1 2 3 Countdown With Me!

This changeable monthly calendar wheel is a fun way to countdown to a special day.

I've designed both color as well as black & white templates.

Print them off for yourself, as one classroom countdown activity, or run off the black & white set and pass them out to your students. You can do a different one each month.

They'll enjoy coloring and collecting their wheels.

The wheel helps curb the zillions of questions students ask about "How many more days 'til:" vacation, holidays, parties, fieldtrips, tests, assignments, a special visitor etc.

These are the ones I've listed on the wheel, with plenty of room for you to write in other events such as assemblies, birthdays etc.

This is a great addition to your calendar board, and fun way to review the passing of time and counting down from a number.

If you don't want to change it each month, you can simply use the generic schoolhouse one I've designed, and keep it on/near your calendar board.

Click on the link to view/download the Calendar Countdown Wheels.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

Do you have a calendar idea you'd like to share with us?  I'd enjoy hearing from you: diane@teachwithme.com or leave a comment here.

"The only person you should try to be better than, is the person you were yesterday." -Unknown

Here's The Scoop-A Valentine & Writing Prompt All Rolled Into One!

Recycle those old newspapers and you’ve got yourself a really cute Valentine or writing activity for February.

Make templates from file folders for your students to use to trace onto a page of the newspaper.

They cut out their scoop of ice cream, glue it to their cone (which they cut out) and then top it off with a cherry heart.

I’ve also provided a template for the “cherries” or you can give students large sparkly-heart stickers to add that finishing touch.

Run off the “flipped-up” messages and give students a choice of what they want to do/write about, OR you could have them make this a valentine AND writing prompt and do both, then staple the pages together.

I “hinged” the completed cone with a small square of Scotch tape stuck to the cherry and attached it to a sheet of scrapbook paper.

Stores have all sorts of packs on sale at this time of year.  If not, print off a 40-50% off coupon from one of the major craft chain stores.

These make a cute bulletin board on a black background with paper lace for the framed border.  OR…

Hang them in a row in the hallway, just high enough so that people can flip and read.  Send them home on Valentine’s Day.

click on the link to view/download the "Here's The Scoop" Valentine-writing prompt.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything that you think others may find helpful.

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say "I used everything you game me." -Erma Bombeck

1 2 3 Count February Stuff With Me!

You asked for it, you got it!

The 123 Count With Me easy reader math booklets continue to be downloaded 100's of times a day!

Visitors have requested Valentines and Presidents, but I also whipped together one for Dental Hygiene Month, which was a big theme for my Y5's.

The packets range from 27-37 pages and help with Common Core State Standards: K.CC.4a, K.CC.4b,K.CC.4c, K.CC.3, K.CC.5, K.CC.7, RF.K.1a, RF.K.1c, RF.K3c, L.K.2b, L.1l2b, Rf.1.1a

You can practice a variety of skills and standards with these cute booklets. 

They are a fun way for your students to learn or review, write, recognize and read numbers and number words.

These latest additions also have the end punctuation left off, so that students can add it, and you can cover yet another CCSS!

1. Students read, trace and write the number and number word.
2. They see a number of themed items in a sentence and say it.
3. They spy the number in a sequence and circle it.
4. They X-out that many boxes or use a bingo dot marker or stamp in the 10 frame. ( I encourage my students to make a color pattern.)
5. They cut and glue the set/group to the matching numbered box.

• It only takes one time for students to need assistance and then they can work independently on their books. 
  
• Do one a week or month, depending on your themes or needs of your students. 
  
• They are great for Daily 5, something to do when they have finished their work,
  
• something to send home to do with parents,
  
• great for a sub folder or to send home with struggling students.

All Of The Packet includes:

• 30-60 number and word wall word flashcards, + number cards that count to 20.
• Covers for the flashcards to make Itty Bitty Books
• A + one more math skill sheet
• 1-5 graphing extensions &
• A certificate of praise.

Click on the links to view/download:

123 Count Valentines With Me,

123 Count Presidents With Me,

and/or 123 Count Dental Hygiene Stuff With Me.

There are 29  123 Count With Me booklets in the collection, starting with 123 Count Apples With Me.

