Numbers 11-20 (They are sooooo ready for this!)

After a LOT of number sense activities on numbers 0-10 my class is sooooo ready to move on to bigger numbers!  (To see some of our 0-10 activities click HERE.)

Now all our hard work has paid off and this next step has been easy breezy!

We start by singing this song at the beginning of each math lesson:

   

Then we practice writing, decomposing and find the number with this page:

Then the next day we sing the song again and then we do a circle map and practice writing the number again with this page:

Then we go to our math buckets and practice counting bigger numbers using our manipulatives and tens frames!
They are EXTREMELY independent with this!  All our number sense work has really paid off!

If you're interested in these pages they are on TPT for only $3.00!

Handwriting Practice (A fun way to practice)

Need a new way to practice writing the alphabet?  My class loves to practice while they sing! 

I laminated a practice (tracing) page for each kid.  They use dry erase marker to trace the letters while they sing.  We use old cheap gloves for erasers. (I confiscate the cheap gloves from lost and found at the end of each year.)

Once they get used to the activity I take away the tracer sheets and they write the letters on their small wipe boards.  

It's a fun way to practice (the kids LOVE it) and it saves me from having to print the sheets over and over and over.

I play a song on the smartboard and they sing while they write.  Here's the song we use:

You can get free printables of  the alphabet lots of places on the internet.  

Here's one that's free:  http://www.studenthandouts.com/01-Web-Pages/Lot-01/Printable-ABCs-Alphabet-Print-Practice-Writing-Sheet.pdf

Returning from the brink, Things that work... and a couple of FREEBIES :)

I am so happy to be part of this New Year's Linky! Happy New Year Peeps! I am Maggie from Maggie's Kinder Corner.  I have been teaching for 25 years, and most of the years have been with kindergarten--my absolute favorite age of little people! If you want to know more about me, follow my blog button to my blog and read more!

I have been contemplating things that really work for me and my students, so here is tip #1:

After having had the flu for going on two weeks, I have been contemplating how I will "battle the bug" in my classroom when we return to school on Friday.  What I have been doing seems to work very well, and that is:
Wipe each table with a Clorox wipe every day!

Keep a box of tissues and a trashcan at each table.  ONLY throw paper trash into the little trash cans! All tissues should go to the main trash can away from students.  By having little trash cans at tables, we avoid having to be near the germy trash can every time we have trash to throw away.

Spray down the interior of the little cans each day!
Sneeze into a sleeve!!!
DO NOT come to school with fever (a person with fever can infect everyone)

I can still say that I have not missed one day due to illness all year, though I really hated having those sick days during my entire Christmas break!

Another thing I do is drink lots of hot liquids, and never drink from a public fountain.  Sorry kiddos, but that is where a lot of germies are living!

Am hoping and praying that 2013 will be a healthy year for my entire class!

Tip #2:  Get those kiddos labelin! My class is really into labeling everything, and you can see the positive impact it has when you consider their writing, or when you hear them identify a word in a trade book they have seen during a previous labeling activity.  More power to the labelers of the world!!! Just click on the pic to grab it!

Tip #3:  Get them into math journaling! The added practice reaps nothing but great results! A definite KEEPER for me are the Common Core Aligned Math Journals that I created two summers ago.  They continue to be a top seller in my TpT store because they are simple, use minimal printer ink, and provide generic prompts that kids can make their own by drawing what they choose.  I allow my students to do up to three pages a day in their journals (which are stapled and kept in their chair pockets in folders).  We also have a bag of manipulatives in our chair pockets for use with our ten frames in the journals.  I can't wait to return to school and get my kids back to journaling! If you want to see an example of this journal, click on the picture below for a sampler, or follow the link to my TpT Store for the entire bundle. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Math-Journals-Bundle-for-K-1st-Grade-Common-Core-Prompts-No-CutPaste

Tip #4:  Bucket Seats are my absolute favorite new thing this year! For about 25.00, I was able to purchase five buckets from Home Depot, paint them, add embellishments, make easy to clean and disinfect seats for the lids, and add some terrific seating and storage to my classroom! Check out this top blog article from earlier this year.  Next year's new addition will be "Spots".  Discs that can velcro to the carpet for stepping stones, seating arrangements, and many other things.  I plan to use the round disc as on the top of my bucket seats for the discs, and I plan to construct them the same way, but will add velcro hooks to the bottom so they will stay in place on our carpet.  I love do-it-yourself projects, especially cheap ones! The best thing about them is how easy to clean they are--no fabric to wash! http://maggieskindercorner.blogspot.com/2012/07/just-in-case-you-crafty-teachers-missed.html


For more inspiration, be sure to follow this linky to the next terrific blog post! You won't be disappointed! And a huge thanks to Michelle at Inspired By Kindergarten for having me as a guest blogger! Be sure to tell her what you think, and by all means, check out her TpT Store!

Have a great day!
Maggie :)

Heading back soon and a blog hop!

Done with 2 days of inservice. . . one more to go and the kids come back to school on Monday.  Ready or not here they come! 

I haven't been blogging as much as I should have but I've needed a little time to regroup, regenerate and to be honest- hibernate and recharge!

Saturday there is a fun blog hop planned and I will be over at Krazy in Love with Kindergarten guest blogging.  My guest blogger will be Maggie from Maggie's Kinder Corner and she sent me a fabulous post I will be sharing with you on Saturday.  Make sure and stop back and check out all the great ideas!  There are 60 blogs involved and I'm sure the posts will be fabulous! 

Thanks so  much to the gals from Primary Possibilities for organizing this hop!