Love me some Velcro and Laminating Paper

I love, love, love velcro and laminating paper.  I fell in love with velcro when I was teaching Special Education in a resource room and I had my assistant create 100's of file folder games. I thought instead of having the kiddos lay the answers on the correct spot, let's use velcro so that I can check their work when they are done and later remove the answers for another child's turn. Velcro makes independent centers so much more fun.   Thus you will find tons of it in my craft drawer...  never know when it will come in handy.


Laminating paper rocks too.  The Avery Self-Adhesive Laminating Sheets, 9 x 12 Inches, Box of 50 (73601) are my faves for quick projects.  You have to laminate all things that kiddos will have their little hand on and sometimes you have used your allotted laminator machine time at school.  Time to turn to the self laminator paper!!  Everything last longer when laminated.




Here is a center I created with Velcro and laminating paper.  It is free for you to download and make as well.  Complete with a center sheet for your kiddos to complete, turn in, and for you to check over to make sure they got-it!

Storing in Zip-loc baggies is always an easy way to keep it together too.

Happy back to school, click here to download this file free! 

Free Math Center Adding Sets to 9

Hello!  The Back to School Party Giveaways are closed for entries and winner will go up on site sometime on Tuesday.  But the party will go on all August!!!  So stay tuned for another giveaway this month as well as some free printables and free ideas from www.teachingheart.net !  Be sure to follow the blog via email and/or on Facebook.  You won't want to miss more fun!!! 

Here is a fun free math center.  All you have to do it print the first three pages on cardstock.  Cut-out the manipulatives on  page 1 and make copies of the center sheet on page 3.  Place them all in an envelope and you have a math center ready to go!  Wonderful to use when you are teaching small groups and the other children need to be working independently.  Also great for at home use.  A fun way for K-1st students to practice the given skill. 

Click here to download the Making Pies PDF!!! 

Want more great ideas for back to school?  Click here!!!

BACK TO SCHOOL DEAL - 35% off discount for all your Teaching Heart downloadable orders when orders are placed here at our downloading store on or Before August 9, 2011.
Fill up your cart and then place your order.  Once you place your order you will get 35% off  the order when you enter the coupon code B2S2011 at the checkout . 
I think that is an awesome way to help you get ready for Back To School. 

Halloween Gyphs

"Glyphs are non standard way of graphing a variety of information to tell a story. It is a flexible data representation tool that uses symbols to represent different data. Glyphs are an innovative instrument that shows several pieces of data at once and requires a legend to understand the glyph. The creation of glyphs requires problem solving, communication, and data organization." Learn more about Glyphs at Suite101: Glyphs for Kids: How to Create Glyphs

 

A Huge Halloween High Five to Kim Koehler at kckoehler12@yahoo.com for sharing this Halloween Glyph!

Here is the key for the haunted house. I do either a haunted house or a scarecrow each year. I recently had students who did not participate in Halloween, so we made scarecrows that year instead of the houses. I have the key and worksheet in Word with the neat font too. So here it is here: It is a pretty complicated glyph that I do with my third graders.

black house means I am a girl, brown house means I am a boy

tall door= I have pets, short door= I do not
skinny door= I have a computer, wide door= I do not

tall chimney= I have blonde or red hair, short chimney= I have black or brown hair
skinny chimney= I wear glasses, wide chimney= I do not

yellow moon= 8 years old, white moon= 9 years old

The number of windows equals the number of hours I go trick or treating

The number of ghosts represents my brothers and sisters

The color of my sign tells the month of my birthday

The bats flying around mean nothing but Halloween fun!

*** You can change any of these to fit with an all Halloween theme or any other questions you think of. I also have the kids put spider webs on it, but don't have any on my sample. I show them how to put the webs on using my sample and then take them off to store it. It is pretty beat up from being around for a few years, but still gets the idea across pretty well.

For More Halloween Lessons, click here!

You can find a Pumpkin Glyph here!  It is from http://www.kidscount1234.com/ ..  This site also shares a Haunted House Glyph.

Another Pumpkin Glyph!

Below is my favorite Glyph resource...

Free Lemonade Printable

Summer is all about a Lemonade Stand.  Kids love to play store.  What a great way to teach kids about making change or adding up a sale.

You can print out the sign you see on the Lemonade Stand of this picture.  Click here to download and print the banner!!!   Just cut and paste...  Ta-Da, you have a sign!!!

