Hey, howdy, hey!

 Well, friends. [If anyone is still here!]

It's been a while.

A long, lllllllllllong while.

I'm still here.

Still teaching preschool.

And loving [almost] every minute of it.

Those of you who have been around a while will remember my "little Goose."

She's now all graduated and being an adult.
Nannying for 3 families and working at our local gas station deli.
And going dancing, and hanging with new friends.
Taking an unintentional gap year before she gets her phlebotomy license because she couldn't bear the thought of not nannying those sweet babies she's been with for over a year.

Sometimes we're lucky and her work schedules align so "Teacher Kayslin" gets to come help at preschool.
We love Teacher Kayslin days!

Anyway, that's what's going on over here these days.

I really want to get back to blogging. 

And sharing resources.
I've missed that creative aspect of teaching!

So how about something new and fun?!

I've uploaded that number activity you see in the last picture to Teachers Pay Teachers. 

And I've made it a free resource.

All About Numbers 1-10

Thanks for being here <3 .

[number sense activity pages for numerals 1-5]

Hi again. :)

Happy Wednesday! Today was a funny day at preschool. 

Back story...
Last week was spring break, so no school for the whole week. Saturday night I ended up with bronchitis which only worsened on Sunday. Little Goose ended up with the stomach flu on Sunday and threw up pretty consistently every 2 hours all.day.long.

Consequently, I canceled school for Monday. :(
And Tuesday. :( :(

Goosey was better and went to school yesterday. I was starting to feel better [except this horrid cough, but hey, #bronchitis]. And then Grammy started with the stomach flu.

Sigh.

Luke's about ready to move out for a week. Ha!

So I sent a text last night - "Heads up. I'm still coughing, but shouldn't be contagious. Goosey is better. But now Grammy has the stomach flu. I'm planning on school tomorrow but wanted you to be aware of what's going on so you can decide if you're sending your littles or not. I'll open all the windows in the morning and continue to sanitize everything. I'll have on guard diffusing in the classroom."

This morning I had one little guy show up at 9:25 [school starts at 9:30]. His momma and I chatted until about 9:35 when she decided to just take him home. I told her I thought at least a couple of kids would show up... 

She said it was no big deal and they left. At 9:36, I had another little guy come. His momma and I chatted for a minute and he decided to stay. Just as his mom was leaving, another little guy showed up. 

That was all. 

Preschool, Party of 3. 

Not a whole lot of new academic stuff today. Ha, ha.
We wrote in journals, briefly talked about the letters K and k, read stories, played play-doh, played puppets, painted, played outside, and colored with sidewalk chalk. 

It was fun, but my teacher heart smiled when they kept asking if we could be letter detectives or work on our math page. 

Luckily Grammy is feeling better and Luke is showing no signs of illness, so I *think* school is a go for tomorrow!!

Tomorrow is my little littles. My threes. My Glowworms.
They're darling. And hilarious.

We've been working extensively on numbers 1-5. We've made cube towers. We've counted objects. We've written the numbers and traced the numbers, and colored the numbers, and stickered the numbers. They were ready for something more.

Before spring break, I introduced the new Number Sense Activity Pages. 

 


They were hooked. So funny to see them remind each other about where the sticker dots go on a ten-frame. And to say out loud the steps of writing a number. 

 


The flip side of the activity page is the writing page. We write the number 5 times each with a pen, a pencil, a crayon, and a marker. Then we draw that number of objects in the box (I've updated these to use simple shapes). They hate writing with pens. It makes me giggle when they have these big annoyed sighs when it comes to that part. #theyaresopickedon ;)

 


I've listed these pages in both my Teacher's Notebook and Teachers Pay Teachers shops. The file sells for $3. 

But...[you knew that was coming, right?!]
I'd like to give away a copy or two of this file! :)

Leave a comment with your email and I'll send it to you to use with your classroom or your own kiddos.

**Giveaway ends Friday, April 14, 2017**

Thanks for stopping by!

