Have you seen the adorable cat, pumpkin, and candy erasers from the Target Dollar Spot?!?!  They are perfect to use as manipulatives for this Fall Race Math Game.  For this game your students will be counting and comparing cat, candy, and pumpkin erasers to see which one races to the top of the graph first.  

  To prepare this game I first printed it on white cardstock.  I like to laminate the game for durability, but a plastic page protector would also work.  I grabbed a paper clip and pencil to use for the spinner on the game.  I used erasers from the Target Dollar Spot to mark the spots on the graph, but if you don't have them, you could use a dry erase marker or other manipulative as a marking piece.  

  For this game students spin the cat, candy, and pumpkin spinner using the paper clip and pencil.  To spin, they just put the pencil inside the paper clip and put the pencil point on the dot in the middle of the spinner.  They give the paper clip a flick to spin it.  When the spinner stops, students mark that same spot on the graph using their manipulative. 

  Students continue spinning until one of the fall shapes reach the top first.  Some of the ways I like to have my students talk about math while playing this game are: *Counting how many of each fall shape they have collected *Counting how many more to reach the top *Counting which has more/less     There are a lot of opportunities for students to discuss math within this simple and fun activity.  This game can easily be played independently or with a partner and would make a great addition to a math station in your classroom. 

  Ready for some Fall Race math fun?!  Just click the image below to grab your FREE download! **Update - Some of you said you could not find the erasers at Target, but found ghost, spider, and bat erasers at Michaels.  I have added a version with those clipart images too!   **Update Again - Target had a few different erasers this season so I have edited this game to include images for those erasers!

  And once again my friend Alex, from The Kindergarten Connection, and I have teamed up to bring you two free downloads that you can use with these fall themed Target erasers!  Click the image to head to her blog and grab her download!

  Check out our Bubble Themed Math Activities Post by clicking the image below.

Read more »

Recipe for Teaching

I love using books with repetitive texts with my students.  They are great for independent reading and give my students the confidence they need to become fluent readers.  This Farm Counting Book is great to use with your students for independent reading and it also includes a math integration. 

  To prepare this little book for my students I first printed the pages of the book.  I made enough copies for my class.  The best part is that I only needed to copy half the size of my class because there are two of each book page per page.  Then, I just cut the page in half and put two staples along the side of the book.  *Copying Tip: This book can be copied double sided to save paper. 

  For this book I first read the book together as a class so that my students were familiar with the text.  We counted the animals on each page for some one to one counting practice.  I modeled coloring a few of the pages for my students.  Then, I passed out the books for my students to read and color.  After they finished, they could put the book in their book basket for independent reading.     This book is a great addition to a farm unit, animal unit, counting to 10 practice, etc.  You could also send the book home and have students practice reading the book to their families. 

  For some Farm Counting Book fun, just click the image below to grab your FREE copy of the book to use with your kiddos!

 

Also, be sure to check out these amazing Farm Themed activities from some awesome bloggers!

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

Farm CVC Words // A Dab of Glue Will Do

Farm Counting Cards // Playdough to Plato

Expressing Feelings on the Farm // Liz’s Early Learning Spot

Count and Graph on the Farm // Sara J Creations

Pigs in the Mud Alphabet Match // The Kindergarten Connection

Farm Animal Puzzles // Powerful Mothering

Farm Play Dough Activity // Mom Inspired Life

Farm Washing Sensory Bin // Coffee Cups and Crayons

Farm Counting Book // Recipe for Teaching

Interactive Farm Book // Mrs. Jones’ Creation Station

Gross Motor Farm Game // Modern Preschool

Farm Animal Sorting // Still Playing School

Farm Fence Number Ordering Mats // Fairy Poppins

Farm Letter Sound Matching Clip Cards // Schooling a Monkey

Making Farm Footprints // Pleasantest Thing

Farm Muffin Tin Syllable Counting Game // The Educators’ Spin on It

Farm Themed Old Maid // Stay at Home Educator

Farm Emergent Reader // The Letters of Literacy

Playful Farm Animals Hands on Math // Stir the Wonder

Farm Busy Box // Teach Me Mommy

Farm Animal Ten Frame Cards // Preschool Inspirations

Farm Addition Cards // The Stem Laboratory

Interactive Math Addition Book // DIY Farm Wife

Farm Animal Sentences // (Not Pictured) The Simplified Classroom

Old MacDonald’s Farm Busy Bag // (Not Pictured) Adventures of Adam

  

Read more »

Recipe for Teaching

I absolutely love using clip cards with my students.  They are so much fun, students can practice a variety of skills, and they are the perfect fine motor activity.  With these Back to School Clip Cards, your students will have fun counting school objects from 1-20 and clipping the matching number.

  To prepare this activity, I just printed the clip cards on white cardstock.  I recommend laminating cards for durability.  I used my paper cutter to cut the cards.  I also grabbed some clothespins.  If you are looking for a place to get clothespins, the Dollar Tree sells packs of them.  

  For this activity, students count the objects on the card and then clip the number that matches the set.  Students continue counting and clipping the cards until they have clipped all of the cards.  This set of clip cards includes sets 1-20.  This activity is perfect to use as a math warm-up, during small guided math groups, or to put out at a math station.  I just used these in my classroom with a small math group and they were so engaged and excited to clip the number! *Self-checking tip: I recommend putting a dot sticker on the back of the card on the correct answer.  This way students can easily check their answer to see if they are correct.  

Ready for some Back to School Clip Card fun?!?!  Just click the image below to grab your FREE set of clip cards!

Read more »

Recipe for Teaching