Read some stories about Lemonade; like, OLIVIA Opens a Lemonade Stand or Lemonade for Sale (MathStart 3) or Ruby's Lemonade Stand/Ruby's Rummage Sale/Ruby's Magic Act.  Watch the DVD Maggie and the Ferocious Beast - Lemonade Stand

Here are some great tips!  Here are a few more great tips!

10 tips for the coolest lemonade stand

Here is a coloring sheet to print and have your child color,

Practice Those Facts!!!

Many parents and teachers email me asking ways I suggest you practice addition and subtraction facts with your kiddos.  You can click here and read some of my ideas. 

Below is an idea I gave to my second grade parents.  Teachers you can print this letter from here and hand it out. 

Help Your Child Practice Their Facts


PARENTS: Fact Mastery is very important and is something every first grader should master before the end of the year. Having the facts memorized will help your student when we go on to more complex problems that involve borrowing and carrying. Here is a great way to help your child learn their facts. You may use this suggestion to complete their nightly practice of facts or you may just make flash cards to practice. I suggest this strategy.

Need: 3 envelopes

Index cards

Pen

On one envelope write mastered. On the second envelope write practice. On the last envelope write future.

Write one fact on each index card. On the back of the card write the answer. Facts that equal 18 and below are the facts you will need.

Place all of the index cards in the future envelope.

Pick seven cards to place in the practice envelope.

Students, every night for five minutes…

Have an adult show you a card from the practice envelope. If you get the answer correct in three seconds, the adult may place an x on the back of that given fact. Go on to another fact in the practice envelope and repeat until you have gone through all seven facts once.

When you have three X on the fact it may go in the mastered envelope. If you place a fact in the mastered envelope you will need to pick another fact from the future envelope to place in the practice envelope. You always have seven facts in the practice envelope. (Repeat this nightly until all facts are in the mastered envelope) Every so often practice your facts in the mastered envelope.

Graphing For Green!!!

Graphing the Green


What color comes to mind when you think of St. Patrick's Day? Green of course! So celebrate the holiday and the color by completing the activity below.

YOU WILL NEED -Large sheet of bulleting board paper -A 1/2 sheet of shamrock stickers for each student

PREPARE THE LARGE SHEET OF B-BOARD: -draw a line down the middle -make nine columns going across -on the left side of the line write the following questions in each box.

1. I am wearing green.

2. The house I live in is green.

3. My favorite color is green.

4. I like green beans.

5. My family has a green car.

6. I have a green pencil.

7. My winter coat is green.

8. I like green Jell-O.

9. I have used a green crayon.

10. I know a word that rimes with green.

HOW IT WORKS:


1.) Have a volunteer read #1.

2.) Invite students up to place a sticker in the column next to #1 if it applies.

3.) Repeat 1-2 for all the questions.

4.) Have students use the graph to answer questions during a class discussion

Graphing the St. Patrick's Way- (1-2)
Your students cut out various St. Patrick's Day Pictures. They then place those pictures on their graph. After the pictures are on the graph, they answer questions about the graph.
This is found in our St. Patty Pack - Click here to print for free!!!


For more fun St. Patrick's Day Ideas, click here!

I have to share this craft.  I found it here... and loved it!  I have to try it with my daughter this week once I get the cereal.  Look at how pretty!!!

Get Your Easter Bunny Gummies

I want to share this activity early.  This way you have time to find these Easter Gummies.  I found mine at Sam's Club.  They are made by Betty Crocker.

The little packs are yummy and cute.  See..

.

I created a sorting sheet and graph to match the gummy candy.  The sorting is for prek to first grade.  The graph can be done in first through third.  Just a fun Spring Time activity. 

Working on sorting skills and counting...

You can print these  two pages out for your classroom or kiddos!  Click here to download the word files!

Olympic Learning!

Just a few idea to use with your classroom or kiddos over the winter Olympics!

Get black sheet paper and cover a bulletin board with it. Place a sports boarder around the board. On a computer generate a red, white, and blue sign with the title, "Going for the Gold in Room 1!" Make the Olympic Rings out of Oaktag. Make a Tourch and Flame out of oaktage. Purchase pretend medals at a party store. Make five smaller circles on a computer and place the words, writing, growing, learning, reading, and math in each circle. Place this all on a bulletin board!

