For no good reason...

I am blogging for no good reason, no good reason other than.... 

-that I am teaching a 2nd and 3rd grade blend and am always feeling too crazy to gather my thoughts into a coherent written post. 

-that it's Sunday night and the Dallas Cowboys and Trail Blazers are both playing at the exact same time. Thank goodness one of them is winning because I can only handle so much pouty whiney husband. 

-While he pouts I work. I made a few new math centers to begin this week. 

My 2nd graders are working on adding and subtracting 10 from any number. Meanwhile, 3rd graders are working on using the distributive property to solve double digit multiplication. 

CAN YOU PEOPLE SEE WHY I FEEL CRAZY EVERY DAY!?!?! 

I digress... 

Click the pictures to download each and thanks for stopping by 

to read my less than thought provoking post. 

Have a wonderful week, friends!

Weiner of the War: A Math Center FREEBIE!

My regrouping centers were in major need of a makeover. This was one of my very first TpT products and is also one of my best sellers. I have to admit that lately every time I sold one of these I cringed thinking how badly it needed an update. I also added two new centers that I love! 

I still have a handful of kids that need repetitive practice with regrouping and I can't wait to share this new center with them on Monday. Really, it's simple- but I know they will love it as much as I do. 

You can grab this little sneak peek FREE by clicking the pictures below. It might cause a case of the giggles so included a direction sheet without the silly name, just in case! 

Check out the complete pack HERE! 

We are Rounding Stars! Freebie rounding centers, parent page and song!!

My kids are rounding stars!!

This year I decided to teach rounding a little differently. I really thought about when and how I use rounding- when I'm shopping, of course! Since we were moving I had more newspaper ads than usual so I set to work making this chart.

I told the kids that I like to get my Christmas shopping done before everyone else to avoid the crowds. I also explained that I like to make sure I was getting a deal and asked for their help in rounding these prices. Visualizing them on a # line from the very beginning helped to solidify the concept for the majority of kids. For those that didn't grasp it right away I already knew that they were lacking strength is number sense so I worked  more on that with them during our small group time. 

After our chart we did some practice in our journals. Obviously we're not going to draw a number line every time we need to round a number. After some practice kids really got it though and didn't need to draw the number line.

As another strategy I introduced the rhyme:
4 or less let it rest
5 or more raise the score
We practiced using these steps:
1. Underline the place you're rounding to
2. Circle the neighbor aka the boss
3. If it's 4 or less let our neighbor rest and I it's 5 or more up the score.
4. Everything to the right turns to 0's

I'm sure you know the schpiel, schpee??? (uh, is that even a word?) so we'll move on :P

In my homework binder I always include a page in our "help" section when we begin anything new. This helps families when they are feeling stuck at home. Here is the help page I used for rounding:

You can grab yours by clicking the picture!

I've explained my math block before. You can check it out here.

After a few whole group lessons we started some rounding centers while strengthening our skills in small groups. We have been playing roll n' round, spin n' round and pumpkin round! I promise I'm not trying to brag, but the kids are so engaged and independent during this time that you could literally hear a pin drop! These centers are in my TpT store for the price of FREE. All I ask is that you pretty please leave your feedback!! Click the picture below to download yours. 

And I have one last thing for you! This is really just for funzies and keeping em engaged. I have a lot of fun rewriting familiar songs to the tune of learning. This time I decided to go with "Rounding Stars" to the tune of Counting Stars by One Republic. Whatever gets them pumped for learning right?!?! Enjoy!

Click the picture for your copy. 

Math Center Quick Tip: No more mixed up centers or sorting cards!!

Hello, dear readers! I am coming to you tonight with a quick tip. 

I think it is purely genius and it has saved me many headaches not to mention- precious time!

It was some time last year when it hit me. I was sorting through math centers that had become mixed together. I can't imagine how because I know kids always zip those little baggies and make sure to gather every single piece before putting them away. Who are we kidding!?!? It never fails no matter how many times we remind or how much we emphasize the importance pieces always end up getting left out or worse you end up sorting what feels like a thousand cards that all look the same to make sure that every center has the correct cards. Well no more of that!

Solution: 

This is the easiest thing ever it just looks like a lot of steps. I hope I explain it well!

1. Figure out how many pages you will need to copy for each center. For example if there are 4 pages of cards and 1 game board you will need 5 pages per center. 

2. Gather 5 pages of a variety of construction paper colors. (5 red, 5 blue, 5 pink, 5 purple, etc.) You should have as many colors as you have centers. If I have 6 kids per center at a time then I will need 6 different colors. 

3. Once you have gathered the construction or colored paper put it in the bypass tray of the copy machine. Place your originals for the math center in the paper feed on top. 

4. Choose the number of copies you will need (the number of paper colors you have/centers). Click sort and START. (It's very important to click sort so that the all pages are on one color. If you forget this then page 1 will be all orange, page 2 will be all green etc. so choose SORT.)

5. The centers will copy and each center will be on a different color!

This piece actually showed up on my desk yesterday. It was perfect timing for a math piece to be forgotten. No problem I just handed it to a student and asked them to find the green center. It was put away without any extra work! 

On another note, my class is amazing. I don't mean to brag, but I just love em'! Here are a couple of pictures of kids hard at work on our newest center. Happy teaching friends!!

Sharing is ALWAYS a good reason to blog!

I have an area center for you tonight :) 

It took a little bit of trial and error to get it just right! 

