of the jar.

Fill the jar with enough water so that the bottom third of the potato is submerged. There need to be some eyes beneath the water.

photo source

Place the jar in a sunny spot and wait.

As days pass, change or add water as needed. Don't let the water get cloudy.

In a few days, you'll notice white, stringy roots starting to grow from the bottom of the potato. In two or three weeks, stems and leaves will sprout from the top. Remember to keep the potato watered.

Potato sprouts grow quickly, but they're also fragile. Consider giving your vines a stake or trellis to climb.

photo source

Help your child observe and record the changes in the potato over time. Measure the length of the vines and count the number of leaves.

Move your potato to a larger jar if it becomes too big for its first home. After about a month, you can transfer it to a small pot and watch it grow even more.

A sweet potato has lovely purpley leaves and can be sprouted using the same method.

Caution: potatoes belong to the same family as nightshade and their leaves are poisonous. Keep young children well away from this experiment!

Lucky Science: Green Carnations

2011-03-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

This experiment is a fun way to show where water goes when a plant is watered and by using green food coloring you will end up with fun green flowers for your St. Patrick's Day table.

Photo source

Green Carnations

What you need:

carnation
plastic cup
food coloring (green for this one, but you can use any color)
knife (an adult should use this)
water

Fill the plastic cup half way full with water and add 20-30 drops of food coloring. Have an adult make a fresh cut on the flower stem before placing the flower in the cup.

What's Happening:

Plants use their roots to "drink" water from soil. Even after a flower has been cut and no longer has roots, it uses its stem to suck up water for the flower and leaves. As water evaporates from the flowers and leaves, more water is sucked up through the stem, almost like a straw. The colored water doesn't hurt the flower, but allows us to see how the water moves through the plant.

You can read more about the experiment and ideas for further experimentation on Steve Spangler's website.

Lucky Science: Irish Harp

2011-03-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Ireland is unique in having a musical instrument as its national emblem. You'll find the Irish harp adorning the coat of arms, seal, and on the Irish euro coin.

An Irish harp (or Clarsach if you're feeling Gaelic!) is distinguished by its triangular frame. Originally it was strung with brass wire, but modern versions generally use strings.

If you're not too particular about the shape, you can make your own harp and experiment with a little science in the process!

Here's what you need:

box, pan, or bin without a lid
three or more rubber bands of different thicknesses

Set up some boundaries for safely using rubber bands (you know the little darlings are just itching to flick them at someone!). Stretch the rubber bands across the open shoe box. Space them so they aren't touching.

photo credit: learningideas

Now strum or pluck the bands. Compare pitches of different rubber bands. Try pushing your finger on the end of a band to stretch it tighter. Then pluck the rubber band with your other hand. Listen for how the sound changes.

photo credit: unplug your kids

Ask questions about the sound that is produced from the fat rubber bands and the thin ones. How does the sound change when you increase the tension? Can you arrange the rubber bands so you can play a tune?

What is happening:

Tight rubber bands produce higher pitches.

Thin rubber bands produce higher pitches.

The longer and looser the rubber band, the lower the pitch.

Musical instruments, such as a harp, make sounds when the strings vibrate the air. Sound waves travel through the air like ripples across a pond. High sounds make waves that are close together. Low sounds make waves that are further apart.

Things that are tighter, shorter, thinner, and less dense make shorter sound waves (higher sounds). Things that are looser, longer, thicker, and denser make longer sound waves (lower sounds).

If rubber band harps strike a chord (pluck a chord?) with you, there are lots of different versions. You can use a speaker and go hi-tech.

source: sandoth.com

This book gives instructions for making your own Irish harp out of cardboard, wood, and string.

Your finished shoebox harp may not sound authentic, but with some help from kinderart.com, it can look more like the real deal.

Lucky Science: Milk Magic

2011-03-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

This week we're featuring some St. Patrick's day science experiments.

First up is the Milk Magic experiment featured on the lovely Kiasa's blog.

Milk Magic - Make Your Own Rainbow

Here's what you need:

whole milk
food coloring
liquid dish soap
q-tips
pie plate

Pour the milk into the pie plate just enough to completely cover the bottom. Let it settle for a minute. Put a drop (or two) of each color of food coloring into the milk, near the center (but not on top of each other). Dip the end of your q-tip into the liquid dish soap and put that right into the center of the milk. Hold it there and watch the magic. Younger kids will want to stir it, but encourage them to just hold the q-tip in one place. Or pick up the q-tip and place it in another part of the plate to see what happens.

What is happening:

The fat and protein molecules in the milk are very sensitive to change. When you add the soap to the milk the molecules go crazy and move around. By adding the food coloring we can actually see how these fats and proteins act when combined with soap.

Extreme experimentation:

What happens if you try it in water or low-fat milk?

Kiasa, thank you for sharing this experiment with us!

Math + Games -- Dice

2011-03-04T06:10:00.000-08:00

Besides number cards, dice are a must have in a math classroom! You can use these "random number generators" (I had a professor who called them that!) in limitless ways. Check out some of these sites for suggestions:

Reading is Fundamental

2011-03-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

I teach at a Title I school. That means a significant portion of the student body lives in poverty.
In the US, about 61% of low income families have NO books in their homes. Some people might believe that the book shortage is because I've hoarded them all, but that, regardless of what you've heard, is not true. I would happily share all my books. Well, most of my books. Okay, I would happily share some of my books. :)

The good news is that my students don't have to wait for my generosity before they get something to read. That's because we're part of the RIF program.

Reading is Fundamental (RIF) is the nation's largest children's literacy nonprofit. From the RIF website:

We prepare and motivate children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children and families who need them most...Planting seeds of inspiration in our nation’s most vulnerable children is what RIF and a network of more than 400,000 volunteers do.

Our school participates in the Books for Ownership Program (BFO). Thanks to a partnership with Nestle, we get to celebrate RIF days 3 times a year. And that means my kiddos get their own book to take home.

