1-2-3 Come Do A Few Ghostly Activities With Me

I had a request from Alma, over in California, for a few non-scary math activities, with a skeleton or ghost theme.  She teaches a Hispanic group of kinders in Oakland and their Day of the Dead celebration (Dia de Los Muertos) is huge for them.

I referred her to the Numbskull math activities, as well as the Candy Bones activities, but also decided to design a few ghost -themed things as well. Cute little ghosts seemed to be a lot less scary to me than a skull, although that seems to be the prominent symbol for their holiday.

So if you too, are you looking for a few activities to plug into your Halloween party day, but still want to cover some standards, then I think you'll enjoy this cute little ghost-themed packet. 

The packet includes:

• A ghost craftivity that I call Spooky "Soles".   Students trace their shoe, trim & add some wiggle eyes to make a keepsake ghost (the heel is the head).  They glue their ghost to the back of the tombstone, which has a little poem on it.  "Here's a little ghost traced from my shoe. Made with lots of TLC cuz I love you."  

Instead of the R.I.P. signifying rest in peace, I printed Really Important Person on the tombstone.  Children sign their name at the top.  Older students can complete the writing prompt: Things that scare me... on the back.

• The packet also includes some Spooky sliders.  Even though this packet is mostly about numbers, I've also included extra sliders to cover other things.  Sliders for: upper & lowercase letters, shapes, numbers 0-30, counting backwards from 10 to 0 & 20 to 0, plus skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's.

Children can also trace their shoe to make their ghost slider and then cut 2 slits in the center, so they can insert their "slider" strip, or simply run off my ghost template, (bottom right in the photo), choosing whatever slider you want to practice.

• A Five Little Ghosts rhyme poster that I wrote. (Use the number cards as manipulatives for the poem.)
• "Five little ghosts flying out the door, one flew away and that left 4.  Four little ghosts playing happily, one flew away and that left 3.  Three little ghosts yelling boo, boo, boo! One flew away and that left 2.  Two little ghosts having spooky fun, one flew away and that left 1.  One little ghost sleeping in the sun, flew back home and that left none."
  

• Cute little ghost number cards to 35, number word cards to 10, and ordinal number cards, with a blank set to program with higher numbers, plus a set of math symbols, so students can make equations. There's also a 3-page tip list of what to do with the number cards, that includes the Kaboom game.

• An Odd Todd & Even Steven sorting mat.

• 3 trace & write worksheets for numbers 0-120.  I faded in a little ghost in the background for a rather cool looking affect. 

• Plus a "ghost with the most" rhyming word worksheet with helpful answer key.  
• Click on the link to view/download the Common Core Ghost packet.
  

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  Time to straighten up the toy messes happily strewn hither and yon around the house.  Proof that a little pumpkin plays at Nana's house.

One of my dearest friends is coming over.  We are celebrating Jude's going into remission from cancer news!  Since it's Cancer Awareness Month, just want to give a shout out to all those brave people battling it, as well as those helping in and supporting the cause.  Blessings all around.  Click on the link for an inspiring musical video "Truly Brave" by Sara Bareillis and Cyndi Lauper

"We haven't failed. We now know a thousand things that won't work, so we are much closer to finding what will." --
Thomas Edison 


1-2 3 Come Do Some Skelton Activities With Me!

Since it's October, it seemed fitting to plug in a few skeletons, so I was diddling around with the idea of making a math packet around the play on words "Numb Skulls." 

If you don't do Halloween-themed things, the skulls are perfect for a pirate theme too, or perhaps you can use them as centers when your kiddo's study about bones and the human body.

I think your students will enjoy rolling 2 dice to make additon or subtraction equations on their "Numb Skull" and then solving them.  They write in their answer and color that many teeth. 

Students can play independently or with a partner.   Once I started designing with the skulls, more ideas kept popping into my brain, 'til I had a whopping 46-page Numb Skull packet that covers a variety of Common Core State Standards!

Lots of the items are very versatile.  The number cards with number words, can be cut into puzzles, or run off so students can make an Itty Bitty Counting booklet, which is a nice activity for your Daily 5 word work.

You can also use them for a Memory Match game, or to play "I Have; Who Has?"  Add the "Kaboom!" bomb cards to make things more exciting. 

The packet includes:                                                            A Numb Skull slider, where students trace the numbers from 0-30, or insert a skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, or 10's number strip. 

There's also a slider for counting backwards from 10 to 0 and 20 to 0.

I've included several games as well. There's A Numb Skull addition and subtraction game, plus  a Count to 100 Numb Skull game, where students add the dice that they roll and then  X-off that many skulls 'til they have added their way to 100.