Math Ideas:
- Make bar graphs for the gold, silver and bronze medals won for each country. You could also graph students favorite Olympic Sport.

-Take brain breaks to measure student jumps, throws and running speeds

Language Arts:

-Read various books on the Olympics

-Have students write a poem about the Olympics

-Have students write a speech about winning the gold medal.

-If I were Olympic Athlete...

-Brainstorm ideas of what it takes to be an Olympic Athlete. Students list and illustrate the ideas.

-Put the sports names in ABC order.

-Write a news report.

-Take a picture of each students head. Have the student cut out their head and then draw the body of what sport they would like to compete in. Make sure they include an Olympic background behind their drawing. Below the drawing you could have student write about their time at the Olympics.

Arts and Crafts

- Use pipe cleaners to have students create their own Olympic rings

-Make Olympic Torches your students can eat... Use a sugar cone and whip cream. Sprinkle yellow sprinkles on the whip cream and you have torch the students can eat.

-Have an oreo Olympics:
Oreo Stacking
Oreo Relays
Oreo Rolling
Oreo Eating

5 Free PDF Printables From Teaching Heart

KWL Olympic Sheet

Graphing

Click here to see and download the rest off of Teaching Heart!

I have created this page in honor of the 2006 Olympics and due to the large volume of requests from Teaching Heart Teachers who were looking for Olympic ideas to use in their classrooms. Here you will find ideas, printables, and great links that will help you create an Olympic Theme/Unit in your classroom. A special thanks to the teachers who sent me the great links to include on this page

Links off of Teaching Heart worth visiting!

Winter Sports Coloring!

Olympic and Winter Olympic Fuse Bead Patterns

Olympic Games Worksheets

Winter Olympic games to make and play with friends

Mazes, Word Searched, Dot to Dot, and lots more!


 

Candy Hearts Math

Grab some hearts from your local candy store and you have many math lessons in a box of Yummies!  Below are two ideas; one for estimation and the other for graphing. 

Estimation:

Draw a large heart on a piece of paper. Give Each student a box of Hearts.

Have him Estimate the number of hearts that will fit in the heart. Then have him see how many really fit in the heart. 

Was your estimation close to the actual number?

The activity sheet shown above and below is from Teaching Heart CDROM #3 - Click to learn more.

Graph Them:

Give each student a box of candy hearts. Have the students color the graph to match the hearts they have. After they have the graph colored, have them trade with a friend. The friend can answer the questions on the back using the graph. The first graph is for grades k-1. Have your students lay the hearts on the graph. To make this more difficult 2-3, create a graph that allows your students to color the hearts and then answer questions about their graph.

The activity sheet shown above is from Teaching Heart CDROM #3

 

Sticker Number Fun!

Here's a quick activity you can throw together in two minutes with a pack of number stickers, like the ones here.

You can write numbers on a sheet of paper and have your child put the sticker over the matching number. 

You can make dots and have your child count the dots and put the sticker on the correct set of dots.

You can make computation problems and use the stickers as the sum.  Or you can leave a blank equation and have your child put a sticker in the blank.

This activity was enjoyed by both my almost four year old and seven year old.

Happy Sticking!!!

Graphing Fun

Graphing is a must teach subject.  It is a part of all state assesments.  It is very important for your kiddos to have many opportunities to graph.  Here is an activity that is appropriate for grades PreK to third.  It can be modified to meet your grade level.  Above is a graph to use after reading a variety of fairytales.  Have your students select their favorire by placing an icon next to their choice.  

Once your students finish the graph, then they can answer questions about the graph.   If you are looking for more graphing resources, please click here.  Free printables and graphing links!!!

Graphing Fun Halloween Style

Trick or Treat? Okay, here's a treat, if you like free printables from Teaching Heart!!!



Above is a fun cut and paste graph I created first for my second grade classroom and later used it with my first grade son. You can use this in your classroom for a fun Halloween activity or use it over the weekend at home to keep your kiddos happy and busy. They won't even know they are learning important graphing skills.
First they cut out the pictures. Next they glue the pictures on their graph. Finally they answer the questions about the graph.

* Graphing for Halloween - Click Here to Download the Sheets!

Need more Halloween fun for your classroom? Try: http://www.teachingheart.net/halloweenlesson.html

Teaching Heart has great ideas for graphing...