Part of the BFO guidelines is that every student has a choice of which new book they get to keep. If I have 25 kids in my class, I offer 28-30 books so even the last child gets a choice. Also, the order for choosing books must be randomly assigned. Coming up with different ways to choose kids, and keep with a theme, can be tricky! I'm sure somewhere there is a repository of fabulous RIF day ideas, but I have yet to come across it. Since some other teachers might be in the same boat, I thought I'd share some of what my class has done.

On our RIF days, we celebrate reading all afternoon. I usually leave book choosing as the grand finale. In November we had a "Devour a Good Book" theme. We shared which books are "delicious" to us and then participated in Scholastic's Classrooms Care challenge of reading 100 books. In keeping with the food theme, we read The Incredible Book Eating Boy and wrote out "recipes" for a good book. Then we ended the festivities by choosing an apple/number.

I die-cut a bunch of apples and wrote a number on each.

I had a small scallop punch handy, so I used it to take a "bite" out of the apples. The kids got a huge kick out of the idea that I'd eat paper apples!

Then I taped a string to the back of each. Because the kids would be pulling on these, I taped the strings, then folded it over and secured it with a 2nd piece of tape. That way no one could pull the string loose.

I put the apples in a little bushel basket that I had lying around and they each picked a string to pull on. It took some finagling to keep everything from knotting, but it worked out okay.

November 2009, our theme was "tackle a good book." I gave each child a picture of a football helmet and a jersey. They each got to choose their own "number." I kept a list on the board so no one did duplicates and so they could remember what they picked (you know how kids' memories are!).

At the end of the day, I gathered these and used a pocket chart to make a concentration game.

It didn't work out too well until I stopped having them turn the cards back over after their turn. Then things went much faster. When a helmet and jersey number were matched, the owner of that set got to choose his/her book.

Sometimes we play musical reading chairs. While the kids are out of the room, I write a number under each chair using an Expo dry erase marker. Then I have each child choose a book from the class library and move their chairs to sit in an outward-facing circle. They read in their chair for a few minutes. Then I ask them to put their books under their chairs and stand up. I play music and they walk around the circle musical chairs style. When the music stops they sit in a new spot and read someone else's book (no one is out). After a few rounds, books are returned and the children take their new chairs to their desks. Then they can check which number they have.
One year we had a beach theme and I let the kids bring towels from home to "lay-out" on while they read. They got to add a paper flower to their leis for each book they finished and as a class we read some fun oceany books like Bats at the Beach and Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach.

My very favorite RIF celebration is one I've done for a few years, "Books are Magic." We read a Shel Silverstein poem called Magic Carpet and talk about how not using your mind is as sad as having a real magic carpet but only using it as a rug. As a class we do a readers' theater about the magic of the library and read Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook. I give the kids time to read, but I interrupt them occasionally with the Whole New World song from Aladdin. Then we sit on our pretend magic carpet and fly to a new place. When we arrive I read them a story from a different place or even a fictional setting.

Before they choose their books, they pull a rabbit out of my magic hat. The dollar store had these magician hats recently and...are you ready for this?...THEY STORE FLAT! I was so excited that I did a happy dance! I can use it for this one thing a year, put in my file, and not have to worry about it for another 12 months!

I die-cut a bunch of white rabbits and use a white crayon to number them. Then I tucked them all in my hat's secret compartment. I had the kids say some magic words and--hey presto!--I've got a hat full of rabbits! I have the kids get a "magic marker" (dark colors work best) and color over their rabbit.

Abracadabra! Reading fun for everyone!

For more information about RIF or how you can donate to help these sweet little ones get excited about reading, check out the Reading is Fundamental website.

Read Across America and Dr. Seuss Day

2011-02-28T06:45:00.001-08:00

NEA’s Read Across America Day is an annual national reading celebration on March 2, which is Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Do you celebrate it at your school or at home?

It seems that there are a million great ideas out there for celebrating Read Across America Day with Dr. Seuss, so here is a round up of some of our favorite ideas.

Check out the 2011 NEA's Read Across America idea booklet. One of my favorite activity ideas is the "Seuss Spa." Using The Foot Book and The Tooth Book, teach about how it's important to take care of our bodies.
Make a class book about all the places one can read.
Match the State activity (idea from here): Create a clothesline or Bulletin Board with all of the Fifty States in ABC Order. Find a book that students LOVE to correspond with the beginning letter of each state. Read it and hang a child created book review with the corresponding state. For Example, California-Cat in the Hat; Iowa-If You Give a Mouse a Cookie; Virginia-Very Hungry Caterpilliar.
Silly Words: using some of Dr. Seuss's unique words as examples, students make up their own creative words and definitions (idea from here.)
Recommend a book: students share their favorite book and why they think others should read it.
There are, of course, lots of printable activities like coloring pages and word searches. These are great but hopefully if you celebrate it will involve lots of reading and activities first.
Check out this link to find out if there is a Read Across America event going on near you. If you live near a Micheal's store, they are having an event that day.
Do a Dr. Seuss author study. I love all of the ideas found here.
Obseussed is a cute blog full of Dr. Seuss themed ideas.

Do you have any plans for Read Across America Day?

Math + Games -- Cards

2011-02-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

ETA: the downloads are updated so they should be formatted correctly now. :)

I am a huge fan of using games to practice arithmetic. The students are motivated and engaged and practicing important skills in relevant settings and deepening their understanding by applying strategy and problem solving. It's really a win-win-win-win-win situation!

Most math games require either dice or cards. I must admit that number cards are some of the most used items in my classroom. You can use decks of playing cards or even UNO cards for math games, but I didn't want to store the larger size. Also, I color code each set of my cards so if something goes missing I know where it belongs. And I think having the ten-frame on each card helps the kiddos visualize what they're working with.

You can download a set of number cards here. There are numbers from 0-10 and Wilds. I print each set on a different color of cardstock and laminate. I can usually get about 3-4 years of classroom use out of a set of cards.