[Super Sonic Subitizing]

Student ETA: 8 days and counting. . .

Every year I have a handful of students that are unable to instantly recognize numerical dot patterns.

Huge deal?
No.

Big deal?
A little bit, yes.

Subitizing is a critical skill in first grade.

Super Sonic Subitizing, well, that's just awesome!

Meet Dudley (you'll be seeing LOTS of him over the next few months!).

Super Sonic Subitizing is an easy to use game that will give your kiddos lots and lots of practice recognizing dot patterns and matching the dot pattern with the correct numeral.

And. . .it's only a buck at Teacher's Notebook!

Wednesday is a full day of work in my classroom.

I have sooooooo much to do (so much that when people ask how they can help, I honestly have to say, "Um. . .I don't know?!" because I really truly don't)!

Guess I'll figure all of that out tomorrow.

Right?

I think I'm going to be a hermit in my room - complete with a DO NOT DISTURB sign.

Not trying to be rude.

It's just survival at this point.

Get in. Get it done. Get out.

Happy Wednesday!

See you tomorrow!!

[Lucy Ladybug Learns About Numbers]

I know.  It's summer break.

And I'm working on materials for the first 2 weeks of school.

What's wrong with me?!  lol.

We have adopted Go Math in first grade for the upcoming school year.

Go Math is incredible!  Totally common core based.  Awesome!

But. . .chapter 1 is addition concepts.

Yikes!  We've built into our pacing guide 10 days for numeracy right at the start of the year.  I'm really excited about this Lucy Ladybug pack!

It's going to be a fun exploration of numbers 1-10 for the first 10 days of school.

Lucy Ladybug deals with one "number" each day (days 1-10).

Writing the number, reading the number word, determining even or odd, representing on a ten frame, simple model drawing (adding 1), and then the ways to create an addition equation with 2 addends and a sum of the "number of the day."

If you're a first grade teacher, this pack is a perfect start to your math year.  :)

Because it is a 21 page pack (2 pages for each "number"), the price is set at $5.

However. . .there is that 50% off sale that runs through Saturday the 16th.

$2.50 for 21 pages of number sense and mathematical reasoning.

Awesome.

But. . .you can win this pack!

All you have to do is leave a comment with your best BACK TO SCHOOL hint/tip/tradition.

You have until midnight tonight (June 12) to enter.

I'll choose 1 winner from all comments.

Good luck!

[WELCOME!] and a Friday Favorite

Welcome new friends, to My Little Classity Class!
I'm glad you're here!!  :)

(And. . .I'm really very glad it's Friday!!)

Looking back through my little bloggity blog, I came upon this game that my monsters have been BEGGING to play again (even though it's clearly a beginning of the year skill).

Counting Crocodiles!

I love to use this game with the book Counting Crocodiles by Judy Sierra.

I hope you'll take a minute to hop over and check out this week's Friday Favorite!

Who knows. . .maybe I'll let my monkeys play this today.  ;)

Yep, I think I will.  With this UPDATED version!  YAY!!!
Updated version available exclusively through Teacher's Notebook.

(Right now we're just beginning our Comparing and Ordering Numbers to 100 topic in enVision).  This will certainly help.  I hope.

[number writing fluency] great practice

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of first graders come into my classroom needing a bit of extra help remembering how to write their numbers.  They also need some practice writing their numbers quickly and legibly!

Each day for the first few weeks of school (at least the first 10), I've done this sheet with my class.  The kids LOVE to race against their best effort from the previous day and really do get faster at writing their numbers correctly! 

The top section is the practice section.  In the beginning we do this together as I model on the board.  Then we move into guided practice as I say out loud the steps for writing each number.  Towards the end of the practice days, I set the timer for 2 minutes and have the students complete this section independently.

The bottom section is a timed assessment of sorts where they have one minute to trace each number and then write it neatly and correctly on the line below.  What I've found is that by doing this, when I introduce the timed math drills (we use Otter Creek and begin administering them as soon as we feel the students are ready -- I generally start "A" with all students the first day we start addition in our enVision math program), the students quickly adapt their new number writing fluency to writing the answers to addition problems.

