Three Ladybug Freebies ... in Their New Homes!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

It's time for more spring cleaning at my TpT store, so I thought I'd start by sweeping out some of the bugs!

Apparently at some point in time I was simultaneously obsessed with ladybugs and suffering from memory loss, because there are were three ladybug freebies in my store. Oops.

These two ladybug games, previously at my store, will now be housed at Google Drive and accessible only here.

The first is a short u game, Ladybug, Ladybug. Get it here.

The second is a programmable game board, March of the Ladybugs. This is programmable, but not editable. In other words, you can print the board and then write in whatever skill you want your students to practice. There's a game board, blank cards, and two sets of cubes and spinners. Click here to download.

I decided to leave the last set at my store. Can't have a store with no ladybugs, after all! It's called Ladybug Lane. It's a set of two Common Core games for first grade math with a 120 board game and a set of cards for a battle game - doubles and near doubles addition facts. Click here to see it at my store.

Sorry if this post is confusing, but I hope that it will help some of you discover at least one freebie that's brand new to you! Enjoy!

Happy Teaching!

Plants: More Than Meets the Eye! Plus, a Plant Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

It's the wonderful season for growing plants again! Chances are, you'll be doing some planting in your classroom this spring, so I'd like to share some helpful resources I've come across, plus a freebie, too!

Many of our students may have little or no experience with growing plants, so they think it's kind of magic. You put a seed in soil, water it, and - poof! - a plant appears on the surface of the soil! We tell them about roots, and show them pictures, but seeing is believing. That's why I love planting projects that have visible root activity, like these ideas from Pinterest. They really give students the big picture of plants!

The first planting project has a bean seed in a plastic CD case. {You can click on any of these images to see them at Pinterest.}

One of the best visuals I've come across for watching root growth (short of the real thing, of course!) is this amazing video of the growth of radish seeds - time lapse photography over a nine day period. I love how the kids can see that action is happening beneath the ground before anything is visible on the surface. Sorry I can't get the video to embed, but if you click on the pic, it will take you directly to the pin on my First Grade Science board.

If you're planting with your class, stop by my Tpt store to download this newly listed freebie! It includes a class graph to compare germination times, a survey, and a template for persuasive writing.
Just in time to complement your own spring planting projects!

These plant activities are part of 1st and 2nd Grade Science ~ Data Collection and Writing Activities for Eight Science Themes . Click on the picture to see it at my TpT store!

Happy Teaching!

Learning About Animals through Math and Literacy

Little learners love to learn about animals, and frankly, I love to teach about them, too! Here's why!

First of all, I think it's so much fun to empower our students with new information, knowledge that expands their schema and fuels their curiosity for more reading.

Second, I don't think there's ever been a schoolyear when I didn't learn something totally amazing that I'd never heard or read before! It's fun to learn something new, and it's a wonderful thing for our students to know that we are learning side-by-side with them, that our learning never ends.

Of course, being the cross-curricular-ly-minded teacher that I am {sorry, but that totally demanded making up a new word!!}, I had to find ways to expand learning about animals into every corner of our day!

Here are some other learning opportunities for bringing science into literacy and math.

20 animal riddles, plus a riddle writing activity and an activity that you can use in a literacy center or a science center.  Click here to see it!

80 pages of literacy-based science activities.  Includes activities for ...

* compare and contrast * fact and opinion * classifying * labeling diagrams * 

* alphabetical order * using graphic organizers * fluent phrasing *

See them all here.

Bring some math into your science (or some science into your math...) with this wildcats game 

for practicing sums of ten. Click here to find out more about this set.

Have a great week! Happy Teaching!

120 Third Grade Math Riddles - Free Sample!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

If you're a regular visitor here, you know how much I love using riddles in teaching. In addition to their ability to hold kids' attention and keep them begging for more (and who doesn't want to hear the words, "More math! More math!" ???), riddles are a great way to...

* review vocabulary
* model identifying key details
* model inferring and drawing conclusions
* refine listening skills

* encourage critical thinking skills

So, in addition to being lots of fun, these fun math riddles are a great match for your standards, too!


Today's freebie is designed for use in third grade, but would also be great for math coaches and tutors. It's a set of twelve riddle cards for third grade math skills. Take a peek!

Click here or on the image above to get your free sample set!

The complete set includes a riddle for every number from one to 120, along with an answer key to make this set perfect for independent use in math centers. If you'd like the complete set, which also comes with a solve-and-color activity, printable number grid game, and suggestions for use, click here or on the picture below to see it at my TPT store.

Happy Teaching!

Spring Cleaning, plus A Spring Math Freebie!!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

If you are a creator of classroom resources (and really, what teacher isn't?), the words "spring cleaning" take on a whole new meaning. It's time to make some fresh new products, but it's also a good occasion to go back to some "seasoned" items and give them a good scrub and shine!


So, that's just what I've done with Swing Into Spring: Math and Literacy Activities for PreK and Kindergarten.  New fonts, rearranging, taking out "over-coloring" (my apologies to those of you who printed a few of those pages before ... uh, I'm trying to live and learn...), new cover, better preview. It even has a new name:     Spring PreK and Kindergarten Liteacy and Math Activities

  And now I can happily say, I LOVE it again! (sort of like my house after a good cleaning!)

Here's some of what you'll see in this set.

Card sets for word building and sentence building, pocket chart or desk top!

Conversation cards about baby animals

Spring mini-monster counting clip cards

Plus lots more hands-on activities and games for spring learning!

You can find it all here at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

 Here's a little free taste for you, a game for counting and filling ten frames.

Happy Spring, and...

Happy Teaching!