Mini Number Poster FREEBIE!

Grab these FREE mini numbers posters from my TpT store. Covers numbers 0-30!

Freebie Bump It Game~

Here is a FREEBIE Bump It Game I made as an assessment for my incoming Kinders. The game serves 3 purposes:

1. Teach the kiddos how to use dice trays
2. See how they work in partners
3. Assess their knowledge of numbers and quantities

Because I am doing this game with EVERY Kindergartener in school the first week (we are rotating classes), I want to make sure it is purposeful, as well as fun. Students love dice and will be using them a lot throughout the year. Why not let them experiment, while I give an informal assessment on their number sense?

I will print and laminate this board double sided, so that we can spend the first few minutes of the game matching dice patterns, and the rest of the game matching numbers to quantities.

How to Play:
Students will take turns rolling a dice. After they roll they will match their dice to one of the board, covering up that square. Then it is the next person's turn. They continue until there is no more places to put a given number, in which case they can "bump" the other person's dice. I use two colors of dice (white and blue) so they can tell which dice belongs to them.

I don't usually have a winner. But, if you choose to, just have them count who has the most dice on the board at the end of the game.

Enjoy!

My Kindergarten Calendar: Number Writing Practice

I have just put up a new product on TpT. It is a quick and easy monthly calendar that gives students number writing practice. You can pull this out at the beginning of the month, practice increasingly challenging number writing activities, and talk about the month ahead. My Kindergarten Calendars are a fun way to practice number writing skills in a meaningful way.

Counting in Kindergarten

Learning how to count is something we all do. But, how do we do it? I think those who are not teachers can take for granted the process that children have to go through to learn how to count. And there is a difference between learning how to count and how to apply strategies to counting. Everyone has a friend who can look at a group of objects and count it in their head while you are stuck counting it slowly and inaccurately. As a Kindergarten teacher, giving students the skills at an early age to organize their thinking and apply these strategies to different situations is what teaching is all about!

I LOVE to use manipulatives when I teach counting. Dumping a bunch of seashells on a table and asking the kids to count them is so fun for them and so helpful for me. It is a quick insight into their ability to rote count. Without rote counting skills, nothing can be done in the world of math. Building from there, having them use the number line, use ten frames, base 10 units, etc., is all branching off the ability of rote counting.

Each year I use my Kindergarten Counting Unit to have students apply strategies and think about their numbers through out the year. Students work through number 0-30 and do everything from one-to-one correspondence, to base 10, to number order. Take a look:

In addition to my counting unit, I LOVE Deanna Jump and Deedee Wills' Guiding Kinders Math Units. I actually use these more than the school curriculum (shhhhh.......). They are organized into monthly units and really hit everything that Kinders need in a math curriculum.

And, just for fun, I thought I would throw out one of my favorite resources in young children's math research. Megan Franke is an author/researcher/genius who really looks at how young children learn and what makes learning fun and engaging. I have seen her speak and always leave so inspired. If you get a chance read any one of her books. They are amazing!

Adding 1 More

We are working on adding one more. The idea that each number means a quantity and that the quantity goes up by 1 at each new number, is a powerful concept and is easily taken for granted. By visualizing 1 more, students can see the power behind their numbers.

Using SumBlox, we can see that numbers grow and that each number has a bigger quantity.

 Partner game where one person puts down a number card the other person puts down a card that is 1 more. 

First Week of Kindergarten

Our first week is over. True, it was short and sweet, and most of the hard stuff is out of the way. My class is amazing! They are kind, fun, and have already begin their learning. Here are a few things we did this week:

 We had our first try at the dice. Students worked in partners to roll and match their dice to the pictures.

 

Our shape this week was circle. In addition to making Mr. Circle, we colored circles based on size. Great job!

 

Our number this week was 0. We wrote zero, counted to zero (which isn't easy!) and learned about Zero the Hero. Our fun food this week was making Zero the Hero from a donut (he is often mistaken by the other numbers as a donut...), a fruit roll-up for the mask, and M&M eyes! Yum!

