A Sale and a Freebie for January

I am having a sale until the beginning of 2014 in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I also posted a Freebie that is included in my January Fun Unit.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Penguin-and-Fish-Snack-Story-Problems-Freebie-1032627

New Year is around the corner

I can not believe that it is already time for 2014. It is going to be a busy January. I am getting ready for midyear assessments. I sure hope that my kiddos do well.
I am also posting my January Fun Unit tonight to Teachers Pay Teachers.
I found cute Penguin snack crackers at Wal Mart and wanted to use them with my Penguin Unit in January.  My kiddos are going to love eating the Gold Fish and being the Penguins.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/January-Fun-All-Month-Long-1031601

Click on the link for January Fun All Month.

Cyber Monday and Tuesday Sale

Check out Teachers Pay Teachers on  Monday and Tuesday, December 2 & 3 for Cyber Monday and Tuesday sale. Everything in my store is 20% off. At check out use code Cyber for an additional 8% savings. A total of 28% discount for Christmas units and Stock up on units for winter and spring.

Holiday Fun

I have been missing from my blog for a long time. There does not seem to been enough hours in my day. Between school, my one year old granddaughter has been very sick and in the hospital, I have not  been able to find the time.
I have just posted December Fun with Reindeer Games to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store and Teachers Notebook. This is a fun Print and Go Center packet to use the whole month of December. Check it out.
My November Fun for the whole month is also available. Some great centers to use next week before Thanksgiving.

Developing Number Sense in Kindergarten

I love Math in Kindergarten. We are working hard each day in Developing Number Sense. I have Math first thing in the morning from 8:00-9:05. We begin Math with Number Talks. I am using the strategy of rethinking calendar. Common Core does not include calendar activities until 2nd grade. We use our calendar time as a Math Time. Yes, I add dates to the calendar but we use the date as a counting on point (counting on from a given number) and count how many days until a special day (field trip, Saturday, etc.).
We have a  number of the day and work on decomposing that number in as many ways we can.
This weekend I made Rekenreks for my Number Talks and will use them in small groups during math workshop. I had seen expensive ones online but decided to try my own. I made 14 for about $10.00. I used foam board, elastic cord and beads from AC Moores. I think that they turned out great.
I hope to blog more soon on REthinking Calendar Time in Kindergarten and how this time can be so powerful for Number Sense.

Kindergarten Counting Jar

My District uses Math Investigations as our math curriculum. As part of our Math Workshop, students choose the Counting Jar. Students are to make matching sets of objects that are in the jar and record their findings on paper. Math Investigations does not specify a journal, so I made these journals for my students that are aligned with Common Core. Students need to be able to show numbers in a variety of ways and combinations. The journals have sheets for 1-10 and 11-20 depending on the amount of objects in the jar.
The Kindergarten Counting Jar Journal is in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Apple Letter and Sound Match Center

This is a picture of the Apple Letter and Sound Match unit I just posted to TpT. Students can match letter to picture sound card. They could also put letter in ABC Order. I am having my students use colorful links to match the apples. Great for fine motor and Letter/sound Match. Check out the unit Apple Letter/Sound Literacy Center on TpT.