Just wanted to take a moment today, to wish all of my visitor friends a very Merry Christmas from my hearth and home to yours!

I hope you are surrounded by everyone and everything you love the most, and that you feel very healthy, happy and blessed!

Our Savior, Light Of The World   "Rejoicing, we tell the Nativity story.  When the Light of the World came in brilliance and glory. But still we remember there is more to be told—His great sacrifice that was yet to unfold.  For His mission as Savior could not be complete  Until heavy nails pierced His hands and His feet.  So may we recall both the gift of His birth,  And the gift of salvation He gave to all  on earth."   -Lisa O. Engelhardt

Subtracting With Santa

Are you looking for a stocking or Santa-themed activity that involves math skills?  5 Little Stockings, may be just what you're searching for.

Children will enjoy improving their cutting skills by "...hanging their stocking on the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be there!"

This creative booklet is an opportunity to combine math skills with an artistic flair. The fireplace "craftivity" that they create involves the different math shapes for a quick and easy review.

Children trace and write the numbers as they solve the simple equations and help Santa fill the stockings.

You can also review ordinal numbers as well. This is a terrific listening and following direction activity, or makes a nice whole-group or independent math center.

When everyone is done, read the booklet as a whole group and review concepts of print.

Click on the link to view/download 5 Little Stockings

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

Do you have a December math center you could share with us?  I'd enjoy hearing from you: diane@teachwithme.com or post a comment here.

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself." -Chinese Proverb

Shapely Snow Angels

Do you remember flopping down in the snow and flapping your arms so that you could make a snow angel? 

My Y5's enjoyed doing that at recess and couldn't wait to report their "artwork" to me.

If you're in the process of reviewing shapes, and need a winter theme, you're sure to enjoy the "shapely" angels that I just created.

This 27- page packet will help you with Common Core State Standards: L.K2a, L.K2b, RF.K3a, RF.K3d, RF.K3c, 1.G.2, K.G.2

Students enjoy reviewing the various 2-D shapes as they appear on the snow angels.

They read and fix the simple sentences by adding capitalization and punctuation, then trace and write the shape word.

I've also included the hexagon, pentagon, and octagon shapes, as many visitors have requested their inclusion in new shape things that I design, as quite a few districts have added some, or all of those shapes to their standards.

The packet includes:

• Easy reader booklet
• Snow Angel Craftivity (Students cut and glue the various shapes to make a shapely snow angel.)
• Label the Snow Angel worksheet
• Traceable shape word cards + a cover so students can make an Itty Bitty booklet.
• Matching picture cards so you can play Memory Match and I Have; Who Has? games.

Click on the link to view/download the Shapely Angels packet.

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

"Education is hanging around until you've caught on." -Robert Frost

A Day Of Teacher-Blogger Silence

It is difficult to put into words the utter shock, disbelief and sadness of how I feel about what took place yesterday in Newtown, Connecticut.

As a mother, grandmother and fellow elementary teacher, I share your pain; my heart aches for everyone.

My thoughts, prayers and sincere sympathy goes out to all of the broken hearts reeling from this senseless act of violence, that has touched hearts around the world, and left everyone wondering how such unspeakable evil could befall the sweet and innocent lives of children, and the people who dedicate their lives to teaching and caring for them.

To honor and respect the families and community involved in this tragedy, I will be joining many other teacher-bloggers in a day of blog silence, Sunday, December 16^th.

"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief... and unspeakable love." --Irving

Edible Math: Munch! Crunch - a Bunch of Fishy Crackers After Lunch!

Do you have a penguin theme coming up?  You’ll want to check out these adorable penguin activities.

The 51-page packet helps review Common Core State Math Standard 1.NBT.3 and is a fun way to practice a variety of other math skills as well: addition, subtraction, graphing, greater & less than, estimation and more.

Gold Fish crackers are a favorite snack and the perfect manipulative for a penguin!

Edible math gets little ones excited and is an interesting way to grab and hold their attention.

The Goldfish Cracker Penguin packet includes:

• 2 different kinds of penguins to feed with a smaller version for younger children
• Traceable number and number word strips to make penguin sliders
• Several game options
• Patterning strips
• 4 skip counting "What Comes Next?" skill sheets
• 2 graphing extensions
• A ruler measuring activity
• 2 guess-timation activities
• 30 traceable number and number word cards + covers to make Itty Bitty books
• Bobber badges
• An incentive bulletin board +
• A certificate of praise

Click on the link to view/download the Goldfish Cracker Penguin packet.

Do you need more penguin-themed activities?  Click on the link to slide over to the penguin section of my site.

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

“I do not teach; I relate.” -Montaigne

Math Games Are "Snow" Much Fun!

A fun way for students to practice addition and subtraction is with Dominic the Domino Snowman.

Students roll a pair of dice and then add and subtract.  Children write out the equations and complete the work on a separate sheet of paper.

