Feature Friday ~ The Kindergarten Press

Hello, all! I am Carlee Van Ness from The Kindergarten Press. Today I want to share with you some fun and effective strategies I use to teach addition!

I have seen on other blogs that many kindergarten teachers begin teaching addition much earlier in the year. However, at my school, we use the Common Core aligned EnVision Math series (which I LOVE,) and we usually begin addition in January right when we return from winter break.

Along with the interactive videos and work pages that come with our math series, here are some manipulative activities I do to help my kids grasp the concept of addition:

1. Part-Part-Whole

I begin teaching addition with Part-Part-Whole activities using unifix cubes and styrofoam plates broken into two small sections and one big section. The kids really begin to grasp the concept of addition when we take two small groups of unifix cubes (the parts) and then bring them together to make one larger group (the whole.) Once they are able to do this pretty fluently, I begin with a whole group and have them break it into smaller parts so they can see that there is more than one way to get a sum (i.e. 3+2=5; 1+4=5; 5+0=5.)

2. Magnetic Ten Frame Paddles

This year, my school purchased magnetic ten frame paddles and counters for our students through our Title I grant! They are SOOOO fabulous! These are definitely my favorite addition resource. I begin using these by telling the students story problems and having them solve the problems using the ten frames. This activity helps them to visualize the number sentence even before they learn how to write it. I love that they can see the whole number sentence right in front of them simply by looking at the ten frame! I believe our Title I Director purchased ours through EAI Education, but they are also available on Amazon. 

Before we purchased the magnetic paddles, I did things the old school way using ten frames I made myself and laminated along with foam counters. 

3. Writing Number Sentences on Whiteboards

Once the kids have the process of addition down, we move on to writing number sentences on whiteboards as we solve problems using our ten frames. It is so exciting to me to see their little minds figure out such a complex concept!

4. Number Lines

The last addition activity I introduce (which we haven't gotten to yet this year) is Number Line Addition. I give each child a 0-10 number line, and they solve addition story problems by moving a bear manipulative along the number line. They really love this activity, and eventually they use the number lines to solve addition problems using dominoes as math centers!

I hope you find some of these addition teaching strategies useful! If you'd like to see more of what goes on in my classroom, please head on over to my blog or follow me on instagram. 

Happy Teaching,

Carlee

Feature Friday: 1/08/16: Adventures in Kindergarten

Hi, I'm Mary from Adventures in Kindergarten.  Thank you, Kinder Tribe, for letting me take over for Feature Friday!  I am here today to talk about how to plan an amazing field trip.

I LOVE field trips.  My little ones get SO excited to go on the trip and always come back knowing so much.  I also kind of sort of think that field trips are hard.  Hello, Stressville!  I am always keeping my fingers crossed that nobody wanders away, climbs into the pig pen at the farm or has an allergic reaction to a furry friend at the petting zoo.


Here are my tips for making field trips as fun and easy as possible for everyone (even the teacher!).

This will vary a lot from school to school depending on your policies.

Funding and Discounts

Many museums or other cultural institutions give free or reduced cost field trips to schools.  Take the time to do some internet searches to find out if any of your local attractions have school discounts.  For example, the New England Aquarium gave my students and chaperones free admission this year in exchange for me participating in a teacher training.  It was fabulous!  Also, a local farm run by the Audobon Society agreed to give my students scholarships, which amounted to a huge discount on admission.  This was huge, and allowed our low income urban school to take a visit to the country.  I would also recommend school based funding resources such as the PTO, or the amazing website DonorsChoose.

Family Payment

After you have priced out your admission cost and busses, determine how much you will need each child to contribute.  Let parents know about cost far in advance.  Even though $5 or $10 does not seem like a lot, some families require advanced planning to set it aside.  My team tried something brand new this year.  Instead of asking for $7 for this field trip or $9 for that one, we asked our families for $25 for the entire year.  I am THRILLED with how it has worked out so far!  You can read more about this and download a freebie of the letter we sent home here.

Paperwork
This is the part that I DREAD!  But I have learned the hard way that filing all of my paperwork early is so much less stressful.  This includes sending home permission slips.  I send them home about two weeks before our trips, which has saved me time that I used to spend calling or emailing parents to remind them about the trip, or scrambling last minute for permission.

Chaperones
Once all of your chaperones have committed, you can strategically plan which children you place with each chaperone.  Of course, any of my trickiest little friends stay with me.

This idea from Sailing into Second is pure genius.  She threw all of the essentials in a ziploc bag and voila!  A complete chaperone kit for everyone.  It even has the schedule for the day and a list of students that each person is in charge of.  I tried this on our farm trip last Spring and just loved it.


This might seem self explanatory, but it is SO important for the safety of the kids and your own peace of mind.