If you'd like to view them all by simply scrolling down an alphabetical listing, click on the link. 

As always, I welcome your feedback of what other booklets you'd like to see.  Anyone want stamps or coins?

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying." -Michael Jordan

1-2-3's, ABC's, and Shapes Via The Mail

Woo Hoo! This is my 500th blog article! Hope you enjoy it.

I love making up special alphabet, number and shape cards for each month.

I think it helps students stay interested and focussed if they come in the first of every month and see a seasonal change that brightens up your room and adds variety to the "same-old- same-old"...

My Y5's loved going to the post office to mail their Valentines.  It was a fun way for me to cover that information, and just a few blocks walk from our school.

With that in mind, I wanted to dream up some cards involving envelopes.  I thought letters of the alphabet and letters in an envelope was a cute idea, thus Letter Letters, Number Letters and Shape Letters were born.

Number Letters covers the Common Core State Standards: RF.K.3c, K.CC.4a, K.CC.4b, K.CC.4c, K.OA.5,K.CC.6 and is a fun way to review counting, number words, simple addition and subtraction as well as greater and less than.

It includes a blank set for you to program with whatever...+ math symbols: < > + - = so students can make equations and solve them.

I've also included 2-pages of tips of what to do with the cards, including games.

Click on the link to view/downloard Number Letters.

Letter Letters  can be used as a border or laminate, cut them up into puzzles and use them to play games.

This packet includes a blank sheet for you to program with whatever...+ a cover so students can make an Itty Bitty Booklet, as well as 3-pages of tips of what to do with the cards.

Finally, Shape Letters is a delightful way to review these 11  2-D shapes: circle, oval, triangle, rectangle, square, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, heart, star and crescent.

The packet helps reinforce colors and color words as well. Remind students that these are two-dimensional shapes and lie in a plane or "flat."

Put them on the wall as a border, or run off a set for your students and have them write the shape word and then trace and color the shape.

You can also laminate them, cut them up and make them into puzzles. Students match the word to its shape.

Pass them out to students and give spatial directions: "Put your shape over, under, between, behind, beside, left-right, etc."

If you do the above, you'll be covering Common Core State Standards: K.G.1, K.G.2, K.G.3

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others will find helpful.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Knowledge is limited.  Imagination encircles the world." -Albert Einstein

1-2-3 Count Coins With Me!

I always did my coin unit in February.  It made sense to me (no pun intended) because it was Washington and Lincoln’s birthday month and they are on 2 of the coins we had to learn to identify.

I decided to combine coins with penguins, as that’s a popular theme that many study in January, thus Cent-sational Penguins was born.

The Cent-sational Penguin packet will help you with Common Core State Standards: RF.K3c, L.K.2a, L.K.2b, L.1.2b, RF.1.1a, 1.OA.5, RF.K.3a, RI.K.7, RI.K.10

It’s an easy and fun way to review a variety of math and reading standards in a short amount of time.

Students trace and write the coin word and its value. They also circle the capital letters, add end punctuation, as well as color, cut and glue the matching coins.

There are additional writing opportunities, as students think of alliterative nouns and verbs to complete the last sentences.

The packet includes:

• The Easy Reader booklet: Cent-sational Penguins
• 3 worksheets about coins
• A graphing extension +
• A certificate of praise

Click on the link to view/download the Cent-stional Penguins Packet

For more money activities, click on the link to zip over to that section of my FREE shopping cart offerings.

For more FREE penguin activities, click on the link. Enjoy!

Thank you for visiting today.

  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find useful.

“OK, so you are 10-years-old and have a laptop, PC, IPod, Wii and Gameboy.  When I was 10 the only techno thing I had to play with was called OUTSIDE!” -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Make Some paper Love With Me!

Whenever there was something special going on during a particular month, my 1^st graders used to ask everyday: “When is our Halloween party?”, “When’s the fieldtrip?” “How long before we can open our Valentines?” etc. 

Sound familiar?  I decided to put up a seasonally- colored paper chain, for however many days in that month.

I’d link them in a pattern so that I’d have a quick teachable moment in full view.