If this is something you can use, please download it and enjoy.  The fonts are from Fonts4Teachers.  I use these fonts ALL THE TIME!!  Please do not claim ownership of this practice sheet.  Please do not share the actual file.  Directing your friends here to download the file themselves is preferred.  If you take this, please leave a comment.  Thanks!

[roll and color] a worksheet

I've used this template for a few years when the kids begin practicing number sense.

They simply roll a die (I prefer the dice labeled with 0-9, but you could use regular dice, or even number cards for this activity), write that number on the line, then color that many objects.

The objects on this worksheet are from a font by Miss Tiina.

Also included are a blank worksheet, and a blank worksheet with a grid that will help if you're going to be using model drawing in your classroom.

Please respect copyright and do not share this worksheet.  Directing your friends here to download their own copy is preferred.  A kind comment would also be appreciated if you download this for use in your classroom.  Thanks.

[Up and Down to 20]

This is a slightly easier version of "On Beyond" that I posted in the spring. 

This set focuses on representations of numbers 0-20 (although I'm only using 0-10 for the first few weeks of school).  The representations for each number include the numeral, the number word, and a ten frame visual.

Directions are included.

I think this is going to be a much loved game in my classroom!

Please comment if you download.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day!

[one-to-one correspondence] working on number sense

I created these little gems clear back in 2007 when I was presenting for Utah CORE Academy.  I've used them in my classroom nearly every year since then.  They are a great little tool that packs a great big punch!

On the first day of school, I call each student over to me (or have a parent volunteer do this part) and ask the students to tell me any number between 0 and 9.  I do this until each row has a number.  You don't want the numbers in order.

Run on cardstock.  Laminate before allowing the students to use them.  Trust me on this one.  ;)

We use these daily for the first 10 days of school.  Each day I pass out the strips - students do NOT get their own most days.  They think it's hilarious when they actually do get their own on accident.  I love first graders!  :)

I hand out the strips, they get a scoop of cereal, and begin to make rows of cereal in the quantity indicated on each row of the strip.  This is such a quick assessment, and it tastes great, too! 
Somewhere I have a file that has the number words in the same size as the numeral strips. . .need to find that file!

You can use these strips all year.  After the first 10 days, I put them away until we begin addition, then I break them out again.  The kids pair up, line their strips up, and add the two numbers.  We do this for a week or so.  Then the strips go in the cupboard again until we begin working on place value.  Then the strips are used to create 2 digit numbers that must be explained using expanded notation. 

[enVision math Topic 2 journaling printables]

As I created the Topic 2 journaling sheet, I made a few changes to better fit the needs of first graders when they are learning to use model drawing as a strategy for solving problems.

Please let me know if these are helpful to you or not.  If they aren't, I won't bother sharing the files.  :)

[enVision math Topic 1 journaling printables]

Our district uses enVision math as our main math teaching resource.  This will be our 3rd year using enVision, and truthfully, I really like it!  I think that every program has some pitfalls, this included, but for the most part, I've found that this program works really well for my teaching style.

I love the journaling prompts that are given for a quick assessment at the end of each lesson.  The journaling prompts are on the Quick Check page, however, I wanted something that was all in one spot and easy to hand out, assess, and file.  For now, I think this is what I'm going to use.  The added bonus, for me anyway, is that I can use these to help my students acquire a working knowledge of model drawing. 

These are directly from the enVision teacher's guide/student pages.  If you use enVision and are going to download/use these, please leave a comment.  Thanks!

[Counting Crocodiles] ordering numbers math activity

For the first 10 or so days of school, I begin my math lesson with a read-aloud counting book.  I have many favorites, but this one is my very most favorite!

