In the Sprit of Giving...

First and foremost, Happiest of Thanksgivings my friends!! I hope you enjoy this day in whatever fashion you desire.  Football, family, parades, food comas, what have you! :)

 

In the sprit of giving, I wanted to drop by and offer you a little Christmastime freebie.  It comes from my A Very Kinder Christmas pack. Click the image to download your copy!

 

 

Also, teachers, have you ever heard of Donors Choose?  It's amazing.  In short, it's a grant writing website that anonymous donors go to and fund your projects.  I have a project up right now BEGGING for some FUN and engaging resources to use for Indoor Recess.  It's starting to get cold in Indiana and these sweet kinders NEEEEEEEEEED to let off some recess steam.   I thought this could be fun -- if you donate $5 to my Donors Choose project BEFORE December 2nd... I will send you $10 worth of TPT products from my store! :)  Make sure to use the code INSPIRE and Donors Choose will MATCH your donation!!!! Just make your donation and email me at Samantha.divincenzo@gmail.com to let me know what you'd like from my store!  If you haven't checked out the website for yourself... do a little browsing.  It's really a great idea (especially for teachers just starting out like me!... we need STUFF!)
Here's the link...Donor's Choose Project

 

Alright, I'm off to go celebrate Thanksgiving.  I choose the family/food coma route! 

Five for Fri ... Let's be Honest... Saturday {freebie}

Anyone else feel SO busy this time of year?  The holidays are just around the corner.. and so are report cords and assessments out the wazoo!  Sorry I've been MIA but I'm dropping in for a little Five for Friday action.  Oops sorry... it's Saturday.  I'm doing my best here...

 

1. Theme for the last few weeks has been transportation. I'm not sure on the original source of this song (if it's yours... please claim it!) The kids loved it and it was a nice way to wrap up our theme!

 

 

 

2. We are also wrapping up our comparing numbers unit.  We made this interactive reader to show what we know!  P.S. I love using interactive readers for math.  Cross-Curricular for the win! This is a part of my Comparing Numbers in Kinder Unit!

 

 

3. As Report Card season approaches... I have one piece of advice.  GET THESE PENS!  They are amazing.  The case props up in a fancy, grab any pen you want, kind of way.  They don't bleed through and they DON'T dry out!  I use them to color code my gradebook since there are so many assessments to keep track of.

 

4. My kids are really starting to work hard on reading and writing CVC words so we're diving into my Short Vowels CVC packet!  A fan favorite is the Mystery Picture.  You can pick up a freebie below for Short Vowel A.  The pack itself comes with 8 activities for each of the vowels. 

 

 

 

5.  Lastly, we're doing a book study at my school and we're reading the most eye-opening book.  I had to share!!! If you teach in a poverty-stricken district or school... this is a must read!  I'm learning so much and already make shifts and changes to my teaching that are so beneficial!

 

 

 

 Oh and P.S. keep your eyes peeled today for a new product.  I will be posting my Christmas Math Centers today (discounted for the first two days!)  They are Christmas themed and I know that doesn't suit everyone's need, but I love Christmas so much and couldn't pass up the adorable clipart! :)

 

 

 

 

Comparing Numbers {Freebie}

Whew! Sorry for the blogging hiatus.  Just came off a two week fall break (sorry for those who get NO fall break at all!) and last week was a whirlwind trying to get back into to swing of things!!  I thought I'd drop in to share what we're working on in math.  It's all about comparing numbers this week.

 

Everything you see here can be found in my new Comparing Numbers Pack! Click the image below to check it out.

 

 

I introduced comparing numbers with a number line... I forgot to take a picture but it looked kind of like this.

 

I drew circles above the numbers to give the kids a visual reminder that the numbers get bigger and bigger as we move to the right.

 

I then placed post-its beneath two random numbers and asked students to compare them using math terms like "more" and "less"

In this example students would say either 3 is less than 8 or 8 is more than 3.

 

I'm going to continue working with numberlines and add in the hundred chart!  I will also introduce the math terms greater than, less than, and equal to!

 

Now for the fun stuff!  The kids are LOVING these two stations.

[Kiddos choose two dragonfly cards and use clothespins to clip them on the numberline.  Then they practice their math sentence: 5 is less than 9 or 9 is more than 5]

 

[In this partner game, both players choose a pirate number card.  They compare their numbers and the student with the greater number takes a piece of "treasure" for his/her treasure box. LOVE!]

 

We'll be using these [and more!] no-prep printables for independent practice and morning work.

 

 

And next week, I will introduce the kids to the >, <, and = symbols.  I know many teachers view this as a first grade skill but I don't see any harm in introducing my kids to the concept now!  Plus it's great enrichment for those kids who need a bit of a challenge.

 

 

If you stuck around til the end, here's a little freebie for you! It's no-prep printable from this pack! Click to download your own copy.