Number Monsters!

It's a classic! And very, very rare. The Number Monsters by Shirley Ross and Cindy McCord are so fun for Kinders. I have been lucky to inherit my number monsters from teachers who came before me, and I thought I would share my Number Monster Clapping Book that I use every year.

I use this the first week of school. It's simply: read the book, clap the correct amount of claps. Kinders and PreKs LOVE it! It is always a hit for the entire year.

You can make this book yourself, for free! Click here.

Shape Unit Update!

I have updated My Kindergarten Shapes unit. I have added a few new pages for star, heart and triangle. If you have already purchased the unit, please download the updated version. If not, go check it out!

Kindergarten Counting

I have FINALLY finished my Counting Sets pack. I think it has been about 4 months in the making, due to the craziness of my schedule. But, it's done and I am excited to share it.

 Cut and Paste Number Order

Have your students cut apart the numbers and glue them in order on a separate piece of paper.

 Count and Cirle

 (You count......and circle)

 Count and Write

(You count......and, you get it.)

 Base Ten Cut and Paste

I am excited about this page. Not only do students get handwriting practice, but they will be practicing base ten on a weekly basis. 

 Ten Frames

Count the dots and write, or draw the dots.

(Keeps those little minds busy.)

 Number Posters

I usually add one poster a week. I am a very visual person and too much visual is distracting for me. However, teachers I work with put them all up at once as a reference. Your choice!

Just a little added bonus, for those of you who do not already have number play-doh mats. Kinders LOVE play-doh and this is a fun way to work on ten frames and number association. You can also put them in sheet protectors for dry erase fun. 

Kindergarten Counting is a system I have been using for years and it really builds on previous number knowledge throughout the year. It is all Common Core aligned and give students a firm understanding of number sense when combined with Rote Counting. 

I hope you enjoy!

Lucky Charms Graphing

Yes, I know I am very late in the game. Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and you are probably all prepared. But, I have not been able to find the graph I want for my Lucky Charms, so I had to make one instead! And I thought I would share it with you guys! Here it is: Lucky Charms Graphing!!!!

Go grab some Lucky Charms and have a 

February

It's almost here! The most dreaded of Kindergarten holidays.......that's right......Valentine's Day!!!!! There is more candy on Valentine's Day than on Halloween. The entire day is a wash because the kids are too excited to actually do anything productive. I face this dreaded day each year and think "How can I make Valentine's Day worth while?" Here is my first activity:

My students will cut the numbers apart and glue them in order. Grab it here.

Another activity we do is graphing candy hearts. A lot of Kindergarten classes do this, but I teach Transitional Kindergarten and wanted an activity even more lowest kid could be successful at. I mean, it's Valentine's Day. Share the love!

Candy Heart Graphing

Valentine Heart Size Activity
Just have your student color and put out the hearts and glue them in order, biggest to smallest....or smallest to biggest! They are a nice decoration in the classroom as well.

I like to make the Twinkie heart for a fun snack on this day. Cut a Twinkie at a diagonal, flip one side around and it makes a heart. Top with strawberries, cherries, or anything else you want!

Here is a picture of our Valentine Bulletin Board out in the hallway:

Happy Valentines!

100th Day of Kindergarten

The 100th day of Kindergarten is this Friday for our school! This is an especially fun day when we get to explore the number 100. Have a long list of activities (not sure if I can get them all done...) and we will be learning all day long.

-I begin the day with the story Miss Bindergarten and the 100th Day of Kindergarten.
-We will think about how much 100 really is. We will sing the 100 counting song and look at the 100 chart I have posted in the classroom. We will talk about what kinds of things we could want 100 of and make a list. Students will transfer this to their journal writing that we do each morning.

-We will talk about counting to 100 by 10s and how much faster it is to count by 10s, or skip count. We will do a dot-to-dot by 10s.

-We will then start our first craft of the day! When I am 100 years old....

