Using Ten Frames

 Learning with food is just a little more fun!

How about using licorice in ten frames to create numbers?

So, in my summer "carried away"ness (is that even a word?)

I created a fun ten frame game called A Tisket A Tasket.

 I made two sets of ten frames. One has the counters in place for display, modeling, or even to self check work. Both sets contain numbers 0-9

The other set has blank ten frames for student use!

Both sets are in the same pack and ready for you NOW. 

Head here to find out more and how you can get this pack.

How can you use these ten frames in your classroom?

Mary Amoson, Sharing Kindergarten http://sharingkindergarten.com/ http://www.facebook.com/SharingKindergarten

Olympic Math Mania: Charting the US Medals

I love the Olympics and in less than a week there will 17 days of competition . In 1988 my husband was stationed in Seoul, Korea and our family attended the Olympics everyday. My daughter who was on the Virginia State Swimming team had a friend who made the Olympic Swim team and her whole family came to Seoul . The US team did very well in swimming that year but the most wonderful sight was having all three US flags being raised and hearing our national anthem being played in a foreign country. We met so many wonderful athletes and their families. It was truly an experience of a lifetime not only for me but for our children as well. Here I am with my son and daughter in front of the Olympic Stadium.

I have put together a fun Olympic math activity that aligns with Common Core Math Standards for grades 2 and 3. (2. OA.1 and 3.NBT.2)  for you and your children to do together. Think of all the ways to access this information: media, websites, newspaper. Not only can they chart the number of medals each day by US athletes but they can find out more about their favorite sport, athlete, or London. What a wonderful way to  spend time talking with your children and work on Common Core Standards at the same time.

Just click on the chart above to download these charts.

If you click on the picture below you can find out about some other great Olympic activities for your children.

I hope you enjoy watching the Olympics with your children!!!

What is your favorite summer Olympic event?

Free Place Value Worksheet staring Mia the Math Magician

Hi, My name is Yvonne and I homeschooled my children for 5 years.  I've also taught in various grade levels in public school for several years.  I'm very happy to be a part of this great new blog!  Make sure to visit me at Mixminder:

I know that sometimes when you are homeschooling, it's kind of nice to see if your students are 'up to par' with the state and national standards. So, here is a great free worksheet that works on the standard 1.NBT.2, Number and Operations in Base 10.

Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones. Understand the following as special cases:

• a. 10 can be thought of as a bundle of ten ones — called a “ten.”
• b. The numbers from 11 to 19 are composed of a ten and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine ones.
• c. The numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine tens (and 0 ones).

Even if you don't homeschool your children, you can use this worksheet as a great way to get a jump start on first grade or as a review for your 2nd grade student.  I hope you enjoy it!

Fern Smith's FREE Equivalent Fraction Go Fish Style Game ~ Go DARTH!

FREE "Go Darth!" Equivalent Fractions Go Fish Card

Dear Families,  

Teachers Pay Teachers {TeachersPayTeachers or TPT} is a wonderful site for many, many, many free items to use at home to work with your child! You will need to sign up for an account, but there is no fees, no credit card, nothing but lots and lots of wonderful items to download, print and go! Many families feel that when their child gets into the older elementary school grades, 4th, 5th, 6th, they don't need to work with their child. Those grades are when children need you more than ever. As the skills get harder, don't panic, there are many things out there to help you review and to help you...help your child! Go Darth is a Go Fish Game that I have on TPT for free. Download it, print, cut & PLAY! You will never regret time spent with your child! You may not remember fractions, but your child will remember that you played a card game with them!

Fern Smith

Here is a link to get you to TPT!

Once you are there, here is a link for the game!

This GO PRINCESS! Go Fish Card Game focuses on Equivalent Fractions!
COMMON CORE STANDARDS
3.NF.3a ~ Describe equivalent fractions
3.NF.3b ~ Recognize simple equivalent fractions
4.NF.1 ~ Explain why a fraction is equivalent to another fraction

Description:

* 10 PAGES of Star Wars Themed "Go Darth" printable center games!
* Distinct Cover Sheet to glue on the folders, or place in a Ziplock Baggie.
* Everything also comes in Black and White if you want to save on color printer ink!
* Playing this game and practicing the concept helps a child learn to have quicker mental math!