These cards can help you teach almost any arithmetic skill. Who wouldn't rather practice addition with a game than a worksheet?? We've already talked about two of our favorite math games here. But those don't even scratch the surface of possibility!

At the first SEP conference of the year, my grade level sends home a set of number cards and a packet of games. You can access the game list here. It includes instructions for 23 games (including our favorite Tens Go Fish).

The games are listed (roughly) from easy to difficult. Topics include addition, subtraction, place value, and multiplication.

So, what are you waiting for? Deal the cards!

We're linked up at Math Monday and ABC and 123.

Don't Forget!

2011-02-24T06:17:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder to sign up for this year's World Math Day! Over 2 million students are ready to go--don't be left behind!

Online Math Games

2011-02-23T06:23:00.000-08:00

You will never be a fluent reader if you always have to sound out "and," "the," "said." Some words you just have to know! Sight word practice can't be the sole focus of literacy instruction, but every good teacher will make some time for that practice.

Math facts are a lot like sight words in reading.

Math instruction is more than drilling number facts. But at the same time, computational fluency can't develop without mastering basic facts. If a student must use his fingers to add 6+7, then 456+987 is going to be slow going!

The bulk of my math instruction is on making meaning of numbers, but we also do some activities where the focus is on quick and accurate recall. Emily mentioned the Banana Split program I have a parent helper run. We also do races and tests and games.

One big wish, though is that I had more computer access. There are on-line games for every math topic. And while some sites are basically computerized worksheets where students see a problem and type a correct answer, there are loads of entertaining games. The reinforcement of immediate feedback is an incredibly valuable thing!

Here are a few of my favorite sites:

Brainpop Jr. (it's a subscription site, but some activities are free)
Cool Math
Math Playground
Fun Mathematics Lessons
Ambleside Primary
Eduscapes
BBC schools
Fun School
Primary Games
US Mint

What are your favorite math practice websites?

Printable Math Games

2011-02-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

We have a game in the shop that is perfect for teaching basic math facts. Banana Split Math Facts. As students pass off all the math facts in each level, they earn a piece of their Banana Split. When their sundae is complete, they get to enjoy a real Banana Split with all the toppings they earned. Our students LOVE this activity. We have designed it so parents can be in charge of quizzing the kids and helping them add to their sundae but you can run it anyway you like. I think it would be a fun activity for homeschoolers and moms to use at home as well.

World Math Day

2011-02-21T19:54:00.000-08:00

March 1, join more than 2 million students across the world who will celebrate World Math Day in a quest to set a new world record for answering math questions! If you're interested in participating (for free!), make sure to sign up before Feb. 28.

Questions come in five categories: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and simple equations. The website attempts to match players of similar ability levels. Results are shown immediately after each round.

Individuals and school classes can register. At our school, each class is assigned a 30 minute slot for a computer lab. That way each of the kids gets the chance to play a few rounds. They love racing kids around the world and I love that they're getting excited about math!

Barnes and Noble Online Storytime: Pinkalicious

2011-02-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

This month's online story offering from Barnes and Noble is Pinkalicious, a favorite! Be sure to stop by.

14 Days of Loves: Days 12-14

2011-02-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

Wow, we missed a couple of days there, didn't we? Rough weekend! But we're making it up to you because Day 14 is our favorite love of all: giving things away!

Here's a fun little "My Favorite Valentines" booklet where you little ones/students can choose their favorite valentines and share why they like them. You can download the booklet here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

14 Days of Love: Day 11

2011-02-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Remember how I like to have students recite the monthly poem aloud during transitions? Another thing I like to do is sing skip counting songs. Just like reciting the poems, the students know they should be to the carpet or in line before the song is over. It's also a good way to pass the time while lined up waiting to go to lunch or out to recess.

The skip counting songs I use:

2s to the tune of Yankee Doodle to 30 (and sometimes 50)
3s to the tune of Are You Sleeping? to 30
4s to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat to 40

14 Days of Loves: Day 10

2011-02-10T06:13:00.000-08:00

I don't like to broadcast this fact, but I have to admit that there are some times when I show my class a movie. You know, like the days I have a sub. Or [hypothetically] report cards are supposed to go home at the end of the day, but I'm not quite finished. You know what I mean...

...Anyway, my favorite thing to show my class are episodes of Between the Lions. The focus is on vowel sounds and word blending, which my 2nd graders need! Also, there's a ton of reading opportunities. A lot of the text is highlighted on the screen so kids can read along. And they do!

I think the earlier seasons are the best ones. It seems like the new episodes cut out a lot of the lion/puppet storyline, which is what makes for fun viewing. Also, the new episodes don't show the Monkey Pop-Up Theater, which is what makes me really smile!

14 Days of Loves: Day 9

2011-02-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

We already wrote once about the Secret Scrap, but it's definitely one of our favorite loves. Here's the re-post:

Heidi says: We were cutting a lot of papers for math the other day which, inevitably, left a blanket of confetti on the floor. It's those moment when I'd like to kiss the person that invented "secret scrap." I do it a little differently than Emily, so I'll let her chime in with her ideas below. In my class when we have a huge mess to clean in a hurry, I choose a bit of litter on the floor (as minuscule as possible) and announce that I've picked a "secret scrap." They immediately go crazy getting everything they can off the floor. The first few times we have a talk about what to do with things (like books) that obviously aren't garbage. If their little hands are starting to get full (and the floor is still dirty) I tell them that no one has found it and to dump their piles and keep looking. When the floor is clean or the scrap is found, I have them line up at the garbage so I can inspect their finds. I look at their piles until I find the person who found the right bit of litter. And if I sometimes don't really pick out an actual scrap and instead give the prize to someone who was working hard or could use a little happiness, well the kids don't know the difference!

Emily says: I do the routine in the same way except I don't want to look through the trash from the floor so I just tell them I'm watching them as they clean and I see who picks up the "secret scrap." I don't announce who picked it up until the floor is as clean as I want it. And, like Heidi, I often pick the person who worked the hardest to clean or who might need a pick-me-up.