Skull number cards from 0-120 also provide options for even more games.  Since the numbers are at the top of the skull, play a game of "What number am I thinking of?"

Students choose a card and then give classmates clues.  i.e. "My number is odd. It's greater than 20, but less than 27.  When you add 11 and 10 together, you'll know my number.

I've also included matching math symbol cards, so students can make equations. Use the blank skull cards to program with whatever, or to make groups/sets for the equations students create.

There are some Trace and Write the numbers from 0-120 worksheets, as well as quite a few What's Missing worksheets for numbers 0-120, plus all of the skip counted numbers.

There are several puzzles that you can use in a variety of ways, as well as Odd Todd and Even Steven skeleton sorting mats.  When students have completed whatever you deem appropriate, give them a certificate of praise for a job well done.

Click on the link to view/download the Numb Skull Math packet. 

Since I get quite a few requests for telling time activities, I decided to whip together a Numb Skull clock and a few telling time to the hour and half hour games too.

This packet includes analog as well as digital time cards that you can use as flashcards, or to play games with.   Click on the link to view/down load the It's Numb Skull Time packet.

Well that's it for today; thanks for visiting.  I'm off to take a drive in the country with my hubby. 

The fall colors have peaked and a windy afternoon with a bit of rain, threatens their ability to cling onto branches for too much longer. 

Even though it's a bit chilly, a nice cup of apple cider at our farmer's market will warm things up.                                                                                      Wishing you a lovely day.

"One man who has a mind and knows it, can always beat ten men who haven't and don't." -George Bernard Shaw

1-2-3 Come Do Some Candy Activities With Me!

I had a request for a Candy Bones graph.  I’d never heard of them; (Where have I been?) so I Googled candy bones.  They are really quite popular, as there were lots of Ask.com questions of where to buy candy bones and what to do with them.
Many of the links were outdated and broken, so I went on my own quest.

Oriental Trading has the best deal Online for “Candy Bones.”  The bones in their pack include: the ever-popular sweet-tart skull, foot, hand, ribs and plain bones. They come in pastel colors.  There are approximately 28 pieces per pack and 19 packets per unit (13 oz.) They are “fat free” and were $8, now on sale for $5.99 as of 10/7/13  I have dealt with Oriental Trading for many years and never had a problem. Their customer service is wonderful.

Amazon.com also offers the same candy bones mini packages. They are sold by Zugar and fulfilled by Amazon.  They are $9.99 for the same quantity as Oriental Trading.  Some teachers have e-mailed me that they have also found the candy bones packages at their Dollar Tree Stores.  However, they were not in mine, here in Grand Rapids, MI

There is also another popular bone candy called: Skulls and Bones.  Unlike the above candy, these only have 2 shapes inside, but more colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, white and a blackish purple. Unlike the other pastel candies, these are brightly colored.  They are offered by Candy Nation.  They sell bulk at $3.85 a pound.

O’Ryan’s Village, featuring old-fashioned candy, also sells a package of Skulls and Bones for $2.29.  There are 11 small packages inside.  So now you know where to get the candy.  Why would you want it?  For starters, they are perfect for graphing. The skull and bones lend themselves to a Halloween, pirate or a science skeleton/bone activity.  

A sweet treat makes math a whole lot more fun for your kiddo's too.  So they aren't eating too much candy, pass out a sample from your stash at the start of the lesson, with the promise of being able to eat one more at the end, and if they behave, they can take the rest home.  This always worked with my Y5's whenever I used edibles for lessons.

Students spill out their package and sort them on the sorting mats.  I have ones for both kinds of candy, as well as a sorting mat for colors.  Children practice counting, tally marks, and addition with the various graphs and candy bones worksheets. 

I've also included whole-group graphs so that you have an extra opportunity to review your students' results.  There are graphs for shapes, colors, favorites, and flavors.  Since I was on a roll, I decided to make guess-timation activities, as well as some worksheets for patterning.  You can cover quite a few standards in a short amount of time. 

Click on the link to view/download the Candy Bones Math Activities packet.  Another popular download is the candy shape poster packet.  Did you know that Halloween treats come in all of the standard shapes?  For a fun review, print off a set to use as anchor charts or large flashcards.

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN away.  Just think, if everyone took a few minues to share, our lives would be so much easier.  If you'd like to take a peek at all of the creative and educational FREEBIES I spend way too much time pinning, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.

"Learning should be a joy and full of excitement.  It is life's greatest adventure and should be an illustrated excursion into the minds of noble and learned men, not a conducted tour through a jail." -Taylor Caldwell