To make this even more interesting, students use dominoes for Dominic's buttons, finding matching ones that correspond with the dice combinations they rolled. 

You can play with real dominoes, or run off my templates to make paper ones.

Run off, color and laminate a class set of the snowman templates and use dry erase markers, or have students color their own snowman and record their work on a separate sheet of paper.

Click on the link to view/download Dominic the Domino Snowman

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

Do you have a math game you could share with us?  I'd enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com or post a comment here.

"A college degree and a teaching certificate define a person as a teacher, but it takes hard work and dedication to be one." -Paul McClure

1-2-3 Count Winter “Stuff” With Me!

Are you looking for some quick and easy readers that also incorporate math skills and have a winter theme?

You’ve come to the right blog!  The ever-popular 1-2-3 Come Count With Me booklets, have 3 suitable packets for winter: 1-2-3 Count Snowflakes With Me,  

1-2-3 Count Snowmen With Me and finally, 1-2-3- Count Mittens With Me.

Click on the links to view/download the ones you want.

The booklets help students practice a variety of skills and standards, and are a fun way for children to learn or review, write, recognize and read numbers and number words.

1. Students read, trace and write the number and number word.
2. They see a number of "things" (snowmen, snowflakes, mittens) in a sentence and say it.
3. They spy the number in a sequence and circle it.
4. They X-out that many ten-frame boxes or use a bingo dot marker or stamp to fill them in.
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.

Teachers can 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 students 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 packets include:

• At least 1 graphing extension
• Traceable-word wall word/number flashcards
• Covers for the flashcards to make Itty Bitty Books
• A "Plus one more" math skill sheet &
• A certificate of praise.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think might be useful to others.

“If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives.” –Robert South

1-2-3 Come Color Mittens With Me!

Is the weather outside frightful?  Do your students wear mittens?  Do you have a mitten theme going on?  Then you’re sure to enjoy, this easy reader booklet entitled, My Many Colored Mittens.

Students read, trace and write the color words and then color the mitten the appropriate color.

The 21-page packet also includes:

• 2 graphing extensions
• a writing prompt to make a class book
• 3 skill sheets
• 10 traceable color word flashcards
• 14 traceable word card flashcards
• Use the cards for games like Memory Match & "I Have; Who Has?"
• 10 cards to make covers so you can turn the flashcards into Itty Bitty Booklets
• 10 colored mittens + a blank template for students to color their own mittens +
• a certificate of praise.

Click on the link to view/download the easy reader booklet: My Many Colored Mittens

Another favorite mitten-themed easy reader of mine, is The Mystery Of The Lost Mitten.

Students enjoy solving the mitten mystery, while they work on colors, spatial directions, cutting, and gluing fine motor skills as well as listening and following directions.

Make the booklet a special keepsake by have students glue their photo on the last page.

Click on the link to view/download The Mystery Of The Lost Mitten.

For more mitten-themed activities, click on the link to go to that category in my shopping cart.  Simply scroll down, 'til you find something that fits your needs.

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

“I forget what I was taught.  I only remember what I have learned.” –Patrick White

All Flakes Welcome!

Are you looking for a fun wintry way to review addition and subtraction math facts?

Try these frosty flakes!

Students can simply do one page as a skill sheet for a table top lesson or you can cut out the flakes and assemble them into an igloo booklet filled with 10-snowflake fact pages.

Make it a bit more special by adding student photographs.

I've also included a certificate of praise.

Click on the link to view/download the Frosty Flake packet. 

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

Do you have an addition or subtraction activity you could share with us?  I'd enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com or post a comment here.

"There are few things as uncommon as common sense." -Frank McKinney Hubbard

Deck the Halls With Keepsake Ornaments!

This 36-page Christmas Ornament packet is filled with 16 different ornaments that your students will enjoy making, or perhaps you’ll want to choose one to whip off a bunch of, as gifts for your little ones.

Every year I machine embroidered my students’ names on a snowman hat and made them these “snow” special snowball ornaments, in celebration of the fact that they could write their name.

In the past, I’ve also skipped the name portion and done them with Sunday school groups for Christmas craft night.

You can use any of these, as creative independent centers for a fun December activity to reinforce listening and following directions, as well as increase fine motor skills.

Some of them actually look good enough to eat, like these construction paper cookies topped with shaving cream and glue "frosting!"

Festoon your hallway or trim your bulletin board with awesome borders and then send the ornaments home a few days before break.

Click on the link to view/download the Christmas Ornament packet.

Even when doing “craftivities” it was always important to me to review a variety of standards.

One of my parents’ favorite ornaments was the fingerprint tree.

It’s more recent, so it’s not in the above packet.  The tree is a great way to review the concept of +1 more and counting to 10, all the while producing a lovely keepsake.

Click on the link to view/download the fingerprint Christmas tree.

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

Do you have an ornament you could share with us?  I’d enjoy hearing from you.  diane@teachwithme.com

“One mother teaches more than a hundred teachers.” –Jewish proverb