14 Days of Loves: Day 8

2011-02-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

Fabric on bulletin boards is really kind of genius. It doesn't fade. It withstands a lot of wear and tear. And you can find such cute prints!

14 Days of Loves: Day 7

2011-02-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

My mom gave Heidi and I each a copy of The Tooth Fairy's Guide to Lost Teeth a few years ago for Christmas. It contains a small fortune for each day of the year. When my students would come in and eagerly tell me they lost a tooth, we would read their fortune (for the day it was lost) during morning meeting. It's a darling little book and was an easy to way to recognize the special moment for each lost tooth.

14 Days of Loves: Day 6

2011-02-06T15:32:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most serendipitous finds of my life! I use Popsicle sticks to choose students to answer questions, work with partners, take turns, etc. I think most teachers do something similar. I used to store my sticks in a can, but once upon a back-to-school I couldn't find the can. I had an empty index card box handy so I recruited that to my cause. Then there was no going back!
I love that the sticks lay horizontally so I can peek at who I'm picking. The lid is handy for holding already picked names. And once the lid is snapped shut, a few shakes mixes up the names really well.

I actually keep a box of sticks in the back of my room as well as near the board because I use them that often. It's just so handy!!

14 Days of Loves: Day 5

2011-02-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

At the end of the day, it's great to send your students home on a positive note. When the bell rings to go home, we all line up at the door. On their way out they can say goodbye to me with their choice: a hug, a handshake, or a high five. There are certain students that would give me a hug every single day no matter what. Some students like to shake it up with something different every day. Some think they're too cool for anything except a high five. Whatever they choose, it's a chance for me to connect directly to each of them every afternoon.

14 Days of Loves: Day 4

2011-02-04T06:06:00.000-08:00

We do Words Their Way word sorts everyday. One of the biggest obstacles in implementing this was storing each student's set of 20+ words. Bags and envelopes just end up thrashed and words become floor confetti.

Enter the zipper pocket.

I found them at a back-to-school sale, but even at a discount they were $1 each. The cost almost scared me off, but they've proven to be worth 5 times that!

I've had this class set for several years and they still look really good. They take a lot of abuse and still come through. Yay for zipper pockets!

14 Days of Loves: Day 3

2011-02-03T10:45:00.000-08:00

Photo credit: Patouche

When Heidi and I changed our classroom themes to a pirate theme, I wanted a new pirate-themed attention-getter. This is what I settled on.

Teacher: All hands on deck!
Students (while saluting): Aye, Aye, Captain!

The kids were totally gaga for it. It's hands down the best attention-getter I have ever used. I thought they'd tire of it as the year went on but they always loved it. The other 2nd grade classes heard us doing it and when it was my turn to have another class for rotations, I could use the attention-getter and they knew what to do from hearing us do it!

The added bonus of this attention-getter is they have to empty their hands (of scissors, pencil, book, etc.) in order to salute so it really helps them focus their attention on you, and not what they were doing.

All hands on deck!

14 Days of Loves: Day 2

2011-02-02T06:15:00.000-08:00

The Desk Fairy has recently come to live in my classroom and I have to admit that I love her.

The kids rush in to find out who she's visited each morning. And, even better, they are actually trying to keep their desks clean. Me + The Desk Fairy = True Love!!

Simply Utah

2011-02-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

Today Heidi and I are being spotlighted on the blog Simply Utah. You can head over there to read a little bit about us and pick up an awesome coupon code, good only for today!

14 Days of Loves: Day 1

2011-02-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

Until Valentine's Day, Heidi and I will be sharing one of our teacher "loves" with you each day.

First up, whiteboard paper!

I was first introduced to this amazing product by a coworker. My coworker used it to make little whiteboards for the students to keep in their desks for interactive lessons. I loved using it for organizing. One of my favorite places to use it was for reading groups. I had a grid on one of my cupboards where reading groups were organized and their assignments posted. It was easy to change each morning and each time I reorganized groups. It has a bunch of practical uses.

ETA: I just discovered that I already blogged about this, almost 2 years ago! Completely forgot about that. You can read the other post

here.

Freebie Valentine Game: Heart to Heart

2011-01-21T14:00:00.000-08:00

Just in case you haven't noticed this freebie listed on our sidebar from last year I wanted to remind you about our darling freebie Valentine game: Heart to Heart. It's a simple and colorful matching game that your little ones are sure to fall in love with! ;)

Linked up at ABC & 123

Freebie Printable Valentines

2011-01-20T06:26:00.000-08:00

Did you love Valentines Day as a kid? I remember how exciting it was to pick out Valentines and then carefully selecting who would get which card. Oh it was such fun!

Here are some free printable valentines for your little loves.

Download robot valentines here.

Download cupcake valentines here.

Linked up at ABC and 123, Somewhat Simple, and Kojo Designs.

2011 Caldecott Award Winner

2011-01-11T01:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the ALA announced the 2011 Youth Media Award Winners. I was especially excited to hear the winner for the Caldecott Medal: "A Sick Day for Amos McGee." Unfortunately, I haven't yet read it though it's been on my Amazon wishlist for a couple months.

The illustrations are completely charming. Don't you want to rush right out and get it?

The Caldecott Honor books are "Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave" and "Interrupting Chicken." Have you read any of the award winners? What do you think?

And Tomie dePaola won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award- much deserved!

Barnes and Noble Online Storytime: Strega Nona

2011-01-07T05:13:00.000-08:00

Barnes and Noble has a great monthly feature called Online Storytime. Each month they showcase a book. This month it's Strega Nona, read by Tomie dePaola with pictures!

Some past stories include: The Mitten, Olivia, and Where The Wild Things Are.

Check it out with your little readers.

ABC Alphabet Soup Treasury on Etsy

2011-01-06T10:13:00.000-08:00

Check out this awesome Alphabet treasury on Etsy right now featuring our Alphabet Games Set 1! We found some new favorites.