This center is aligned with CCSS 3.G.A.2: Partitioning irregular shapes and finding area. 

This set has student directions, center cards, recording sheet, sorting mat and teacher prep. directions. 

Students will find the area of animal habitats in the form of irregular figures. They will then sort the animal habitats after determining if the area provides enough space. 

Let me know what you think! Click any of the pictures to download. 

I HEART you!

I think I came off just a teensy bit grumpy yesterday... I have to say I am loving being pregnant and do feel incredibly blessed (INCREDIBLY) to be gifted with another little miracle in my life. Being the only prego in my little circle of friends I think sometimes I jump at the opportunity to vent aka whine (waaa waaaa waaaa) and I need to remember to share all that I am loving too!

So even though this is not a very "teachery" post so far (hang in there, I promise) I thought I should share all that I am loving about this sweet little (fingers crossed, do I dare say it?) girl. We don't know yet but as you can tell I am hopeful. 

1. I love you... yes you, sweet baby growing inside me. I didn't feel Conner until about 20 weeks. This time around I am feeling you squirm and wiggle all day long. It is THE best feeling!

2. My belly! I was so concerned with growing out of my pre-mom jeans last time that I didn't truly enjoy that baby belly. I find that I cannot keep myself from rubbing it. Maybe this Buddha is bringing me some luck. 

3. Everything baby. I cannot wait to see those sweet little tiny toes, soft little cheeks and to soak in that new baby smell. 

4. Big brother is getting older by the second and is not afraid to show it. I have been reading (not to mention, sobbing over) all of his baby books, pregnancy journaling and memorabilia. It is making me soak up just how little he is no matter how grown up he may believe he is. 

Thank you all for your sweet support and listening to me whine. I am glad I have family, friends plus my blogsters!

And, as promised on to the teachery portion...

Last year I bought these cutesy pie heart shaped containers from the dollar tree. They came 12 in a pack..... doesn't get any better than dirt cheap. I just couldn't let them go to waste so I made this fun little division game!

Each heart has a certain number of beads in it. Kids count the beads and find it on the game sheet. They then use the beads to practice dividing and recording the correct quotient.

The containers stay closed pretty well but I can certainly foresee pieces getting left behind. I have a couple of kiddos who need some counting practice so at the end of each day it will be their job to count the beads in each container and make sure that it matches the number I have written on the bottom of each container. This will help to make sure the center stays (my fave) neat, clean and tidy! You could also give this job to those sweets who are just always asking if you need help with anything. I am sure you have a few!

If you can't find the hearts I am sure you can find something just as cute to use.

Click on the picture for your freebie recording sheet!

If you do try it out let me know what your kids think... I would love the feedback. Happy dividing!

It's the most wonderful time of the (school) year!

I think I will start this with a random thought.. I am feeling just a tad bit random as per usual. You know that "Mama" commercial for the movie with the spooky girls? I am sure you do because I feel like it is on every 5 seconds. This is why I cover my ears and close my eyes whenever I watch T.V. or for that matter when my hubs watches T.V. It doesn't matter how distracted I may be with whatever I am doing. I hear that commercial and I freak. I just don't like it one tiny bit!!! I don't know how I ever watched these scary movies. I feel like back in high school that was all we went to see. Even then I buried by face in Josh's arm. That was before I knew he would be dealing with my fraidy cat ways for life! I can't wait until that dang movie finally comes out so they can stop showing the preview, ugh.

On a less random note I am starting to feel like my self again. I started creating again last week and I haven't needed an afternoon nap in a lil over a week now. That is sayin' a lot people, lemme tell ya! After the break it actually feels really nice to back to work and into the routine. Just because I am not crazy sleepy doesn't mean I am not crazy emotional though. I cry over ev-er-y-thing! Sometime I am not even sure why I'm crying. It's all a stage though I am thankful for each and every bit of it.

My two favorite times of the school year are September and right after Christmas break. I love all of the newness, and feeling of school, fall and meeting my sweet kids in September. After Christmas break there is just this sense of routine though that I feel more than any other time of the year. The kids are refreshed and ready to learn. I am refreshed and ready to teach my booty off! 

Now that my thirds have been introduced to the basics of multiplication we are moving on and adding the more complex pieces. This week we worked on what I like to call the CheeriO trick. Hopefully this will explain...

They think this trick is pretty darn cool. For extra practice and to free me up for small groups they practice with Cheerio Memory. 

This week we are going to learn more about the commutative property. I have included Triple Times War as a freebie just for you here... you know I can't blog without a freebie! I just love em! Click the picture to get yours. BTW I was going to use dice but when multiplying 3 numbers if the product gets to high on the first roll it creates quite the problem. The spinner keeps the product low enough on the first and second spin so that they can find the final product on the third spin. 

You can also get these and other ready to go centers in my Multiplication Centers and Activity Pack from TPT!

Multiplication Centers

We have started multiplication and my thirds are so excited! I love how pumped they are!!

Here are the centers we have been working on....

You can get your center pack by clicking the picture above!

To teach multiplication I am using this book and it is FAB-O-LOUS! Kids learn their facts trick by trick... I send home flashcards for them to practice and they bring them back to school every day. It has a ton of practice and I have a parent volunteer come in to assess kids each week and give new flashcards!

As a firsty teacher last year I used this version to teach addition and subtraction facts and I'm telling ya it works!

Happy Sunday..... makin this one short and sweet!