Whatever we were doing that was extra special: parties, trips, visitors, I’d put an appropriate sticker on that link, so when a student asked a question like the above, I could say, “Well let’s figure that out,” and I’d refer them to the paper chain.

If you like this idea you can get the pattern for a cute dangler, that you can change each month. 

The apple piece is for September; there's a pumpkin for October etc.  I stick them on with Velcro dots. Hang the paper chains from that.

Heart Paper Chain:

I wanted to make a special paper chain for February, so I made the links in a shape.

This is easy to do.  Simply cut strips of colored paper on the paper cutter that are 1 inch wide, and as long as the paper.

Construction paper works fine, but cardstock paper holds the heart shape better, and is much more durable.

Fold a strip in half.  Bend the open ends in ‘til you have a rounded top heart, and staple them together. (See photo.)

As you can see, I made my strips white, red and pink and will have an ABC-ABC pattern going.

Fold as many strips as you need, but don’t staple them until you have looped them through each other to make the chain.

You can make this even more interesting, by writing a “secret message” on the paper strips before you put them together.

I did the paper chain activity during my calendar time, or before story time, as I hung the chain by my rocking chair.

After students have counted, recognized the colors and pattern, and you’ve done whatever else math-wise, you want to do with the paper chain, call on a quiet child to gently tear the end strip off and read the secret message.

These are so easy to make that I cut up a variety of colored construction paper strips and my Y5's enjoy stringing as many as they can before the timer rings. Younger students can simply make one; punch a hole in the top side and make a yarn loop for them to hang on a doorknob. 

Another thing you can do with them is to make a heart wreath for your door.  Double-sided scrapbook paper turns out lovely.  This would be fun for older students who are able to use a stapler on their own.

Scroll down for more things to do with this idea + the link for the packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away. Hope you can stop by tomorrow for more heart activities.

"It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense." - Robert G. Ingersoll

1-2-3 Count To 100 With Me!

If you haven’t celebrated 100-Day yet, I think you’ll like this quick, easy and fun way for your students to count to 100.

Run off the star badge template on yellow construction paper, (when you color it, the colors still show up pretty good.)  Run off the star ribbons on white construction paper.

If you want to give their badges a bit more pizzazz and strength, run off the larger background star on a complimentary construction paper color.

Students cut out the pieces and glue them together.  The diagonal lines on the ribbons will help.

Simply rub glue on them, and then press to the back of the star.

Students count the stars as they count up to 99.  Did they count the big star? That will make 100!

Use safety pins to pin them on your star students, who’ve survived 100 days of school!

Be sure and make one for yourself, so that you have a sample!  You are a star too!  Click on the link to view/download the 100-Day Star Badge.  If you're looking for a few links, to other fun things, to help you celebrate 100-Day, you'll want to check out this fun "Find The Missing Animals" game. 

Students are asked to click on different number spaces in the 100 grid, when they click on the correct number space, an animal appears and goes into their "found" column.

Also, Joan Holub, who wrote 100 Days Of School for Scholastic, asked educators for their favorite 100-Day ideas.  She's published a list of 300 ! Click on the link to view 300 ideas for 100 Day.

Whatever you’re doing for your 100^th Day, I hope it’s simply sparkling! Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything that you think others may find helpful.

“So much to do; so little desire to do it!” -Unknown

Me and My 10 Frame

My 10 Frames have been one of the most downloaded items on the shopping cart.  (Over 100,000!)

I thought to spice things up, and keep your students interested, I’d design a mini set of 10-Frames they could manipulate, and make a set for each month (September through June.)

3 days, and 101 pages later, Monthly 10 Frames was born.

It will help you with Common Core State Standards:K.CC.2, K.CC.3, K.CC.4a, K.CC.4b, K.CC.4c, K.CC.5, k.CC.6 K.OA.1 K.OA.5

Your students will really enjoy the variety of hands-on activities they can do with this packet.

Now you can use a different-themed 10 frame each month. These can also be a fun way to individually or whole-group assess.

The packet includes:

• 10 different monthly 10-Frames in color. (September -June). Print & Laminate.
• I've also included 10 black & white monthly 10-frames, so you can run them off to give to your students.
• 20 different manipulative sheets with 80 pieces per page.  Print, laminate and cut out.  Store each set in a Snack Baggy.
  