I'm Fern Smith, my school's Teacher of the Year and 3rd Grade Team Leader.

If you haven't been to my blog, I'd love for you to drop by and follow me! 

Thanks, ~Fern

The Importance of Reading During the Summer

At the end of Kindergarten it is expected that students will be reading emergent readers with purpose and understanding. (Common Core Reading Foundational Standard -RF.K.4). To insure that they are ready to read on-level texts when they start 1st grade they need to engage in reading activities over the long summer vacation. All kids like to go the playground so I wrote an emergent "Make and Take Book" called "At the Playground" which you can download by clicking on the picture below. It is a great way for your child to spend time reading but also talking about what they like to do at the playground.

Here are a few more fun things to do with your child that are also aligned with the Math Common Core Standards:

• Visit your school or local playground. Count the number of swings, monkey bars, jungle gyms and slides.
• Compare the number of slides and number of swings. Use the words more than, less than and equals
• Make a graph to show the numbers of slides, swings, monkey bars etc at the playground and compare.

            (Common Core Math Standard: K.CC.7, K.MD.2)

 If you are interested in finding some other great sources to help you understand the new Common Core Standards and ideas for helping your child at home please click on the picture below.

"Bingo" Golf Games for Math and Phonics

Click image to download your Freebie.

Like many teachers, anytime I have some sort of adventure, it inspires me to relate it somehow to my own students.  This past week I helped out my gentleman friend with his golf camp, and I found myself coming up with a golf related game for my own little ones.

This game, called "Par 3" works like a Bingo game, and uses 3 dice.  The goal of the game is to get 3 in a row by adding the dice.   

Common Core Standards:

1.OA.1 Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction.

2.OA.1 Add and subtract within 20.

I also found myself inspired to make a game somehow related to reading, so I started thinking about the phonics skills I need to review at the beginning of second grade on short vowel sounds.  

Click image for more information on this game.

This second game also uses dice and works like Bingo, but the roll of the dice determines the vowel sound the kiddos will cover.  I like this game even better, since it will involve a little bit of strategy.  They might have 2 "short i" words on their card, but they can only cover 1.  They have to predict which short i word would help them get 3 in a row.  

Common Core Standards:

1.RFS.3 - Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

2.RFS.3 - Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

Both games include enough game boards so they could be played with a whole reading group or math group.  See this blog post to read more about these games.

Free Equivalent Fraction Go Fish Style Game ~ Go Princess!

FREE "Go Princess!" Equivalent Fractions Go Fish Card Game

Dear Parents and Home Schoolers,  

Teachers Pay Teachers {TeachersPayTeachers or TPT} is a wonderful site for many, many, many free items to use at home to work with your child! You will need to sign up for an account, but there is no fees, no credit card, nothing but lots and lots of wonderful items to download, print and go! Many families feel that when their child gets into the older elementary school grades, 4th, 5th, 6th, they don't need to work with their child. Those grades are when children need you more than ever. As the skills get harder, don't panic, there are many things out there to help you review and to help you...help your child! Go Princess is a Go Fish Game that I have on TPT for free. Download it, print, cut & PLAY! You will never regret time spent with your child! You may not remember fractions, but your child will remember that you played a card game with them!

Fern Smith

Here is a link to get you to TPT!

Once you are there, here is a link for the game!

This GO PRINCESS! Go Fish Card Game focuses on Equivalent Fractions!
COMMON CORE STANDARDS
3.NF.3a ~ Describe equivalent fractions
3.NF.3b ~ Recognize simple equivalent fractions
4.NF.1 ~ Explain why a fraction is equivalent to another fraction

Description:

* 10 PAGES of a Royalty Themed "Go Princess" printable center games!
* Distinct Cover Sheet to glue on the folders, or place in a Ziplock Baggie.
* Everything also comes in Black and White if you want to save on color printer ink!
* Playing this game and practicing the concept helps a child learn to have quicker mental math!

