1-2-3 Come Do Some Counting Activities With Me

One of the reasons I decided to do “Diane’s Dollar Deals” is because I love the feeling I get when I go into The Dollar Store and find all sorts of goodies for my classroom for just a dollar.

I excitedly pick something up and say “I can’t believe this is only a dollar!” then happily drop whatever in my cart.

I’m hoping to give you that same feeling when you purchase one of my dollar deals.
They’re still the same high quality as my other “stuff”, but only a dollar.

* This 52-page number fun packet is my newest Dollar Deal creation and includes a set of large, colorful posters, as well as a smaller set with 2-on-a-page.
Use them as anchor charts, a border, bulletin board or flashcards using them as an easy way to whole group assess too.

Print an extra set to use for an independent math center.
Students can sequence the cards or sort them into odd & even piles.

You could also make an additional set, cut in half or in quarters for a puzzle center as well.

* I love when “stuff” matches in my room, so I made a set of little cards perfect for sequencing, sorting, or playing Memory Match or “I Have; Who Has?” games.

* The black and white “color me” booklet also matches.
Students color the picture, then trace & write the numbers and number words, then circle the number in the sequence.

There are covers so that you can make a counting booklet from 0-10 or 0-20. You could also make two separate booklets for each set.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I love having a little workbook for my students.

It’s an easy-peasy Friday for me when students do a page in their various workbooks once a week. Everything’s kept in a folder which keeps things neat and organized.

Little workbooks are perfect for conferences, showing what we’re working on as well as improvement. Then at the end of the year, kiddos take home their folder and have a wonderful keepsake. 

Today's featured FREEBIE is an apple math mat.  There's addition on the front, and subtraction on the back.  You can also show greater & less than equations.

The dice and manipulatives make things extra fun. Once you make a set, you'll have a super-fun math center you can use for years. 

Well that's it for now.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Two of my 9 grandchildren are coming over today, so it's time to put my Nana hat on and get ready for a fun-filled day. 

Wishing you one as well.  Filled with lots of hugs and giggles.

"Children are a living message sent to a time we will not see." - Neil Postman

Smooth Sailing

There’s nothing like a game to get students interested in learning.

I try to incorporate several subjects when I design a game so I get more “bang for my time-buck” so to speak.

Smooth Sailing does just that.

It involves the science of weather and the math concept of skip counting + those valuable life skills children learn when they play games with other classmates and learn patience and cooperation etc.

4 different game boards have students skip count by 2's, 3's, or 5's.

I’ve also included a board for counting by 1’s for younger students.

The object of the game, is to get a sailboat safely through the various weather to the port.

There are 24 different sailboats to choose from, directions for the various games and 2 certificates of praise.

Encourage older students to skip count as they move their sailboats around the board.

Laminate the game boards so you can use them each year, or run them off so students can trace the skip counted numbers, take the board home and play with their families to reinforce lessons.

Click on the link to view/download Smooth Sailing Weather-Skip Counting Science-Math Game

Happy sailing!

Be sure and pop in tomorrow for some more teaching tips!

President's Day Games & Activities

A quick and easy center for your students on President’s Day is to make an Itty Bitty Alphabet or Counting booklet.

Students trace the upper and lowercase letters, cut them out and sequence them.

My Y5’s always enjoyed taking these “just the right-size” booklets home to share with their families, which helped reinforce the lessons that they learned.

They also liked collecting all of the different little booklets each month.

Make extra sets for in class.  Run the uppercase letters off on a DIFFERENT color from the lowercase ones and laminate them so that you can play Memory Match games.

I find that if you differentiate the sets via color, you make it less frustrating for little ones to play memory games and they don’t take an inordinate amount of time either.

You can also distribute the cards an play “I Have…Who Has?”

Click on the link to view/download the President’s Day Alphabet cards.

Besides these traceable word cards, I help my students learn letters by making up Bingo songs.

The Bingo song is a great way to review the concept of subtraction and a clapping pattern as well + students LOVE singing.

What better way to review who the President and Vice President are of the United States than with this little song.

Print off the OBAMA and BIDEN bingo cards. Put magnet strip on the back and put them on your white board. Use them to sing the Bingo song.

Here are the words:

Obama is the president.

He is our Nation’s leader

O-B-A-M-A   O-B-A-M-A

O-B-A-M-A

He is the President.

Biden is the VP

He helps the President

B-I-D-E-N   B-I-D-E-N

B-I-D-E-N

Joe helps the president.

Click on the link to view/print the Obama Bingo Cards and song.

Click on the link to view/download my other Bingo Song Cards

If you teach a song each month you will have reviewed all of the letters of the alphabet except X.

Besides the alphabet, I made sets of numbers for counting by 1’s with pennies, by 5’s with nickels, by 10’s with dimes to reinforce not only skip counting, but recognizing these particular coins and their value.

There’s also a set for counting by 2’s and 3’s.  All have covers so that the students can make individual Itty Bitty Booklets as well.

Finish up the counting activities by getting the wiggles out and have students count backwards from 20 or 10.

Once they’ve jumped into the air they can bounce out to their lockers and take their booklets with them.

Click on the link to view/download the President’s Day Counting Cards.

Whatever you’re doing on President’s Day I hope it’s letter perfect!