Update!!

If you follow my blog faithfully, I want to apologize for being MIA lately.  Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to get any better either.  We have conferences next Monday and Tuesday, after spending hours testing my kiddos to see where they are at and filling out report cards, I am done.  The upside to being at school every evening this week is we have Thursday and Friday off!!  Woo-hoo!!!! 

I am also due with baby number 3 in 5 weeks, oh my, yes 5 weeks.  I think I am ready, but exhaustion has set in once again.  I am super excited though to finally get our boy after have two wonderful daughters.  So unfortanely, between conferences and preparing for another baby, my time is gone.  So if you are thinking I have given up, I haven't, just more important things taking place right now. 

Thanks so far for your support and hopefully after the baby arrives and things settle down a bit, I can get back to sharing and creating for you wonderful followers. 

Common Core: How many ways can you make 10?

We  have been working on addition to sums of ten in first grade.  Today we had to find all the ways to make ten.  I started by having the kids use a ziploc bag.  I divided the bag in half using some fun duct tape.

In each bag I placed 10 counters.  You can really do this with any sum, but since our lesson was making sums of 10 that's what I used.  The students would start by having 0 on the left side and 10 on the right.  So 0 + 10=10.  Next I had them move one counter to the other side, they would write the addition sentence 1 + 9=10, then they moved another counter 2+8=10, and so on.  It was fun to see them realize the pattern you get when you move them.  Having this hands on visual helped my kiddos a lot.

I created this little paper to use as a pre-teaching lesson before having them do the activity page out of our math series.  By preteaching the lesson with this paper helped them to do the activity page more independently.  I have included this activity page as a FREEBIE to use in your classroom. 
Just click the image below.  The students draw the counters in the "ziploc" bag and then record the addition sentence.  Enjoy!!

Sunday Funday!!

Wow, I spent 6.5 hours in my classroom today, what a great Sunday (insert sarcasm)!  I'm starting guided reading and centers this week and wanted to make sure I had everything prepared!!  I still am not sure about this, but hopefully the kids will pick it up.  I know it's going to take a lot of modeling, modeling, modeling and practice, practice, practice.  I just have to "Keep Calm."  I'm also trying to stay caught up and eventually get ahead because I have to prepare maternity lesson plans for end of November/December and I am already stressed out about that.  If anybody has any tips for centers/guided reading or maternity lesson plans, please, please share them.  I will be back later this week for our hands-on math lesson, so be on the lookout for a freebie!  Hope you all had a great weekend and a much better Sunday than mine. 

Addition

We started in our math series this week and it seems to be going pretty good.  My district adopted the common core series called "Go Math."  Does anybody else use this?  I'm not in love with it, but that's what we have to use.  The hardest part for my kiddos is that everything in the very beginning is written in story problems. AGGHHHH!!!  That immediately scares my little ones away, if they can't read the story problem, then they think they can't solve the problem.  Anyways, my goal this year is to spend as much time doing hands-on activities so that my students can master these standards.  So today we did a "FUN" addition plate activity.  Wow, my kids worked so hard and QUIET, yes I said QUIET for about 20 minutes on this.  I found this activity from http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/. If you have not checked out this website, you need to, it has so many common core math activites you can use divided by grade level.

Here are some pictures of what they did.  Each student should have a paper plate with 3 compartment, counters, die, and a response sheet which I am giving to you for FREE!!
The student rolls their die and places that many counter in the small compartment, rolls it a second time and places that many counters in the second small spot.  Then we have been talking about the plus sign and that it means you put numbers or things together.  So after they have their two small sections filled with counters they "join" them together in the big bottom part.  Students then have to draw their picture on the recording sheet and complete the addition sentence.

Here is an example of the worksheet that I created to go along with this activity.  I included the vocabulary so students learn how to read an addition sentence.

 

I loved watching their little minds at work.  If you would like to download the worksheet to go along with this game, click on the picture below.  Happy Teaching!!

 

Posted Product

I wish every weekend could be a three day weekend, don't you?  I got a lot of work done, but man there is still so much more I need to do. Worked in my room all day Saturday, trying to get lessons ready and prepping for when we start guided reading/centers.  I plan to start centers and G.R. next Monday with my kiddos.  I'm nervous, there are so many procedures and rules and steps to follow, but I have faith that they can do it. 

I had a request for a black and white version of my guided reading/reading recovery labels, so I couldn't say NO!!  I just uploaded them to my TpT store {here}.  If you like these labels, but need them in a different color scheme, leave me a message and I will be happy to work with you.  Here's a little peek at these labels.

Back to School Sale!!

Every girl loves a back to school sale especially me.  So I was excited to hear that TpT is having a sale where you can earn up to 28% off all items in my store and many other great teachers.  So stock up and save for the upcoming school year.  Follow Amanda at The First Grade Garden and join the linky party, just click the image below.  Happy Shopping in my store, just click {here}.

Liebster Award!!

Thank you to Amy Hope from TheHoundsToothTeacher for nominating me for the Liebster Award.  I so do not deserve any awards, because let me tell you, it is hard keeping up in the blogging world, but I'm giving it my best shot.  Go check out her blog here, she is the sweetest thing!!

Now for the rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.
2. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
3. Present the award to other bloggers who have less than 200 followers and leave them a comment on their blog.

I am passing on the Liebster Award to...

                    Mrs. Wehling's First Grade

Go check out their blogs, some cute ideas!!