Recipe for Teaching

I found these pop-tart bite pouches for Valentine's Day that were perfect for valentine class parties. They are frosted sweet swirl cupcake flavored and the box includes 28 packs of pop-tart bites. I made a pop-tart themed tag that can be attached to the pouch. Kids just sign their name and they are ready to pass out to their friends! I've found that having kids just sign their name on the valentine can make it MUCH easier to pass out (especially for the younger kids).

I found these pop-tart pouches at Target. They do have a spot that kids could write who it is to and then who it is from, but I love adding a fun tag to something like this.

Just print the tags on cardstock, cut out, and have your child sign their name. Add a piece of tape to the tag and attach on the pouch and classmate valentines are complete!

To grab your FREE download, click the image below! If you use these, be sure to tag me on social media.

Recipe for Teaching

We have been working on the number word before and the number word after a given number. I created these Heart Missing Number cards for my students to use during math centers or small groups to practice with this skill. It's festive for February or really any time of year since hearts are always fun for kids. Grab your free download (found below) and some numbers or a dry erase marker and your students are ready for some math fun!

I had some number mini erasers from the Target Dollar Spot that work well with this, but you could use number magnets OR have your students write the number with a dry erase marker. I grabbed a container of the number erasers, a festive heart bucket for the cards, and we were ready to find the missing number.

Students have to use their knowledge of number before and after to determine the missing number. Once they determine the missing number, they put that number on the card.

The cards in this set work with numbers 1-10. This would be perfect to use in a small group or to have out as a math center.

To grab your FREE download, just click the image below!

Be sure to tag me on Instagram if you use this with your students!

Recipe for Teaching

A warm cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows is always a fun winter treat! This Hot Chocolate Match activity will be a fun math warm-up, math center, or small group activity to use with your students or your own kids at home.

I have included cards to work on numbers 1-20. There are hot chocolate mug cards with ten frames and marshmallows with the matching number. I have also included two recording sheets in your FREE download (found below). One recording sheet works with the numbers 1-10 and one works with the numbers 1-20. This is an easy way to differentiate depending on the needs of the kids you are working with.

Students simply match the hot chocolate mug ten frame card to the marshmallow number card. When they find the match, they trace that on their recording sheet.

This would be fun for a math center activity or to use in small groups. You could also put these cards in a winter themed sensory bin and have your students find the matching cards within the sensory bin. There are lots of ways to use these cards in your classroom!

To grab your FREE download, just click the image below!

If you use these cards, please tag me on social media. I love to see how you are able to use these resources in your classroom or with your own kids. Also, please be sure to share the link to this post with other teachers you think might be able to use this!
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Recipe for Teaching

Are your kids and students obsessed with poppers?! They are so fun and even I like to pop them so I can see why kids love them! I came up with a tag that you can use with these popper bracelets (or any popper toy).

I found the popper bracelets on Amazon. If you search Amazon for them, you will find a variety. I've also heard that Dollar Tree has an assortment of popper toys. I included the tag in color as well as a black and white option. The black and white option looks really nice printed on a pink cardstock.

I found those clear heart bags at Target in the seasonal section. The bracelets fit well in them and then I just folded the bag. The tag can be attached with tape or a staple. You could also use a ribbon to tie the bag closed.

Click the image below to grab your FREE tags! These would be great gifts for your students or for you to use for your own kid's valentines. Please tag me on Instagram if you use these!

Recipe for Teaching

We have been busy comparing amounts in pre-k. I want my students to be able to compare using the words greater than, less than, or equal to. This Fruit Comparing digital resource is a fun way for students to compare amounts. Students will work on comparing amounts 1-10.

For this resource you are going to want to make a copy, when prompted (the link to make a copy is found in the FREE download below). When you make a copy, it will save to your Google Drive.
After making a copy you will want to make sure you are not viewing in present mode. You just want the students to have the slides. They will not be able to manipulate the fruit if you are actually trying to view the slideshow.

There are two versions of the Fruit Comparing slides. You can choose which version best meets the needs of your students. One slide has ten frames on each fruit tree for some organization of counting the fruit. The other slide does not have the ten frame so students would put the fruit on the trees in more of a scattered arrangement.