A New Years Deal

2010-12-29T10:43:00.000-08:00

Well, we sort of fell of the "December Book-a-Day" bandwagon, didn't we? We had such good intentions but underestimated the amount of items on our holiday to do lists! But we hope you enjoyed the books and activities we did get a chance to share.

And good news, we're offering a great deal on our products through the new year. Head over to our facebook page to pick up the code! If you're not already a fan, "like" us to get the latest updates and deals.

We'll be back in January with lots of new ideas and activities to share with you.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

December Book-a-Day 22: It's Christmas, David!

2010-12-22T06:02:00.000-08:00

Book

David's at it again in It's Christmas, David! This time he's trying to peek at presents and steal cookies. And of course we'll find nakey David running down the street again, this time in boots and mittens! Be warned if you intend to read this to a school class that David also discovers the fun of writing his name in the snow- with urine. But it's a laugh out loud read with hilarious illustrations and I'm betting your little ones will get a kick out of it.

Activity

Make a David ornament. Templates and examples from Scholastic.

December Book-a-Day 21: The Polar Express

2010-12-21T07:57:00.000-08:00

For the first time since I was a student, I'm enjoying a snow day. Although today would be my last pick for a snow day. I have Christmas presents to give the kids and we didn't get to wrap up any of our Christmas activities. No Christmas tree crafts, no gingerbread cookies. :( And today we were going to read The Polar Express!

Book

I'm not a huge fan of the movie, but I do love this book. Chris Van Allsburg's illustrations create such a magical world!
On the publisher's website you can find a slew of activities, including a Christmas count-down. Click on the picture for the day and you can download a little book related activity.

December Book-a-Day 20: Mortimer's Christmas Manger

2010-12-20T05:42:00.000-08:00

I absolutely adore little Mortimer but I love him even more after reading Karma Wilson's quote about how she was inspired to write this book. "I was having a bad night. Very bad. I felt alone and small and scared. It occurred me that I wanted to contribute a story of hope and joy to the children—a light to shine in dark times. So I prayed to God to give me a story. I asked for a story that would convince me and others that He loves us and hears us no matter how small or insignificant we feel. Mortimer came along that night. I feel this spunky, little mouse is the answer to my prayer."

Book

Mortimer the mouse is tired of living under the stairs and takes off in the house to find a nicer place to sleep. He's delighted to find a little bed just his size in the family Christmas decorations: the Christmas manger! But after hearing the family share the special story of the Nativity, Mortimer realizes his manager already belongs to somebody very important. But not to worry, he will still find a home of his very own. Mortimer's Christmas Manger is a story sure to fill your heart with the Christmas spirit.

Activity

Make a little manger (just Mortimer's size!) out of a toilet paper tube. Find the directions here. If you're feeling really ambitious there's directions here for making the entire creche!

Totally Tots also has a bunch of nativity themed activities that would be fun for preschoolers to do.

December Book-a-Day 19: Humphrey's First Christmas

2010-12-19T16:39:00.001-08:00

I was infatuated by the cover of this book, but by the time I'd finished reading it was true love.

Book

If you ever spent any amount of time in the company of camels, they're quick to let you know how cantankerous they are. Humphrey is no different. He's lost his blanket and is rather indignant to be the only one left out in the cold. It's lucky, then, that his master gets him a new one. When he reaches his destination, he's so overcome by wonder that he gives his new blanket to the baby Jesus.

As you can probably surmise, this isn't a classroom book, but if you have little ones at home Humphrey's First Christmas is an entertaining and endearing way to focus on the true meaning of the season.

Activity

You can find all sorts of camel related crafts on artistshelpingchildren.org. Who knew there were so many ways to make your own camel! My preference is to the easier cut-and-fold variety of project.

You could even use a scrap of fabric to give your chilly camel his own blanket. And if you scale the project right, your camel could take his blanket as a gift to your household manger scene.

December Book-a-Day 18: Snowmen at Christmas

2010-12-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

Buried in a winter wonderland, yet? It hasn't been too bad in Utah, but there is definitely enough snow for a snow man.
Book

Snowmen at Christmas tackles the deep question: how do snowmen celebrate the holiday? Like the original Snowmen at Night, Carlayn and Mark Buehner (from Utah!) give us a little peak at the goings on of our icy friends.

Activity

To make your snow people look a little more like their storybook counterparts, add some rosy cheeks! Martha Stewart shares the tip of using a spray bottle and some red food coloring. Although, I imagine if children are doing this you'll end up with sunburned snowmen at the end!

December Book-a-Day 17: Olive, the Other Reindeer

2010-12-17T05:56:00.000-08:00

Olive, the Other Reindeer is one of my favorite Christmas books for the sweet story and darling illustrations. My students always got such a kick out of the pun in the title. Did you know there's a pop up edition and an Olive the Other Reindeer pop-up advent calendar? So cute!

Book

While listening to "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" on the radio, poor Olive gets confused by the line, "All of the other reindeer..." and decides she must be a reindeer rather than a dog! She makes her way to the North Pole to offer her assistance to Santa. But she ends up saving the day when Santa's bag gets a hole, dropping presents and candy that only Olive is able to find. What a helpful reindeer, er- dog!

Activity

Here's a quick and easy Christmas craft that won't take all day to finish. Candy Cane Reindeer.

December Book-a-Day 16: Llama Llama Holiday Drama

2010-12-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

My students (and perhaps their teacher) have reached the point of December where they're tired of all the hustle and bustle of preparing and are ready to do some celebrating. I think we could all use a little Christmas break. Little Llama can sympathize...

Book

Llama Lllama Holiday Drama is the newest of the Llama Llama books. There are only so many shopping trips, wrapping sessions, and decorating tasks poor little Llama can endure until it's just too much!

This isn't the best of the Llama books, but it still makes a fun holiday read. I'm sure most little ones feel the same frustration at some point during the Christmas madness! After all, how many stores should a kid be expected to visit without having some sort of melt down?

