Monday Made It: Soap & Seashells

Hi, Teaching Friends!

My Monday Made It project for this week has nothing to do with teaching, but it could easily be changed up to use in your classroom! It is super-quick and pretty much fail-proof!

Here was my inspiration. I spotted this at Cracker Barrel back in early spring, and my I-can-make-this-myself-so-why-should-I-buy-it antennae was instantly on alert! Of course, it took me until nearly July to get around to it.

I spent literally one dollar on this five-minute project. I bought the pump soap at the dollar store, peeled the labels off, and used my trusty GooGone to remove the sticky residue from the outside of the bottle.

By the way, the bubbles you see in the finished project are the result of my dropping the bottle during this part of the project. They're actually kind of pretty, but I assume with time they'll probably disappear.



The next step was to get a handful of clean small shells, either from your beach vacation or the hobby store (or back to the dollar store, I suppose!).

I thought about pouring out all of the soap before I put the shells in, but decided to go the simpler route. I poured off just a little bit of the soap and then just dropped the shells in a few at a time. They nearly all sunk straight down. A few are floating a bit ... air in them, I guess? ... but I think that's sort of pretty, too.

I love how this looks in our guest bathroom! I was originally thinking about adding a rub-on decal, but I'm happy with leaving it as-is.


How could you use this idea in your classroom?  Well, if you have an ocean theme, you're good to go. Otherwise, there are so many possibilities. Colorful mini-buttons, tiny erasers, or pony beads (caution: they might all float at the top ... but wouldn't that be pretty, too?), coins, ... I'd love to hear your great ideas for making this project your own!


Speaking of projects, remember to visit Monday Made It at Fourth Grade Frolics to find lots of inspiration for your summer days!

Happy Teaching!

Math Logic Puzzles ... and a Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

If you've ever used any of my resources, you already know that I'm a big believer in packing them with many layers of learning! As little learners are given opportunities to build connections between the things that they've been taught, they're developing new ways to understand and apply the concepts they've learned. This is lasting and rigorous learning ...disguised as fun, of course! ;)

I just posted a new set of number elimination riddles at my TpT store that's a good example of that kind of learning.  Try a few of these task cards yourself. You'll find that you're using math skills, but also logic and reasoning as you eliminate answers and draw conclusions. Just think of how much practice your students will get with the complete set of 24 cards!

Visit my TpT store to see the complete set of Dino's Secret Numbers Math Riddles. You'll find four free riddle task cards when you download the preview there!

If you'd like to try some other number elimination riddles, click here to download this free set of 17 task cards for K-3!

Happy Teaching!

Summer Mornings

Hi, Teaching Friends!
               

One of the great pleasures of a summer morning for me is to sit on our patio with a cup of coffee, listening to the chirping birds and humming bees, and then to stroll the garden to see the changes that come with each new day. 

Welcome to my garden!

What's your favorite way to spend a summer morning?

Happy Teaching!

Made It Monday! Sums of Ten Shake-a-Bottle

Hi, Teaching Friends!

It's time for Made It Monday at Fourth Grade Frolics! The idea I have to share with you today is nothing particularly unique. You've probably seen them called shaker bottles, learning bottles, exploration tubes, or one of many other names out there. You can even buy them, but if you're that kind of person (no offense intended!), you're probably not poking around in Made It Monday links.
I call mine shake-a-bottles, and the thing that is new about the one that I'm going to share with you today is the theme.

Our primary kiddos need lots and lots of practice with number combinations that total ten. This activity throws a little hands-on fun into the practice.

Here's what you'll need.

Start off with an empty, clean, clear plastic bottle. Be sure to give it a day or two to completely dry inside. Wet rice, pasta, or even just the paper is ... ick.

The bottle plus these items that you might already have on hand - that's it!

I used alphabet pasta this time, but you could also use orzo, ditalini, rice, or any kind of small plastic beads. If you're going to color the contents of your bottle, stir just a few drops of food coloring into it and mix it well. then spread it all out to dry. In the past, I've added a few drops of rubbing alcohol to speed the drying and make the colors a little stronger, by that's not necessary.

Print the number card page of the download on cardstock and cut apart.

Put the pasta, rice, or whatever you're using into the bottle, filling about 1/4 of the way. Then mix in some of the cards and shake it up. Then repeat - pasta, cards, shake. Stop when your bottle is about 3/4 full. The cards and filler need room to move around when your students shake the bottle.

There are lots of ways to use this number bottle, but here's the one I made today. Sums of ten - shake it again! Click here  or on the picture below to download your copy, which also includes the number cards and directions for this project.