This is a fun craft where students get to make their 100 year old face. We talk about wrinkles and white hair and glasses. We also finish the sentence "When I am 100 years old I will_______________." Students can make up their own ending. Grab the activity here.

-We will have a 100 snack before recess. (Many classes do the trail mix thing, but I get very frustrated with that much stuff around.) We make a 100 out of a pretzel rod and two mini donuts.

-After lunch we will go on our 100 Hershey Kisses Hunt!! This is always a big hit, year after year. Before the 100th day, write numbers 1-100 on the bottom of 100 Hershey Kisses with a Sharpie. (Yes, this seems like it would take forever, but I accomplish this in about 5 min, so it is not as hard as it seems.) Before my students come in from lunch on the 100th day I hide the Kisses around the room. Students find the Kisses (like an Easter Egg Hunt) and match the number on the bottom to the number on my 100 chart. I remove the 100 chart from the wall and lay it flat in the table so students can put the Kisses on top of it. Of course, there are rules.
1. No running.
2. No screaming.
3. You can only bring 1 Hershey Kiss to the chart at a time (to stop those kids that will grab as many as they can right away. This give everyone a fair chance to participate.)
4. No eating!!

If students cannot follow the rules they must sit out. (Yes, it happens.) We find all 100 and then divide them up between the class. Students are always surprised when they only get 4! 

-We make the Fruit Loop necklace....I am never satisfied that they all have 100 fruit loops, but oh well.
-We will paint 100 gumballs in our gumball machine (a super cute idea from Apples and ABCs.)

-The last activity for the day is doing 100 exercises. We have help from the 5th grade on this one. One 5th grade class comes up with 100 exercises to do with a group of Kinders. They teach them the exercises and they do it together. Not only does it get the Kinders moving, but it is an excellent math lesson for the 5th graders.

When I go home, I will be exhausted!!

Mickey Mouse Math

Mickey Mouse Math!

Every kid knows his face! Mickey can help you teach addition!

When I begin addition with equations I always start with Mickey Mouse Math. I give students small cubes. (They look like cheese, right? I tell the kids not to eat it.) I ask them to put 3 in one of Mickey's ears and 2 in the other ear. Then we swoop them down into his head and count how many all together. Once I have done this a few times, we get out the dry erase markers and start writing the numbes (as seen above). If you would like to try Mickey Mouse Math you can grab it here.

 

 

 

 

Here is a  couple of shots of my math focus board. We are using dice to add numbers together as a whole group. I want my students to see the dice patterns and match them to the numeral.

We are also using straw and base ten rods and units to count the days of the year. (We are almost at 100!!) We put up one unit a day and change them out for rods when we get ten. I want them to see the exchange between units and rods. We use the straws in the same way. I am introducing place value with my students now so that they can see the relationship between groups of 10s and 1s. If you want the base ten printables you can click here.

Base Ten

It is January. I have taught numbers 0-15 extensively. We can write it, count it, find it, etc. Now is the time to stop and really make sure my students hit those Common Core standards. We are going to dive into a lot of base ten work. We have done base ten over the course of the semester and my students have a very good hold on the idea. They love ten frames and understand what a rod is and what a unit it. But, can they use it to count larger numbers? Can they decompose? That is what I will be teaching this month in math. I have just added my Base Ten Number Cards to my TpT store as a request from another teacher at my school. Like me, this teacher has a limited amount of wall space and wants to use the time and space she has effectively. My Base Ten Number Cards show students the number, ten frames, and rods and units to make a number. They are great to use when teaching the numbers and when teaching Base Ten and Decomposition.

I am trying to think of a variety of activities to use for Base Ten. In My Base Ten Number Cards I have added a math mat that we use to understand the teen numbers. Here is what it looks like:

Students use the base ten manipulatives to make the given number. I also use other activities. I really like the Rainbow Base Ten sheet I got from Pinterest

I hope your class is doing well with this standard! We will work on it till we get it right!