First Aid Kit and Meds
I always stuff a first aid kit and all of my kids EpiPens and inhalers in my trusty backpack.   Of course, always check with your school nurse about which medicine to take.  I also always grab hand sanitizer, kleenex and baby wipes because those always come in handy.

Make a Plan
Create a plan with the other teachers who are going on the trip with you, and be sure to share it with your chaperones.  If anyone was to get seriously injured on a trip, our plan is always to call 911 first, then inform our team.  Personally, I always give the chaperones my cell phone number in case they are separated from the group when an emergency happens.


Safety Necklace
I have used these little puppies since my second year teaching and they have saved me so much worry!  The front of the necklace is a cute sun, and the back has a label on it with the following information: My name and phone number, and our school name, address and phone number.  I train my students that if they get lost or separated, they are to show their necklace to an adult who works at the field trip location.  Thankfully, I have never needed to use it but it gives me so much peace of mind! 

To make the necklace, simply label the back of your sun, laminate it, punch two holes and string through with yarn to create a necklace.  I like to use soft, thick yarn that is plenty long to avoid any "Oops, I strangled myself" incidents.  I also suggest making a few extra because they have a tendency to get lost or damaged on trips.


This is my most favorite part about preparing for a field trip.  I love to teach my kids as much as possible about where we are going and what we will see before we get there.  It is incredible how much more they gain from a field trip when they are already knowledgable about a topic.

Here are a few fun ways that we learned about the ocean before visiting our local aquarium:

I made a YouTube playlist of age appropriate videos about a variety of ocean animals.  We watched a few together on the projector, and then our research groups watched more during center time.  Each group presented facts to the group about the animal they researched. 

Vocabulary is crucial!  I love to use mini word walls in my writing center to help my little ones write independently.  Before our visit, we made predictions about what we would see at the aquarium.  First we did this as a whole class during shared writing, then children completed a writing prompt independently.

After our visit, children wrote about what they actually saw at the aquarium.  This was a fun and engaging way to check our predictions.  It sparked tons of conversation... I just LOVE hearing my little ones use their new vocabulary correctly!  You can find the word walls and writing prompts in my Ocean Words unit.

Take a moment to take it all in and enjoy yourself.

Seriously!  You have worked hard and you are totally allowed to have fun with your kids!  I always take about a gazillion pictures to help us reflect when we get back to school.  This is where my trusty portable phone charger comes in handy.

Happy field tripping!

Feature Friday 12/11: Big Ideas for Little Hands

Hey guys! Julie here from Big Ideas for Little Hands. We love using technology in our classroom and I am always looking for fun new ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. 

It's been pretty easy to incorporate technology into Math and Reading with fun apps and online games. The struggle was how do I get technology into my writing time. The answer was this amazing app that I found, ChatterPix Kid.

We have been practicing writing stories during Writer's Workshop. Once the kids were done with their stories, I had them draw a picture of the main "character" of their story. These stories were information stories so they drew a picture of what they were inform the readers about. 

Once they drew their picture, I quickly snapped a picture of their drawing using the app. Then, on the app, you draw a small line where the mouth is. This will allow the picture "to talk." 

Once you have a mouth, the app will count down and the students will record their stories when it says "Go." Then you hit save and you are done. This app makes it so easy to create a talking picture. Once I showed my kids how to use it, they were able to do it on their own without my help! Perfect!

Come take a look at a few of our stories my kids created!

So simple to incorporate and a great way to motivate students to write. At the end of each week, the students that have finished their stories and created a video have a chance to share their video with the class. Definitely a highlight of the week! Head over to download the free app and let your kids' imagination run wild while they write and create!

~*~Julie~*~

 

What Worked Well Wednesday: December 9th

Hi friends!

This is Yukari from A Pinch of Kinder.

I'm excited to be here to share my first ever What Worked Well Wednesday post!

I'm going to keep this super short and sweet because I know a close third to back to school teacher tired and end of the year school tired is right before Christmas break teacher tired.  Am I right!?

Since my kids are in full on holiday mode I threw together this holiday themed sensory tub with a task.

The students are instructed to

1. Find a sand timer.

2. Start the sand timer.

3. Tweeze as many peppermint candy erasers out as they can before the timer runs out.

4. Count how many erasers they tweezed out and record their answer in the correct column.

5. Repeat until they have filled out all 3 columns.

My kids work on counting strategies, identifying and writing numbers, fine motor skills and develop an awareness of standard measurement tools (sand timer) all while playing and having fun!

If you would like to do the same activity in your class and would like the recording sheet I made up you can click here to grab it!

Any fun activities you tried out that worked well in your classroom this past week? Link up below with your What Worked Well Wednesday post below!