Activity

Couldn't we all use a holiday time-out right about now? Curl up with a good book or two and enjoy a pleasantly low-key Christmas moment.

I feel calmer just thinking about it!

December Book-a-Day 15: The Legend of the Poinsettia

2010-12-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

Book

The Legend of the Poinsettia is one of Tomie dePaolo's wonderful Christmas stories. This description from Booklist tells the story better than I can. "In this legend from Mexico, a little girl, Lucinda, is proud to help her mother weave a new blanket for the Baby Jesus to be used in a Christmas procession. But when Lucinda's mother takes ill, Lucinda tangles the yarn and is unable to complete the blanket. Feeling she has ruined Christmas, Lucinda is reluctant to go to the procession until a mysterious old woman appears from the shadows and tells Lucinda, "Any gift is beautiful because it is given. Whatever you give, the Baby Jesus will love because it comes from you." Nervously, Lucinda grabs an armful of weeds, which she brings into the church. As she prays, the weeds open into dazzling red flowers that decorate the altar."

Activity

Make a paper poinsettia using these directions.

December Book-a-Day 14: A Merry Little Christmas

2010-12-14T07:01:00.000-08:00

Book

In her iconic style, Mary Engelbreit gives us A Merry Little Christmas. It's a rhyming account of the little mouse family's Christmas preparations--from A to Z. The illustrations are full of colorful details. It's a cheery holiday read!

Activity

List letters from A-Z on a sheet of paper. Can you think of your own Christmas related word that fits each letter? Or print out this coloring sheet that doubles as an advent calendar. Color a letter each day until the big day arrives.

December Book-a-Day 13: Reindeer Christmas

2010-12-13T04:57:00.000-08:00

Book

Reindeer Christmas tells the store of a cold December night when two young children and their grandmother stumble across a tired, lost deer in the forest. They bring the deer home to feed and take care of it. In the morning the deer is gone before they wake. On Christmas morning they find a note from Santa thanking them for taking care of one of his lost reindeer and subsequently saving Christmas! Santa's note accompanies a present: magic reindeer glow which will grant one special wish.

Activity

Make Reindeer Food. When sprinkled on your lawn, the smell of the oatmeal and the glow of the glitter will guide Santa's reindeer to your house on Christmas Eve.

December Book-a-Day 12: When Santa Lost his Ho! Ho! Ho!

2010-12-12T22:49:00.000-08:00

Book

When Santa Lost his Ho! Ho! Ho! Poor Santa has lots his laugh and the North Pole is frantically trying every possible remedy to find it. But nothing they try makes works to make Santa laugh again. Children all over the world send Santa their funniest pictures and luckily little Holly's photo is just what Santa needs to find his Ho! Ho! Ho!

Activity

Write Santa a letter with ideas for finding his Ho! Ho! Ho!

December Book-a-Day 11: The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet

2010-12-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

The story of the Nutcracker is a ubiquitous, but delightful, part of December.

Book

The original book, published by E.T.A. Hoffmann in 1816, is much darker than the familiar ballet. There are curses to break, a seven-headed mouse king to defeat, nightmares, and extortion. The ballet follows the basic outline of the book's plot, but leaves out much of the disturbing back story.

Several picture books retell the friendlier and more popular Tchaikovsky ballet version. My grandmother gave me a copy of Deborah Hautzig's book in the 80s--my first introduction to the Nutcracker.

I loved reading it as a little girl, and I love reading it to my class every year. While there are many other retellings available this is my favorite for two reasons:
1) the text is brief! There's nothing worse than trying to do a read-aloud with a wordy book!
2) Diane Goode's illustrations are delightful marzipan confections.

Activity

One of my favorite post-reading activities is to have the kids dance!

Years ago, I came across a creative dance lesson using the Waltz of the Snowflakes music. I don't remember the source and no search engines have been able to help me track it down. You can download a copy of it here and if you happen to know the original author, please let me know!

December Book-a-Day 10: The Jolly Christmas Postman

2010-12-10T03:38:00.000-08:00

This is a book we love to use in our Christmas Around the World celebrations when we talk about England, where the tradition of Christmas cards began.

Book

In The Jolly Christmas Postman, the Postman is out on his bicycle delivering Christmas cards. First stop Baby Bear who receives a card from Goldilocks. Next a "hazardous board game" card from Mr. Wolf for Red Riding Hood. Then a jigsaw puzzle is delivered to Humpty Dumpty in the hospital. On the Postman continues until his last stop where he delivers many children's letters to the home of Santa and Mrs. Claus. And what a treat, they have a postcard for the Postman himself! The illustrations are charming and your kids are sure to love the large postcards and letters that come out of the envelopes throughout the book. The rhyming text makes for an especially enjoyable read-aloud.

Activity

Let your little ones send out some Christmas cards or postcards of their own to some special loved ones. They could easily design one themselves or use one of the free printable ones from here.

December Book-a-Day 9: Russell's Christmas Magic

2010-12-09T06:03:00.000-08:00

If, like me, you think some of the best parts of Christmas are lights and glitter, then this book is for you!

Book
Russell's Christmas Magic tells how the little sheep helps Santa when his sleigh is wrecked. The story is sweet, but it's the illustrations that really shine!

This might be the most well-lit story I know!

Afterward, try the activity from teachertreasures.com. Have students brainstorm a list of things that shine at Christmas. Add some adjectives and you've got electric poetry!

December Book-a-Day 8: I'll Be Home For Christmas (Toot & Puddle)

2010-12-08T05:33:00.000-08:00

Do you know Toot and Puddle? They are two of the most lovable storybook characters you'll ever meet. If the story isn't darling enough, Holly Hobbie's intricate and witty illustrations will leave you smiling.