If you like shake-a-bottles and are interested in making a whole set, try this set for literacy!

Visit Monday Made it at Fourth Grade Frolics for more fun and games to fill your summer days!

Today is also Markdown Monday at Kim and Kelly's Kindergarten. My half-price resource for this week is this cross-curricular unit about space. You'll find seven math and literacy activities designed to support your science teaching about space and the planets - 50% off today through Friday!

Happy Teaching!

"Cool" Dice Games for Summer, and They're So Easy to Make!

Hello, Teaching Friends!

I was in Five Below the other day, looking through beach blanket holder-downers, lawn darts, flipflops, and all that type of thing, when I came across these plastic reusable ice cubes. Oh, my,  the ol' teacher brain started whirring!

Now, before I say anything else, let me just tell you that you couldn't pay me enough to ever put these plastic ice cubes filled with some kind of liquid into my drink. First of all, they're plastic, and the whole set cost $1. Ummmm, okay. Second, what IS that liquid, and how sure can I be that none of it is seeping out through some itty bitty pinhole and into my iced tea? This does not fit with the health choices of someone who is paying top dollar for organic produce.  The option is yours, but I'll opt out, thanks.

On the other hand, as an easy-to-make and novel hands on center activity, I say YES!!!

All you need to do is...

1. Label all sides of each cube using a Sharpie or other permanent marker.

2. Pop them in the freezer.

3. Bring them out for some very cool fun!


Kids will love rolling these cool cubes so much that they'll want to keep playing games with them again and again. And again! I haven't had any problems at all with condensation on the cubes, plus they stay frozen for a good long time, even with all the handling.  It also takes quite a lot of playing for the labels to wear off, and they're easy enough to write on again quickly.

These examples are labeled for CVC words.

There are lots of other possibilities for programming these cubes. If you write numbers on them, your students can roll five dice and write all of the number models they can using only the numbers rolled. Also with number dice, you can use this fluency freebie. Roll, read the summer sentences fluently, and color in a box. Just click to download.

Enjoy, ... and keep cool!

Happy Teaching!

Make Quick-and-Easy Games... with Placemats!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

I love weekly summer linkies! They're a great way to discover new-to-you blogs as well as new ideas. Plus, as a blogger, they help me to blog more regularly (Thank you for THAT! Help wanted!)

In my opinion, one of the best weekly linkies around is Monday Made It at Fourth Grade Frolics. I've been following it ... and occasionally joining in... for a few years, and love it as a source of all kinds of fun and creative ideas, for the classroom, but also home, garden, and creative crafting in general!

So, I'm delighted to be joining up with Tara and lots of other bloggers this week to share this practically-instant game that you can adapt to lots of skills and levels.

Start with a plastic placemat. There are some really cute ones in themes your little learners will love, like Frozen and Cars, or something more generic like this one. You can even find these at the dollar store.

I'm a big fan of projects that I already have most of the supplies for. I'll bet you already have these, too!

Now it's time to stick the labels on and write!  Or, if you want something more permanent, just write directly on the mat. The bump game in the picture is a first grade favorite:  roll two dice, add ten to the sum, then cover the space. But there are soooo many ways you could change this to suit your students' level and needs:

* Roll one die. Add one ( or two, or ten, or...), cover.
* Roll one die. Cover the number that comes before it.
* Roll three dice, add, cover.
* Roll two dice, subtract the lesser from the greater, cover the difference.
* Roll three dice, add the two greater numbers, subtract the third number, cover.
* Roll two dice, add, add twenty ( or 30, or 50, or...) to the sum, cover.

For literacy,

* Use alphabet cards instead of dice. Match each uppercase to its lowercase partner.
* With alphabet cards again, cover the letter that comes before (or after) the one on your card.
* For fluency, prepare a list of six phrases or short sentences filled with your current sight words and    vocabulary. Roll one die, read the phrase smoothly, cover the number on the board.


Placemats are also great for making a quick path game. Just put the dot labels around the edges. A different color dot means move ahead/back a space.


You can build up a stock of these for lots of skills. Or you can just have a few and change out the labels/skills as needed, which is very handy for tutors and homeschoolers!


Thanks for stopping by! Head on over to 4th Grade Frolics for lots of Made It Monday links!

Happy Teaching!

Summer Math Freebies!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

If  you're like this young man who knows that math and fun are a good combo, head over to my post at Teaching Blog Roundup. You'll find an assortment of outdoor summer math activities as well as printable summer freebies.


Here's one, just to get you started! Enjoy!

Happy Teaching!