And, now, I have a fun little ordering numbers game for my class to play after we've read the book.  :)
This game requires students to put a set of number cards in chronological order from 1-10.  However, students may choose to receive as many cards as they'd like on each turn, and there are a couple of sneaky little monkey cards, a super snail card, and a fantastic fox card to make this a little more of an adventure.
Directions are included in the download.  I would recommend printing a minimum of one complete set of cards for each student that will be playing.  My groups generally have 4-6 students in each group, so I would make 6 sets of cards.  I realize that's a lot of cards, but it really will help the students have a higher chance of success. 

If you've never read this book, you should.  Really.  You'll love it.  And so will your kiddos.  It's hilarious.  One spunky little monkey stuck eating sour lemons all day and all night till she spies a delectable banana tree on the other side of the Sillabobble Sea which just so happens to be filled with crocodiles.  Not very bright crocodiles, I might add, but the crocodiles are very entertaining (I LOVE the page where the crocs are dressed like Goldilocks!  My kiddos crack up every.single.time we read that page!)! 
(*The link above is an affiliate link through Amazon.  Your order will help me continue to offer free downloads.  Thank you!)

Anyway. . .

The preview picture below is linked to the ordering game.

Please leave a comment before you click to download.
If you have friends that may like their own copy of this game, please direct them here to download their own copy.

Thanks much!

[Order Up!] ordering numbers 0-20

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to my "baby boy" who turns 11 today!

Happy Birthday, Bubs!

Here is a fun new math group idea called "Order Up!"

The idea of the game is for students to practice and begin to visualize numerical order.

Students must fill each space on their workmat and are not allowed to move the game pieces after they initially place them.  This encourages higher level thinking as students become familiar with numerical order, strategically placing their numbers where they will fit the very best.  Because students may not move their cards after placing, they really have to think about numerical order (counting up AND down from the given number) to find the best space for that card.

This is a HUGE download (20 pages).

Preview image is linked to the pdf download.

PLEASE do not claim ownership of this game.  Give credit where credit is due.
Elements for this activity come from the Digital Scrapbooking Kit Milk and Cookies by Sprouting Seeds Studio.

Please do not share the downloaded file.

You may direct your friends to my blog to download their own copy.

If you plan to download this activity, please leave a comment BEFORE you click the link.

Thank you!

The first page is instructions, Common Core standards, and credits.

Following that are 6 workmats. Although the workmats are optional, it gives the students a good visual to work with.  Other games using these same workmats will be created, so printing/laminating costs will be shared among numerous games.

There are 6 cards for each number 0-20.  This is a good range of numbers at the start of the year for first graders.  Possibly too large for some, but you could focus on 0-11 and then add in the other cards when your students were ready.

These cards can be used for so many different activities. I'll share some of my favorites at a later date.

These pages print at 12x12.  Most copy shops are set up to print at that size for a minimal charge.  If you have an Alphagraphics near you, they will be able to print these.

My brain is on overdrive with ideas for math groups this fall.  I have started a list and am working like crazy to get the ideas worked up before the inspiration dries up.  :)

Have a great day!

(I'm still trying to figure out how I have an ELEVEN year old?!)

[math circles, complete file 3-10]

Creating the 3-9 pages was super fast thanks to the template I created for the 10 circle!

And I used power point to create them.  First time EVER using power point.  Why didn't someone tell me how easy that was?! 

Anyway. . .here is the complete file.  Numbers 3-10.  Addition and Subtraction with missing numbers in both places as well as some missing signs.  Common Core standards are addressed on the title page.  Should be great practice!

Hope you find these useful.  Please let me know what you think.  Thanks!

[thinking about TEN] circle workmat

I *think* this is going to be a good way to get the kiddos thinking about getting to 10.

It will be tough for sure, but perhaps if we work up to it by doing a page of this with 3, then 4, then 5, all the way to 10, they will be experts at making numbers?!  That's my plan anyway.  :)

Hope you're enjoying your Saturday!  We have played way too hard in our family and are all about ready to turn in for the night!

Let me know what you think about this page. . .thanks!