Book

In I'll Be Home For Christmas, Toot is out traveling the world while Puddle is preparing for Christmas at home in Woodcock Pocket. No matter what winter weather may try to delay him, Toot is determined to return home to his buddy in time for Christmas. It's the Toot's lucky nut, given to him by his aunt in Scotland, that helps save the day in the end.

Activity

A fun craft to go along with this book is making Good Fortune Walnuts. It is a Victorian tradition to hang gilded walnuts containing fortunes on the tree.

December Book-a-Day 7: Who'll Pull Santa's Sleigh

2010-12-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

Santa's reindeer are sick! With Christmas Eve right around the corner, what's a jolly old elf to do? Audition some replacements, of course!

Book

Who'll Pull Santa's Sleigh Tonight by Laura Rader is a great book to use with a discussion of problem and solution. Santa's balloon sleigh caused quite a few giggles with my class and they were full of suggestions to solve Santa's problem. They loved seeing the would-be helpers. In the story, Mrs. Claus eventually comes up with the perfect reindeer cure: hot cocoa.

I can't think about hot chocolate without craving a warm mug full! Of course, that's not going to work since I should be headed to bed, but why not fix some for yourself?

Hot Chocolate

I'm sure Alton Brown has hot chocolate down to a science, but these days I'm jonesing for the snickerdoodle kind. I'm so addicted that I happily drive to the divey coffee shop next to the Greyhound station so I can get my fix. :) I've tried making cinnamon hot chocolate (aka Mexican hot chocolate) at home, but it DOES NOT come out right. I quick perusal of Google's resources makes me think that the key is to use a cinnamon stick since ground cinnamon leaves behind a powdery pile. I may have to give this recipe a try.
If cinnamon HC doesn't ring your bell, this site has 25 hot chocolate tips. One of them is bound to tickle your sweet tooth!
Happy drinking!

December Book-a-Day 6: The Sweet Smell of Christmas

2010-12-06T04:10:00.000-08:00

If I had to choose one Christmas book from my childhood as the absolute favorite it would have to be The Sweet Smell of Christmas. I have a new copy but I still have the original copy from our childhood. The little scratch and sniff stickers are scratched almost all the way down. When I read it to my students I let a few students come up to sniff each sticker so they each get a chance to smell one. They get so excited and always say "Mmmmm!" after their turn. I can still smell the pine tree smell from the Christmas tree page!

Book

The Sweet Smell of Christmas tells the sweet, simple story of Little Bear and his family as they anticipate Christmas. As they make their preparations, Little Bear knows that the holiday is fast approaching by the sweet scents he smells around him: gingerbread cookies, candy canes, hot chocolate, pine trees and even a Christmas orange.

Activity

The holiday season is rich with delicious scents. One activity that smells delicious and will be easy for your little ones today is making a pomander from an orange and cloves.

December Book-a-Day 5: The Baker's Dozen

2010-12-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

Saint Nicholas Day is tomorrow, December 6th. In our family we are visited by Sinterklaas (from the Netherlands) on the night of December 5th. We eat a yummy Dutch dinner and leave our shoes out for a little treat! This book would be especially wonderful to read today or tomorrow if you celebrate Saint Nicholas Day.

Book

The Baker's Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale tells the old legend of an honest baker, Van Amsterdam who always gives his customers what they pay for, "No more, no less." That is until he is visited by an old woman who teaches him a lesson in generosity. With Saint Nicholas' help, the Baker will change his ways and so is born the tradition of the "baker's dozen."

The author has a version of this story as a reader's theater available on his site.

Activity

Having just made Christmas cookies yesterday, this would be the perfect opportunity to teach your children charity by sharing your delicious treats with friends or neighbors or someone who may be in need of some Christmas cheer.
Or try a craft or activity from the St. Nicholas Center. My favorite are the vintage Belgian illustrations that kids can color and cut out.

December Book-a-Day 4: Christmas Cookies

2010-12-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

Book

Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holiday Lessons is a particularly darling holiday read. The illustrations by Jane Dyer are so very tender. Each page shares a word like "perseverance" (great vocabulary activity!) and the meaning learned from baking Christmas cookies: "We tried and tried and tried, and finally we made the perfect non-burned batch." You will love this book and the sweet lessons for your little ones.

Activity

It goes without saying that when you read this book you MUST make Christmas Cookies! There is a simple Sugar Cookie recipe at the end of the book or here is another yummy recipe.

December Book-a-Day 3: Christmas (Robert Sabuda)

2010-12-03T04:21:00.000-08:00

Robert Sabuda has gorgeous pop-up books that your children are sure to love. He has several Christmas books that you will definitely want to see.

Book

Christmas is a mini pop up book spelling out the word Christmas in an acrostic poem style. C stands for Candle, etc. My favorite is S snowflake.

The last letter is S for Santa.

Activity

On Robert Sabuda's website you can print out your own easy to make Santa pop up. Check it out!

December Book-a-Day 2: Gingerbread Baby

2010-12-02T04:09:00.000-08:00

Each day in December we will be sharing one of our favorite Christmas storybooks and an activity to go along.

Book

If you are not familiar with Jan Brett's beautiful children's books, then you are missing out. Gingerbread Baby is one of my favorites. The illustrations are so detailed and exquisite. My favorite part of the illustrations are the gingerbread cutouts on the sides of the page that show a little snippet of another part of the story. Although not specifically a Christmas book, Gingerbread Baby is one of my favorites to read in December.

I am the Gingerbread Baby
Fresh from the pan.
If you want me,
Catch me if you can!

Little Matti was making a gingerbread boy with his mother and made the mistake of peeking in the oven before the gingerbread boy was finished cooking. Out popped the gingerbread baby and away he ran! He runs through the town as animals and villagers join in to try to catch him. He's a spunky little guy who isn't too shy to boast about outsmarting them all. But he finally is outsmarted when he's lured into a little gingerbread house by Matti.

Activity

Jan Brett has a really fantastic website full of wonderful ideas to go along with her many books. There are many ideas for Gingerbread Baby but I think the obvious, and most fun, would be making gingerbread babies!

