Let's Talk Math

Hello bloggy friends!! 

Today I am talking math with ya! 

At my school the name of the game is NO WORKSHEETS! And, yes, recording sheets are considered work sheets! I don't even try to argue...it's not worth it! 

Really though it's not all that bad. I rarely used sheets in math anyway so there weren't many tears shed on this one! 

So, you ask...what DO you do for math centers??

Here are a few of my math centers (please ignore the fact that some are winter...I've been a slacker taking pics this year. You'll still get the idea...)

Let me start by saying that I do the SAME centers over & over...gasp!! 

No, really...I just change the difficulty, theme, standard, whatever to keep the centers feeling like they are fresh and new. This is a huge WIN for me because I never have to reteach how to do a center after they have learned the game. I do 4/5 centers a week & the kiddos know how to play 10 different centers. This is how I can keep things feeling new but the kiddos know how to play them! 

 This is a roll & ___ game. It may be roll & add 1, add 10, take away 1, take away 2...the list goes on. BUT, because they already know the premise of the game I can change it to whatever I see that they need & they automatically know how to play it.(I think that this game was actually a "Mittens PLUS 10" game...can you say typo?)

 I am a huge fan of getting the kiddos moving so I usually have a "____ the Room" center. It may be add the room, count the room, subtract the room, solve the room....again, the possibilities are endless. I can change it to whatever my kiddos need. Below you can see a "Measure the Room" center. I teach them how to record their work in their math journals so NO WORKSHEETS! Win!!

How easy is it to throw out some 10 frames, manips, & flash cards? Again, the possibilities...

Holy cow...domino centers can last forever! This time I had them doing commutative property of addition. You can do addition, subtraction, +10, -10, +1, -1, ...I could go on & on & on.... ha! Go to the dollar store & grab some cheapie dominoes & you will be set! 

Well, I hope that you found some of this to be helpful!

If you hung on this long I have a cutie freebie for ya! 

It one of my Roll & Add games with the apple theme. So fun for the fall! There are 2 versions so you can differentiate. 

PLEASE leave some comment love if you snag it! 

Family Project

Hello bloggy friends!!

I hope that everyone's school year is off to a smooth start!

We have been in school for 6 weeks now, so we are sailing right along.

Anyhow~

One of my personal goals this year is to promote more parent involvement both in & out of the classroom. Let me remind you that I work in a high priority school where most of my students are on free lunch (not reduced...free). They are coming from sad & unfortunate home situations that you & I would probably not survive in....seriously. Many times the only meals that they get are the free breakfast, lunch, & snack that school provides to them. Sooooo, I want to get the parents involved as much as I can & show these kiddos that I care about their learning, but, more importantly, their parents care about their learning!

Here are some of the things that I already do to try to get the parents involved:

1. I send "Good News" cards to the students in the mail. This way the parents can see some of the positive things that are going on with their kiddos.
2. Anytime I send home something that needs to be signed, I offer a treat to those that bring it back to me. This ensures that at least one grown up has seen the info coming home and, hopefully, taken the time to look over it. I usually get 100% returned.
3. I call the parents when something good happens with the kiddo. Although, many times the phones are out of service...I still give it a shot! 
4. I send a bilingual newsletter so that they can be aware of what we are working on in class or other school info.
5. There are other things that I do...but, let's get on with the program.

Well, this year I have decided to start the monthly family project. This way the families can work together to create a class project. I am hoping that this will give my kiddos a little special attention as the families work together being creative with the projects. I wanted something that would be simple & fun at the same time!

Enter these little cuties from my bestie Jen Ross:

click the pic to go get your very own!! 

Ya'll these are PERFECT-O!!

I sent home the apple for our September project & OH. MY. WORD....the cuteness that came back...well, see for yourself!

The "project" was to decorate your apple with things you like about school or things that you have learned so far in school! I was super impressed with their hard work! 

Y'all they were super excited to share their apples with the class! Everyone was on the edge of their seat as each person showed the apple!

Out of 17 kids- I got 15 apples back & I think the other 2 will bring their apples tomorrow because they saw how much fun it was! 

How EXCITING!!