To being, students first click on the spinner. This will take them to the online 1-10 spinner. When the screen pops up, students will be prompted to tap the spinner to spin. If your students are on tablets, they would just tap the screen to spin. If they are on a laptop or computer, they may need to use the mouse or trackpad to spin.
After tapping the spinner, students see what number it lands on. In the example below, the spinner landed on 4.

The student would then move that number of apples on the apple tree. In the example below, the student moved 4 apples on the tree since they spun a 4.

Students then repeat that same process again, but this time they move that many pears on the tree. In the example below the student spun a 3 so they put 3 pears on the tree.

After students have their apples and pears on the trees, they are ready to compare. In the example below there are 4 apples and 3 pears. Some of the following comments could be stated to compare:*Four apples are greater than three pears.*Three pears are less than four apples.*If one more pear was on the tree, they would be equal.

Looking for more fruit themed resources?! Just click the links below to grab some amazing FREE fruit themed resources!

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

Ten Frames Counting // Teach me Mommy

Learning Numbers With Fruit Flashcards / Placements // KiddyCharts

Pom Pom Mats // Fairy Poppins

Colors of Fruit Poem // Little Learning Corner

Sentence Scramble // Sarah Chesworth

Pineapple Sight Word Game // The Primary Post

Comparing Digital Resource // Recipe for Teaching

Syllable Activities // Fairy Poppins

To grab your FREE Fruit Comparing digital resources, click the image below.

Recipe for Teaching

I recently shared a picture of a math chat poster that I used with my students on Instagram and many of you had a lot of interest in using it with your students. These math chat posters are a great way to incorporate math, reading, and writing skills within your classroom. They are great for number sense math warm-ups and also practice speaking and listening skills with your young mathematicians.

I typically glue the math chat poster on my piece of chart paper. Then I ask students to share which picture they can count for us. In the example below, I would ask the friend called on if they wanted to count the leaves, pinecones, squirrels, owls, or apples.
The first friend decided to count the leaves - "1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I see 5 leaves." I also always try to ask my students, "How many?" after they count so they are really showing an understanding of quantity.
I write the sentence that matches what the student says.
I also like to draw a dot arrangement under the number. This way students are seeing the picture representation of the number in the poster, the numeral representation, and the dot representation. Seeing numbers in multiple ways helps build number sense in our youngest math learners.
We repeat until all pictures on the poster have been counted.

Included in your FREE download of Math Chat Posters are 3 posters - apple themed, leaf themed, and fall themed. Please tag me on Instagram if you use them with your students!

Click the image below to grab your FREE Math Chat Posters download!

Recipe for Teaching

Counting to 10 is an important skill that we work on during math in pre-k. We work on one-to-one counting and matching the number to a set. This Counting Fish digital resource is a fun way to practice counting one-to-one using fish. It is a fun resource to use in the classroom with your students, at home with your little ones, or if you are distance learning.

For this resource you are going to want to make a copy, when prompted (the link to make a copy is found in the FREE download below). When you make a copy, it will save to your Google Drive. After making a copy, you will want to make sure you are not viewing in present mode. You just want the students to have the slides. They will not be able to manipulate the fish if you are actually trying to view the slideshow. There are 11 slides in the slideshow. One slide has directions and then there are 10 slides for students to practice counting on.

To begin, students first click on the shell on the slide. This will allow students to have access to the online spinner. When the online spinner website pops up, students will be prompted to tap the spinner to spin. If you are on a tablet, your child can just tap with your finger to spin. If you are on a laptop or computer, your child would use the mouse or trackpad to spin.

After tapping the spinner, the spinner landed on the number 7 in the example below.

When working on the tablet, we just clicked "done" to go back to the slideshow. Then the student was able to count 7 fish on the ten frame by saying, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7."

In the next slide after spinning the online spinner, it landed on the number 2.

The student then counted out 2 fish on the ten frame by counting, "1, 2."

Students repeat this for each slide in the slideshow. This is a fun, digital way to practice counting from 1-10 for young math learners. Looking for more "Under the Sea" themed resources?! Check out the links below to grab some amazing FREE "Under the Sea" themed resources!