• A blank set of 10-frames so you can design your own, or make 20-Frames for higher number math.
• Traceable numbers from 1-50 so students can make equations and then show their work with the manipulatives and 10-frames.
  

• A page of math symbols for the + sign, - sign, & = sign.
• A page of > < symbols.
  

• A "Trace & Write" skill sheet for numbers 1-50.  As a game have students choose a number and count from there to the end.
• Sort by 5's & 10's mats.
• Blank addition & subtraction mats for you to fill in with your own equations.
  

• 10 addition mats with equations for the fact families.
• 21 subtraction mats +
• 2 certificates of praise (1 for addition, 1 for subtraction.)

Partner students up and play math games. Use the manipulatives to make patterns.

Click on the link to view/download the 101-page Monthly 10 Frame packet.

Thank you for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find worthwhile.

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” -Martin Luther King

 A Heart-y Surprise: Lessons With Heart!

I LOVE Valentine’s Day.  It’s my favorite holiday. I wanted to design a valentine that you could use for more than just a Valentine.

There are lots of things you can do with this folded heart pattern.

I made an example of each one.

A Special Valentine:

First off, run the owl template off on white construction paper, and the “Me!” heart insert on red & pink,, if you want to give your students a color choice.

Students cut out their hearts and fold the large one on the dashed lines.

Children glue their red/pink insert in the center of the middle heart, which can be viewed when you open the flaps.

To make it more of a keepsake, print off a copy of your class composite.

Students glue their picture somewhere on the inside of their card.

Children sign their name and perhaps x’s & o’s, or repeat “I love you.”

The Alphabet:

You can also assign a letter to each one of your students.  If you don’t have 26 you can ask who wants to make an extra one, or you can make up the difference.

Children write the uppercase letter on the left heart flap, and the lowercase letter on the right heart flap.

Students think of a word that begins with that letter and write it on the inside.

If you want, they can also draw a picture or find clipart or a sticker to put under the word.

This is a great Daily 5 “word work” activity, or send it home as a home-school connection.

When they are completed, each child shares their letter heart.

Collect and keep, so you have a nice set of cards for your students to practice sequencing with.

Compound Words:

The flaps are also perfect for compound word practice.  I have a list of 1,718 compound words that you can use to choose for your students to work on.

Click on the link to view/download this comprehensive compound word list.

Each child does 2-3, writing the two words (1 on each front flap), and then what compound word the two make, when you open the flap.

If you want they can draw a picture, or add a sticker or clipart to illustrate the new word.

Contractions:

Just as with the compound words, contractions can also be reviewed in this fun way.

I’ve included an alphabetical list of 69 contractions to choose from.  You could run off the page and cut the words out.

Toss them into a container and have students glue X number of contractions in that many hearts.

Students write the two words on the outside and then open up the Valentine to see the contraction.

Math:

Assign numbers to students and have them make a math heart.

Students can do addition or subtraction, by writing the equation on the front flaps: (1 + on the left side, 1 = on the right flap.)

When you open it up you will see the answer 2, and the word two and a group/set of 2 things.

Students can draw the objects, use stickers or clipart.

Practice spelling & writing.

Students could also have fun writing 2 spelling words on the front and then making up a sentence that includes the 2 words on the inside.

Paper love:

You can also just run off a variety of colored hearts and have students practice their fine motor cutting and folding skills, and then write “I love you,” or whatever other “secret” message they want to give their family.

My Y5’s enjoyed making “paper love” and hiding it around the house, and then telling me where they hid the PL, and the result when someone found their note.

Bulletin board:

Do an assortment, or all the activities and sprinkle them on a bulletin board with the caption: “We LOVE Learning.”  Or “We have a heart for learning.”

Click on the link to view/download the Folded Heart Activities.

If you think of any other things you can do with the hearts, I’d enjoy hearing from you,  diane@teachwithme.com, and then I’ll add them to this list.

Thank you for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything from my site that you think others may find helpful.

"A New Year is unfolding-like a blossom with petals curled tightly, concelaing the beauty within." -Kushal Verma