Teacher Shopping Finds w/Tickled Pink in Primary

This monthly blog post theme is right up may alley because I LOVE TO SHOP! I love scouring The Dollar Tree or the Target dollar spot for deals! Sometimes while I’m walking up and down the aisles, I see something that sparks my creativity and gives me ideas to take back to the classroom. I’ll provide direct affiliate  links to these products when possible to make your shopping a breeze!

The Target dollar spot is the BEST! Look at these drink stirrers that I found this week. These would be perfect for reading pointers!

I also came across these wipe off board games in the Target dollar spot. They have a number sense version so you can work on addition and subtraction. The other versions are for building 3-4 letter words. They come with little square tiles and a wipe off marker! I’m pretty sure I’ve seen something similar to this on Lakeshore, but for way more money!

Ikea is another great place to find good deals. We have decorated a lot of our house from there, but they have great teacher finds as well!  They are actually building an Ikea about 2 miles from my house….this is going to be bad news! I recently found this giant dice at Ikea. How fun would this be to throw in a center or use for a whole group game? If you don't have an Ikea near you, you can buy it online here. 

I found this Leaping Letters game at Kohls over Christmas and knew I had to get it for my nephew. I have seen this at Target and Amazon as well. If you love Amazon like I do, you can find the game here. This game reminds me of Perfection because you only have a certain amount of time to put all of the letters in place before they POP off. It also comes with a list of words so students can build words with these letters as well. We had fun playing this over Christmas!

This next shopping find is actually something I made while student teaching because my mentor teacher had one. All you really need is a glove, some stuffing or cotton balls, and a dowel rod. You can then make a big reading pointer! I decorated mine a bit further with a ring and a watch. J Simply, stuff the glove with cotton, put the dowel rod in the pointer finger, and then hot glue it all shut. I use this for when I read big books and it makes it easier to touch read and reach all of the words. So while you’re out and about, make sure to pick up a pair of cheap gloves.

If you’re like me, I go to school looking all cute, but then halfway through the day, I’m ready to tie my hair up. I ALWAYS have a hair tie on my wrist. I’m so used to wearing one, I forgot to take it off in my wedding! You can see it in my wedding photos. 🙈 Anyway, I have seen these hair tie bracelets on Pinterest and thought they were a great idea. I actually found them a few days ago at Charming Charlie. I LOVE that store! It has a ton of cheap accessories and better yet,  it’s all colored  coded. This is much trendier to wear than just a boring old hair tie. 😉

Finally, one of my favorite things I’ve bought is my personal laminator. I keep this at home to do small projects like this blends/digraphs chart or last minute things I make. I know many people have the Scotch laminator and I’m sure it’s amazing too, but I of course wanted to get a cute, pink one. I found this Swingline laminator and these laminating sheets on Amazon. It also comes in blue, gray, and red. 
Swingline laminator - $21.00
Swingline thermal laminating sheets (100) -$16

If you don’t have Amazon Prime yet, you may consider getting it.  I’m not much of an online shopper, but have really used Amazon Prime alot! It’s only $99 and you get FREE 2 day shipping, so this laminator came speedy quick! They have really good deals too. I’ve gotten to the point where if we are at a store, I check Amazon to see if we can get it cheaper or if the store doesn’t have our size in something. I still prefer to shop in stores, but Amazon is a great alternative. 

Whew, this was a long post! Can you tell that I love to shop? J Hopefully you’ve found some useful ideas.

Teaching (Math) Then & Now {w/ The Super Sparkly Teacher}

I love math and the way I teach it is constantly changing and evolving. Last year, I used a lot of math stories (word problems) and some of the materials from the math curriculum. It was getting boring and stale for me. After working with one of the math coaches this year, I found that math exploration could look much different. Now, my math time includes more hands-on exploration related to the concept we’re working on. #thenandnow

Games are a great way to allow students to discover math concepts on their own (or with guidance) and they think they’re just playing. If my kiddos are having fun and learning, I’m all about it! I’m constantly letting them try out different tools like rekenreks, ten frames, bar models, and number lines during this time. This is the first year I feel like my students are experts when it comes to utilizing the different tools (even if they’re not).  

