Recipe for Teaching

Recipe for Teaching Monday, October 28, 2019 No Comments

I always like to give my students a little treat around the holidays. I already had two books, Creepy Carrots and The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin, for my students (both $1 books from Scholastic).

When I saw Jennifer from Crayons and Cuties in Kindergarten share the image below, I knew I needed to add the pumpkin brick kits to my gift as well!

Creepy Carrots and The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin were both found in the Scholastic Book Club book orders for only $1 each. I thought they would be perfect for my students and I love that Scholastic has their bonus points program to use toward purchases.

I ordered the pumpkin brick kits from Amazon. It looks like they are currently sold out, but they came in a pack with 15 for $14.99.

I added a gift tag and student gifts are ready to be passed out on Halloween!

If you would like to grab the gift tag to use, just click the image below!

*It is not editable so just sign your name and you are good to go.

Recipe for Teaching

Recipe for Teaching Thursday, October 17, 2019 No Comments

One-to-one counting is an important skill for my pre-k students. These Construction Counting Cards are a fun way to practice one-to-one counting to ten, with a construction theme. There is also the opportunity for students to practice number writing. This is a great resource to add to your block center or to a math station.

To prepare this activity I first printed the download (found below) on white cardstock. I recommend running the cards through the laminator so students can used dry erase marker to trace the number. Then I used my paper trimmer to cut the cards down the middle of the cardstock. You could put these cards on a binder ring so students can flip through them like a book or you can keep them individual. We were ready for some Construction Counting Card fun! Students first started by picking a card to count the number of objects. In the example below, the student picked a card with 1 object. They counted 1 construction hat and 1 dot on the ten frame.

Then they used a dry erase marker to trace the number 1.

In the example below, the student picked a card with the number 4. They counted 4 pliers and counted 4 dots on the ten frame.

Then they traced the number 4.

Students continued picking a card, counting, and tracing the number until all of the cards had been completed. Looking for more construction themed resources?! Check out the links below for some awesome ideas from my blogging friends.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

CVC Word Board Game // Literacy with the Littles

Construction Color by Sight Word Editable Coloring Pages // Sara J Creations

Construction Counting Cards // Recipe for Teaching

Construction Shapes Activities // Fairy Poppins

Construction Math Puzzles // The Primary Brain

Constructing Blends Activity //Teach Me Mommy

Grab your FREE Construction Counting Cards by clicking the image below!

Recipe for Teaching

Recipe for Teaching Sunday, September 29, 2019 No Comments

Counting from 1-10 is an important skill for my pre-k students. I am currently trying to give my pre-k students lots of counting opportunities so that they become confident with their counting. These Counting Pumpkin mats are a fun way to practice counting from 1-10. They are hands on and provide students the chance to trace the number. They are perfect for fall.

To prepare this activity I first printed the download, found below, on white cardstock. Also included in the download is a black and white version of the mats that could be printed on orange cardstock for a pop of color.

Then I used my paper trimmer to cut down the middle of the cardstock. There is a Counting Pumpkins cover for the mats if you wanted to hole punch them and put them on a ring. You can also just keep the cards separate.

I ran the mats through my laminator because we would be tracing the numbers on the mats.

I grabbed some pumpkin mini erasers that I found in the Target Dollar Spot and we were ready for some Counting Pumpkins fun!

To begin, students first picked a pumpkin mat. They could look at the number to see how many to count out. If students are still working on number recognition, the pumpkin ten frame is provided on each card so that students can have a visual representation of how many to count out.

In the example below, the student picked a mat with the number 1 and a ten frame showing one pumpkin.

The student counted out 1 pumpkin eraser on the mat. Then they used their dry erase marker to trace the number 1.

In the example below, the student picked a mat with the number 4. The student checked to make sure it was 4, by using one-to-one counting skills to count the pumpkins on the ten frame - 1, 2, 3, 4.

Then the student counted out four pumpkins on the mat.

Students continued to pick a mat, count out that many pumpkin erasers, and trace the number until all mats had been completed.

If you do not have pumpkin mini erasers, playdough is also another fun, hands-on way to use these mats. We just grabbed some orange playdough and rolled them into balls for pumpkins.

Ready for some Counting Pumpkins fun?! Just click the image below to grab your FREE download!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1barH4IjddXyAnF-pCn4CkHeugvJBfV2z/view?usp=sharing

Recipe for Teaching

Recipe for Teaching Saturday, September 28, 2019 No Comments

We have been busy talking about the roles of family members in pre-k! This "Family" poem was perfect for my students because of the repetitive text and picture clues. We added it to our reading folders at the end of the week.

Included in your free download, found below, is a "Family" little book and one page poem. We used the poem for a shared reading experience. If you aren't familiar with shared reading, the students all have a copy of the same text and the teacher also has a copy. The teacher can model reading strategies within the shared reading and students also have the opportunity to mark up on their copy of the text.

We worked to use highlighters to find the word "a" throughout the poem. Then I had my students use their highlighter as a pointer to read the poem while pointing to the words.

I was really proud of them for working to find the word "a" in the poem. They did a great job!

This would also be something you could have out at a dramatic play center for your students to read. Students can read the poem while pretending to be different family members at the center. Ready to grab your FREE Family Book and Poem download?! Just click the image below to grab your freebie!

Recipe for Teaching

Recipe for Teaching Thursday, August 15, 2019 No Comments

Will it be the backpack, books, bus, or pencil that reaches the top of the graph first?! This School Spin and Graph is a fun way for students to practice graphing, counting, and comparing all in one simple activity. It's perfect to use for back to school time at a math station.

To prepare this activity I first printed the School Spin and Graph mat (download found below) on white cardstock. There is also a black and white version included in the download that could be printed on colored cardstock. I grabbed a pencil and paper clip for the spinner and some blue gems. The gems can be found at the Dollar Tree. You could use any manipulative of choice for this mat. I have used pom poms and tweezers, unifix cubes, etc. Playdough balls would be fun and great fine motor practice as well. We were then ready for some School Spin and Graph fun!

To begin students first spun the spinner. There is a backpack, books, bus, and pencil image on the spinner that matches the images on the graph. In the example below the spinner landed on the backpack.

The student marked a backpack with a gem on the graph.

The student then spun the spinner again, this time landing on the pencil.

The student used a blue gem to mark the pencil on the graph. The student noticed that there was one blue gem on the backpack and one blue gem on the pencil.

Students continued spinning the spinner and graphing.

Once one of the pictures from the spinner reached the top first, the game was finished. The students then compared the different amounts on the graph noticing comparisons such as...

"There are more for the bus than the books."

"There are less for the pencil than the backpack."

"The bus has 6 blue gems"

This is a fun independent or partner game to play. Once students are familiar with the game, it could be added to a math station for more practice.

Looking for more Back to School themed resources?! Check out the links below to some more fun Back to School themed resources!

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

School Bus Ten Frames Matching Activity // Sara J Creations

Name Recognition Playdough Mats // Teach Me Mommy

School Spin and Graph // Recipe for Teaching

Back to School Transportation Graph // The Simplified Classroom

Taco Bout a Great Class Book // Literacy with the Littles

All About Me Writing Craft // Fairy Poppins

Click the image below to download your FREE School Spin and Graph mat!

Recipe for Teaching

Recipe for Teaching Sunday, August 04, 2019 No Comments

I love giving my students a little gift at the beginning of the year. Usually I give them their gift during Back to School Night or Open House Night. Oriental Trading has the CUTEST Camp Adventure Backpacks and camping pencils that I knew would be perfect for back to school gifts!