I'm Fern Smith, my school's Teacher of the Year and 3rd Grade Team Leader.

If you haven't been to my blog, I'd love for you to drop by and follow me! 

Thanks, ~Fern

Kinder and 1st grade fluency activity

PARENTS:
   You play an important role at home when your child is learning to read.  Fluency is a component of reading instruction.  But many times due to time constraints, teachers can not incorporate as many fluency activities as they would like to their day.  This is where your help and support at home is extra important.

Click on the page below to download it.  Ask your child to read the sentences to you.  Your child will read the sentences to you three times.  You can space out the times between reading sessions or let him or her read them three times in a row.  After reading the sentences, you will rate your child's fluency at the bottom of the page.

Read more about fluency by clicking on the bookworms below:

I have more fluency lessons and ideas on my blog.  You can type "fluency" on my blog.  You will see this on the side of my blog.

PARENTS WHO ARE ALSO TEACHERS:

This activity is aligned with these CCSS:

Common Core Standards: Kindergarten

RF.K.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

RF.K.3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

RL.K.10. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

Common Core Standards: 1st Grade:

1.RFS.2

Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

1.RFS.3

Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

1.RFS.4

Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

1.L.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.

Click to visit my blog.

Labels are Awesome

I use labels for everything, and I mean EVERYTHING.

I use them as stickers to send home positive messages home. You can add them to portfolios or scrapbooks to show growth and achievement. I also send them home in my students' agendas to keep parents informed. I made labels for Kindergarten Common Core Standards in Math and English Language Arts.

Here are the ELA labels on TpT.

Here are the ELA labels on TN.

 And here are the math labels...

 

 

 Here is the Math Labels on TpT.

Here is the Math Labels on TN.

 I know these save me so much time and effort, so I hope they help you as well.

Do you use portfolios to show student growth and achievement?

Mary Amoson, Sharing Kindergarten http://sharingkindergarten.com/ http://www.facebook.com/SharingKindergarten

Math Puzzle for Kinders and First Grade

Have you heard of the game "I Have, Who Has"?  Many teachers play this game in their rooms to review basic skills and build fluency in the use of those skills.  The game is usually played with a group of students, but today I am going to show you how to adapt this game for one player.

The game starts when someone says, "I have start.  Who has ____?"  The student who has the answer to the question replies, "I have  ____.  Who has _____?"  The game continues until the last person states, "I have finish."  Are you asking yourself, how would this work if I am practicing skills at home with my child?  Answer:  turn it into a puzzle by connecting the WHO HAS part of one card to the matching I HAVE part of another card.  When you are finished, you will have a long line of matching cards.

Parent Section:
I adapted a set of cards that I created for kindergarten and first grade teachers that review identifying the numbers 0-30.  I made the cards smaller, so they would take up less space when laid out.  I included the directions you see above in the file also.  Color ink is not required, they print out in black and white just fine.

I have not yet been blessed with parenthood, but I hope that it happens soon.  However, if I did have a lovely child at home, these are some of ways I would use this set of cards that I am leaving you with today.

• Complete the puzzle together the first time.  Shuffle the cards and have the child complete on their own the second time.
• Have the child complete the puzzle on his/her own.  Then have him/her talk to you about why he/she matched the cards.

How do I get a copy?  You can click HERE or on the picture below.

Teacher Section:
For my fellow teachers, I have included in the download the specific kindergarten and first grade CCSS standards that apply to this game (shown below).  This would be a great packet to put together for parents.

• You could send each child home with their own copy.  
• You could make a travel copy.  Print a set on card stock and laminate.  Laminate the directions on the front of a 9x12 manila envelope.  Send it home with a student to practice and have them bring it back in a few days.  Then send the packet home with another student.

You can download the packet from my Teachers Pay Teachers store or up above from Google Docs.  You can also find a copy of the school version HERE.

Would you like a blank copy of the "I Have, Who Has" game?  Hop on over to my blog and grab your copy.

Looking for other great freebies?  Check out Manic Mondays.