Here’s the format I've been using:

Launch- I usually share a math story (word problem) or picture.

Exploration- Students solve a problem using the tools I provide or are given a game where they are discovering a concept.

Summary- Students share out some of their observations or solutions.

Close- Teacher reviews findings and "Aha!" moments.

Extension- Students complete a ticket out the door, pencil/paper activity, or complete math stations.

Now, I may live in California, but North California has some GREAT resources. It’s possible that you have already been using them, but if not click {HERE} to check out their site.

This doubles game is called Doubles Cover Up. I modified it in order to use it to make it work for near doubles. The previous day my students exclaimed, "Some of the numbers are missing!" This allowed for some great discussions about doubles and near doubles the next day. Click {HERE} to find the First Grade Games. Sometimes I pick things I like and pair them with other materials I have in my classroom.

Do you have any other free resources other teachers might like? Please share! I'm sure we'd all prefer less paper/pencil, more hands-on practice.

Assessments { with Stephany from Primary Possibilities }

I give quick and simple assessments to my students before, during, and after instruction.  The format and types of questions are the same that my data is consistent.  They numbers within the problems are different.

You can grab up the Common Core Assessments above by clicking on these links:  

FIRST GRADE

SECOND GRADE

THIRD GRADE

Once I have graded the assessments, I use these tracking forms to keep track of mastery.  This helps me keep track of who needs retaught, how many times a student needs a standards retaught before mastery and who can move on to the next skill.

You can grab up these Common Core First Grade Math tracking sheets by clicking on the image below.  Be sure to follow my store for more freebies and updates while you are over there!

Classroom Tips For Going Green {with Core Inspiration}

Going green tips…yes please! I live and teach in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we are total fanatics for clean, green living. If you don’t abide by the high standards for saving mother earth, you will get some…looks. If you have more material in your garbage bin than in your compost and recycling bins around here…that’s a fail. We definitely take pride in being one of the greenest areas to live in the world. Most of my second graders have lived and breathed sustainability since birth, making our classrooms a place where waste is not tolerated.   

Here’s a peek at a few ways my class gets educated with sustainability in mind.

STEM Materials (S.T.U.F.F.)

We have an entire corner of our STEM lab dedicated to clean recyclables, called S.T.U.F.F. (Scraps That Are Used For Fun). Students and families deliver clean recyclables to our STEM lab frequently to keep this area generously stocked with materials that are prefect for building.

Living Classroom

Each month, my class participates in a Living Classroom lesson. This district wide program focuses on helping young learners make a strong connection with the natural environment. This leads to an appreciation for life cycles, an understanding for how to grow healthy food, and the birth of environmental stewardship. Here’s a peek at our garden where these lessons take place.

Online News

Rather than sending paper communication to and from home, our school sends communication digitally. In my classroom specifically, all newsletters are uploaded to Google Drive and shared with parents using Google Sites. More frequent photo updates are shared with parents via Google+ so they can get an actual peek at our learning activities throughout the year. You can grab my Tweets From the Classroom and other editable newsletter templates here. 

Number of the Day Binder

Rather than copying or buying daily math warm ups, my second graders work in their Number of the Day binder first thing every morning. Page protectors make these pages reusable every day of the year, giving my students enriching and consistent place value practice without wasting paper.

School Wide Waste Management

All day, we recycle and compost as many materials as possible. Our office staff and custodial crew go above and beyond to ensure students are using receptacles in the classroom and in our picnic areas properly. 

Our class environmentalists and recyclers (student jobs) do the same for our class specifically at the end of each day. You can grab my Classroom Job Cards Freebie in my TPT store.

Waste Free Lunch

Many of our students come to school with a waste free lunch. That’s right, not a single item in their lunch bag is trash. They pack their lunch in washable containers and sleeves. Food scraps are composted when the lunch bell rings and everything else is packed away to be washed at home and reused another day. 

Reusable water bottles can be found on almost every desk so students stay hydrated without using not-so-eco-friendly plastic water bottles.

Hope you enjoyed a peek at a few of our favorite tips for building a sustainable classroom. Remember…every day is Earth Day!