*What is your favorite fall activity?
Free from our Graphing CDROM
Download the free printables at P1 - P2 - P3

Master Those Basic Facts for Math Sucess!

So I am on the other side of this now! Instead of the teacher giving the timed computation drills, I am the parent helping the child get ready for the timed drills.

It was funny the other day I ran into a parent from my sons class who was complaining about the skill drills and how she didn't even have immediate recognition of the math facts with sums to 18. She said something like, "Why do they need to learn their facts when we use computers for everything now?" I really did not say much and just asked her if she wanted me to send her some links to free resources for fact mastery. When she said, "No, thanks," I felt bad for her child.

So why do I think children should master facts (speaking from a teacher prospective)?

Learning the math facts is important because they are the basic building blocks (pre-skills) needed for higher level math concepts. Knowing the basic facts will make it significantly easier for your child to grasp higher level math concepts. Examples of higher level math concepts include; adding and subtracting two digit numbers, telling time, counting money, multiplication, and division. Likewise, if they do not know their facts then all higher math concepts will be more difficult and frustration will set-in. Rather than reinvent the wheel, click here for more great tips and ideas for fact mastery.

There are many resources available online to help parents and teachers reinforce fact mastery (remember if you child is counting on their fingers or drawing dashes to represent the problem, they do not have fact mastery.) Fact mastery is considered memorization of the facts.

When I taught special education students, one thing my students all struggled with was learning their basic facts. I have found over time that the best way to teach the facts is to break them down into sets. Start with 10 facts. Once a child has learned those 10, add 2 more. Once they know those 12, add 2 more. Repeat until they know all their facts. Keep flash cards in your car. Have your child tell you five facts before getting out of the car. Make sure they say the problem with the answer. "two plus three equals five"

Besides regular daily practice with flash cards, get creative and use free printables from online and be sure to check out the online games for fact mastery. Below are some of my favorite online resources.

Take Timed Tests Online

Addition Timed Test

Printable Addition Timed Tests

Print Flash Cards

Different Levels of Tests

Make Your Own Test

Make an online test here or a worksheet for extra practice.

Fun For Practice

Many online games on a first grade level from Harcourt

Math Car Racing

Add Like Mad

Counting on the Bus

Math Magician Games

Count Us In - Games to help younger students understand basic math concepts. From Australia.

Subtraction (eBeam)

BlackDog's Addition Quiz - slide the answer to match the problem

Rock Hoppers - an addition game

Test The Toad - addition to 15

Simple Addition Game basic skill practice made fun

Everyday Math Resources

Hidden Picture - addition - check your addition facts

Spooky Cookies Sort & Graph

I found something good at Oriental Trading. They are called Spooky Cookies. They are so cute and they come with a good amount in each package. My kids think they are yummy and at only 7g of sugar per package, I am happy to give them the treat. Perfect Halloween snack for graphing (K-2) and sorting (Prek-1). Of course, I made a sorting sheet and graphing sheet I will share with you. So hop over to Oriental Trading and order those cookies for your class or or a Halloween party. Not only will the kids say yummy, they will be learning too!

Print the sorting sheet

Print the graphing sheet

For more learning fun with Halloween yum, try here!

Back To School Party Day 4 - Graphing Giveaway #7

Have you seen the Staples Commercial for Back to School? The one where the father is singing the Christmas song, "It is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?" I think it is so funny and somewhat rings true for parents. As a teacher, I loved back to school too. I think it is the start of something new. Starting off with a clean slate. I loved getting my room ready and my lessons organized. It was a great feeling to turn off the light in my classroom the night before school started. I knew I was ready and I was excited about starting a new year with new kiddos. O, what they would teach me!!!

In honor of all the PreK to Third Grade Teachers getting ready to take on the kiddos for a great year, the first giveaway for today is a TEACHER ONLY giveaway. It is for a the Teaching Heart Graphing CDROM and small pocket chart. Retail for over $20.00 total. Read more about this CDROM by clicking here!

If you are looking for free graphing ideas, go here!

How to enter:

1 entry per teacher:

1.) In the comments section please place a link to your school or district webpage. Include your email and tell me why you would like the Graphing CDROM for your classroom. Entry must be in on or before August 14th!!!

Once again... You must be a Prek to 3rd grade teacher to enter. Also you must have a school website or district site to enter...

That is all. Good Luck! Winner will be announced on the 17th.