She shares a recipe for the gingerbread babies here and a recipe for the icing here. You can even watch a video her making gingerbread babies!

We're linked up at ABC and 123 Show and Tell

December Book-a-Day 1: Counting To Christmas

2010-12-01T19:49:00.000-08:00

Each day in December we will be sharing one of our favorite Christmas storybooks and an activity to go along.

Book

Counting to Christmas by Nancy Tafuri appealed to me because of the pictures. The text is very brief: "Days 1, 2, and 3 I paint, cut, and paste." But the bright pictures are enchanting!

The story details a young girl's December preparations leading up to Christmas. At the end of the book we see how everything she's been working on ties into her Christmas celebration. The peek of a passing Santa gets my students very excited!

From the Library School Journal:

This special book is about the love and spirit of the season, and successfully demonstrates how to celebrate Christmas without the overwhelming commercialism so often associated with it.

Activity

In the back of this book, you'll find instructions for making the girl's Christmas crafts. Why not give one a try? There are popcorn strings and Christmas cards and everyone's favorite pine cone/peanut butter bird feeders!

We're linked up at Tot Tuesdays.

Happy December!

2010-12-01T11:25:00.000-08:00

It's December already?? We apologize for the unscheduled blog break but we're back with lots of fun ideas for the month ahead. We're cooking up something really fun and you'll want to check back later tonight to see it.

In the meantime, I found some really fun online activities from Jenny B. Harris for your little ones to enjoy.

The first is Christmas Zoe, a darling little dolly that you can dress up anyway you like.

The second is a sweet Gingerbread House you can decorate with a bunch of different candies. It's much less mess and stress than the real thing!

Enjoy!

Black Friday/ Cyber Monday Deal

2010-11-26T11:28:00.000-08:00

Check out our Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal we have going on in the shop this weekend: enjoy 50% off everything in the shop! Just enter code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout on etsy and you will receive a 50% discount on everything you purchase from us. Coupon code expires Monday, November 29th at 11:59 MST.

Just a little Merry Christmas from us to you!

Wednesday Words-- Synonym Turkeys

2010-11-24T09:54:00.001-08:00

The third grade at my school does Synonym Turkeys every year. The students choose a word and write it on the turkeys' bodies.

Then they look up their words in the thesaurus and write synonyms on the feathers (sometimes with correct spelling, sometimes without. :) )

My favorite was this one from a horse crazy little girl:

Toddler Tuesday: I Am Thankful for My Family

2010-11-23T05:22:00.000-08:00

If you ask a toddler who their favorite person is, their answer is bound to be a member of their family: dad, grandma, big brother. Thanksgiving is a great time to teach toddlers about being thankful for their family members.

Everybody in the family is special! Model your thinking to help toddlers recognize why they are thankful for their family. "I am thankful for Mom because she takes care of everyone and is good at playing legos." or "I am thankful for Grandpa because he reads us stories and takes us fishing."

And of course, "I am thankful for YOU because you help your sister play with her toys."

I made some finger puppets you can use for teaching about being thankful for family. Download the finger puppets here. I left them black and white for your toddler to enjoy coloring. You may need to print several copies to have enough of each person in your family.

You can use these finger puppets for a many activities. You can sing songs, do finger plays, or tell stories with the finger puppets. Or your toddler can wear them as they describe their family members and why they are grateful for each of them. Enjoy!

We're linked up at Tot Tuesdays.

Math Monday--Questions

2010-11-22T20:15:00.000-08:00

Instead of math journals, in my class I have the students write me "postcards." I tell them that when you're someplace special you send other people postcards to tell them how great it is. Since I can't visit inside their heads, they have to send me a postcard to tell me what's going on.

I write the prompt on the board and answer brief questions about it. Then I hand them all an index card and insist they write for a few minutes. The trick is keeping them all writing for the whole time!

After the timer beeps, they can "mail" me the postcard in a little mailbox I got in the Target Dollar Spot around Valentine's Day last year. Of course every single one of them has to put the flag up!

The best source of math questions that I've found is from the book Good Questions for Math Teaching. The title pretty much says it all. :)

I don't know that it's worth the original $24.95, but Amazon has it for about $13 and I definitely get $13 worth out of it! I like that the questions are open-ended. I like that they challenge my high kids, but are accessible for my strugglers. But most of all, I like that I don't have to think of my own prompts!

For example:

On a graph about pets owned by children in our class, I counted more dogs than cats. What might the graph look like?

Last week I had the kids answer ___ + ___ + ___ = 13 and asked them to find as many numbers as they could that fit the number sentence.

It was a good assessment for me to see which students recognized the different ways to decompose 13, which students could use patterns to build their answers, and which students still had no clue what was going on.

We're linked up at Math Monday.

Giveaway on Facebook

2010-11-22T15:23:00.000-08:00

Baby Makin(g) Machine is hosting a "flash" giveaway today. Head over to her facebook page and you can comment to win a $20 gift certificate from us! The contest ends in 24 hours. Be sure to look at the other posts on her facebook page to win giveaways from other companies as well. Good luck!

Monday Math will be coming later today, so check back this evening!

Freebie Friday--Turkey Bookmark

2010-11-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Howdy! If you're lookin' for a fun Thanksgiving craft to do with the kiddos, we've got you covered! I thought a bookmark would be a fun holiday/reading/art connection. It was supposed to be a simple little coloring activity, but it morphed into something a bit more involved.

I've done it with 4/5 of the second grade classes so far and they've all loved it. I think that counts as a thumbs up! They've all been so creative. From your traditional turkey tom...

...to the harvest colored birds...

...to the rainbow fantastic!
And now you can own your very own turkey bookmark pattern! I know you've spent years dreaming of this day, and now it's finally here!! :)

Download the black and white template here.
If you're not in the mood to color, you can get a colorful version as well.

If you try it out, we'd love to see pictures!!

We're linked up at ABC and 123 Show and Tell.