Linky Guidelines:

1. Grab the W.W.W.Wednesday image from above (the 2nd image from the top in this post) and include it in your post

2. Link back to this blog post (you can link the WWWW image that you included in your post)

3. Optional, but we highly recommend visiting the two posts before you and leaving a meaningful comment on their post.  Nice comments make the blog world go around! :)

Feature Friday: Sarah from Kindergarten Alphabet Soup

Yeah, friends! We have made it to the end of another week! Let's celebrate by having another Feature Friday!

 

Today we are featuring Sarah from Kindergarten Alphabet Soup! She has some great ideas on how to set-up your elf on the shelf! Take it away, Sarah...

Hi all! I am Sarah from Kindergarten Alphabet Soup. December is my favorite month at school because it is full of Holiday fun, and who doesn't love a good holiday! I wanted to piggy-back on the previous post that Molly from Miss K's Little Rays did on introducing the elf, and show you some ideas for what to do with your elf in the classroom!

 

I want to preface by saying that I teach in a private, Christian school, therefore Holiday time around here is very Christmas oriented. However, many of the ideas that I have used for the elf antics are very universal and can be used in public or private schools, as well as at home!

The following are some of my favorite ideas:
1. Zip-lining on the Christmas lights.
2. Sleeping in a tissue box.
3. A Marshmallow fight with some buddies.
4. Fishing for Goldfish.
5. Hiding in classroom decorations.
6. Kindness Challenge Day!

  
     
 

The following are some more ideas that can be used in a private school classroom:
1. Shepherd Elf
2. Elf and the Advent wreath.
3. Elf admiring the angel.

  


The elf really helps to motivate students to come in to school in the morning excited and curious about what we're going to learn about that day! I try to always utilize what we are learning about during the day in the elf's activity, as well. (i.e. this week we're talking all about angels therefore a lot of Elfie's antics involve angels.)

Where are you and your class finding your elf in your classroom? Have a happy Holidays! :)
xoxo,
Sarah

What Worked Well Wednesday: Staying Organized

Hello again, teachers!!! I hope you're having a fantastic week!

I'm Emily, from Carnes Corner, and I'm SO GLAD to be popping in again today, for this week's What Worked Well Wednesday link up.  I've definitely missed you!

I've been known to be a bit OCD, and that tends to overflow in to my classroom and the way I "try" to stay organized.  I wanted to share with you how I keep all of my center materials organized.

I have tubs (from Target, similar to these) for each month/or two months that hold all of the center materials for that time frame. (Of course, they're a teeny bit of an investment, but it's SO worth it!)

 Within each tub, I have the center materials divided by week...in a big ziploc baggie if they'll fit.  So, for example, in my November tub I've got three big ziploc bags with all of the smaller things inside for each of the weekly themes: Community Helpers, Scarecrows, and Thanksgiving.  December is a bit of a different month for me, since it's basically one big theme.  (Plus, I've got some of the center materials for this week already out).  Here's a peek inside December...

As I mentioned previously, when it's time for that center, I just pull out that baggie, make the necessary copies that I need to, and stick the individual centers in my FABULOUS rainbow tubs.  

We call these our "center tubs" in the classroom.  The first four (red and orange) are my literacy centers, and the next four (green and blue) are my math centers.  All of the materials they'll need for that particular center is in the coordinating tub, so the group can just grab and go.

This makes it easy, because I can just say "group one, grab the circle tub and take it to the carpet."

The bottom two drawers (purple) are my Word Work and Work on Writing material tubs for Daily 5 rotations.  

I've found its easier to take my Daily Five materials/centers and keep them in a storage bin all on its own because not all of my Daily Five items follow along with our weekly themes.

So, how do you organize your centers? Have I given you any ideas?? I'd love to hear!!

Oh, and make sure to link up below with what's working well in your room. :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Monthly Freebie Linky Party: December 2015

Hi everyone!

This is Yukari and on behalf of the admin team I'm here to bring you another Monthly Freebie Linky Party!

Each linky will be open for a month and the the linky for the new month will be posted on the 1st of each month.  If you have freebies that you have made this month that you would like to share with the Kinder Tribe members please do so here! 

If you are in the Facebook group please refrain from posting freebies there and post your freebies here! You can post more than one freebie a month!

Guidelines:

1. You can either link to a TPT product that is free or a blog post but please make sure it is going to a specific product or a specific blog post.  Your link will be deleted if it goes to your TPT store front or your blog homepage.

2. Please ensure you only post freebies that you have posted this month.  That means for this post you can only post freebies that you have posted in November 2015. (Nothing from December 2014, October 2015 etc. pretty please! Again links that do not follow this guideline will be deleted!)

3. You can link-up more than once a month but again please make sure that you are providing a link to your newest freebie and not just your generic blog or store address.

4. Links to blog posts with paid posts are ok as long as there is a freebie in the post as well.  If your post only contains paid products it will be deleted.

Happy sharing Kinder Tribe!