Have you ever had Starburst jelly beans?!?!  They are my favorite!  Jelly beans make a fun math manipulative during spring.  They also make a tasty treat!

I made a jelly bean graphing math resource to use with my students.  This math activity is meant to be used with Starburst jelly beans or any other pack of jelly beans that has 6 different colors in it.  I am going to spread each activity out over the week so that by the end of the week, my students have a packet of jelly bean graphing math activities that they can take home and share with their families.    Day 1

On the first day, I will give my students a cup of jelly beans to graph.  I like to leave the jelly bean blank.  This way they can put the jelly beans on the graph in any order they want by their color.  Then they color the jelly bean that they put in that row.  We will share their graphs after they finish.     Day 2

On the second day of this activity, my students are going to use their graph to record how many of each jelly bean they have.  This will help with the next day's activity when they compare the number of each color of jelly bean.    

Day 3

I came up with a set of three questions for my students to answer about their graph.  They will tell which color was greater, less, and if any colors were equal.     Day 4 

 On the last day, I am going to have my students write about their graph.  This is where they can write in complete sentences about how many jelly beans they have and which is greater/less/equal.  It is so important to have your students write across different subject areas.  I love to include writing about math whenever I can.   I've also included jelly bean color cards for your students to reference while writing and a cover for the pack of activities they will be doing.     If you want to try this with your students, just click the image to grab your FREE Jelly Bean Graphing pack!! 

  You might also be interested in these resources in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store:

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Recipe for Teaching

I love giving my family a little treat for the holidays!  Starbucks has had the CUTEST holiday shaped gift cards lately!  During Valentine's Day they had heart shaped gift cards that were so adorable.  When I went to grab some green teas a few weeks ago (my favorite!), I noticed they had Easter egg shaped gift cards!  I had the idea to make some gift tags to go along with the gift cards.

  These are the tags that I gave my family for Valentine's Day, however they could really be used any time of the year for the coffee lover in your life!  They would be perfect for a teacher gift and "Teacher Appreciation Week" is coming up in May (May 2 - May 6).

And these are the Easter gift card tags that I am giving my family. 

Aren't those Easter egg gift cards just the cutest?!?!  If you don't want to use Starbucks gift cards on the tags you could also use egg shaped candy and attach them on the basket.  I'm sure someone would love to get a Reese's peanut butter egg as a little treat - yum!

I have included both gift card tags in this FREE download!  Just click the image below to grab your FREE gift card tags!

  If you are looking for more gift tags, be sure to stop by my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!  I have End of the Year Gift Tags and Teacher Gift Tags that you might be interested in!

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Recipe for Teaching

Having my kindergarten students form a complete sentence is a huge part of writing in kindergarten.  I want my students to understand that sentences begin with an uppercase letters, when to use uppercase and lowercase letters, there are spaces between words, and we end with punctuation.  I found a great way to help build my students' confidence with forming a complete sentence by using Create a Sentence activities at our pocket chart center.

  At this center my students use the word and vocabulary picture cards to form sentences or questions.  The words are word wall words that we have learned and are familiar with.  I have a recording sheet for them to write their sentence and draw a picture to go along with it.  There are clipboards, pencils, crayons, and pointers at the center.     I have found a lot of success with using this in my classroom.  My students are excited about writing and they love to share their sentences they create.  I have a "sharing basket" that students drop their center work in.  We share work after we finish centers and they are always so proud to share.    These are cards from my Create a Sentence Winter Themed Pack.  You can see in this picture that the friend working here created two sentences!  

   These are cards from my Create a Sentence February Themed Pack.

  Here are some student work samples from my Create a Sentence February Themed Pack.  I just love their drawings!

How cute is that Rosa Parks drawing?!?!  LOVE!

And is that not the cutest George Washington?!?!

These are cards from my Create a Sentence Spring Themed Pack.  I love how this friend created a question!

  I don't always put out every word in the pack depending on words we have learned or space in the pocket chart.  I also like to laminate the cards from durability.  A recording sheet is included in each pack for students to record their sentence on, but you could also have them record in a notebook or other paper if needed.   My students absolutely love these and they love when they see me getting a new set ready.  I love when they get so excited about something new in our classroom!   I have several different themed Create a Sentence Packs in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. 

I also have bundled all of the Create a Sentence Packs together.  Click the image to check out the bundle!

This is some of the sweet feedback I have received from other teachers who have purchased the bundle:

  Since I have received some of the sweetest feedback from these sets, I created a Create a Sentence Pack Animal Themed FREEBIE that you can try with your students!  Just click the image to check it out in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

  If you use this with your students, be sure to tag me on social media!  I hope your students love using these Create a Sentence Packs as much as mine do!      

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Recipe for Teaching

I love holidays!  I am ready for St. Patrick's Day with my shamrock earrings, shamrock scarf, and shamrock headband!  I especially love finding ways to create activities in my classroom with a little holiday theme!  

We have been having tons of fun in kindergarten using this Pot of Gold Addition mat during math.  I have my students work in partners to do this activity and my students love it!  I'm pretty sure using gold coins is the best thing ever in kindergarten!   All your students will need is the Pot of Gold Addition mat, gold coins or yellow counters, 2 dot cubes, and a dry eraser marker and eraser.  I put the mat in a page protector, but you could also laminate them for durability. 

  Have your students roll the dot cubes.  The dot cubes tell the students how many to put on each pot of gold.  Then, they record the equation.   *You could have your students write a story problem as an extension to the activity about a leprechaun and his gold coins!

I even used the mat as an exit ticket with my students!  They got to pick how many pieces of gold to put in each pot of gold and then wrote the equation.  Such a fun and easy way of assessing my students!

This Pot of Gold Addition is actually part of my St. Patrick's Day Activities in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store, but I'm putting it as a FREE download for my fabulous blog readers!  Just click the image below to download your freebie!

And if you want to check out the full St. Patrick's Day Activities pack, just click the image below to head on over to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

Hope you have a super St. Patrick's Day!  Don't forget your green!

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Recipe for Teaching

If you are anything like me, you like to change up your behavior management system every so often in your classroom.  I think this helps to keep kids motivated toward their goal of being the best student they can be.  My entire school uses the clip/card system for behavior management.  However, I also use other tricks for management in my classroom such as a Mr. Potato Head, building a snowman, my prize box, and using a PEEPS plush toy.

  Around spring, I like to pull out my PEEPS plush toys.  I have a bunny PEEP and a chick PEEP.  I tell my students that if they aren't making a PEEP or if they have good listening EARS they get to hold the PEEP.  The PEEPS toys are super soft so they almost cuddle with it.  It's the cutest thing!  

  I posted a picture on Instagram of some bunny PEEPS that I found at my favorite store, Target!! 

  There seemed to be a lot of interest in using them in the classroom, so I made some cards that you can give your students when they get to hold the PEEP.  This is a great way of communicating positive behavior because they can take the card home and share about being a great listener at school with their family.   I included 3 different choices of cards that you could use and I also included color and black and white versions of the cards.  That way you could print the black and white versions on pretty spring colored paper.     Just click the image below to grab your FREE cards!

  What are your favorite classroom behavior management tips and tricks to use in your classroom???

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Recipe for Teaching