I've Been a Slacker

The end of the year was absolutely CRAZY for me.  Between last minute grading, report cards, the end of the year party, kinder "celebration", and having to redecorate my room, I am surprised I did not lose my mind.  For some odd reason, there were volunteers galore at the end of the year.  Now, I never turn down help, so I have a major head start for next year.

My brain never stops thinking about school stuff.  It's a blessing and a curse.  On one hand, I think it helps me become a better teacher.  On the other hand, I never stop thinking about school stuff.  :)  So, I was trying to think of some other way to give the kiddos manipulatives for math besides snap blocks.  The snap blocks worked fine when they had to add through a sum of ten, but after that, the kids were in trouble.

I decided that ten frames would be a good idea.  I'm going to give them double sided beans.  I spray painted lima means red on one side and blue on the other.  Math manipulatives are expensive!  I also wanted to give them a number line as another resource during scaffolding and fading.  We'll see how they work this year.

So, that's my first freebie for the summer.  Click here for your freebie.

Here is another great product to help you teach math.  :)

Plus, here is my baby that is working AWESOME for our school.  We're working on getting our kiddos ready for kindergarten (especially skills for the beginning of the year DIBELS assessment) by e-mailing this to parents.  During kindergarten testing, we asked parents for their e-mail addresses.  We were able to e-mail this file to 98% of parents.  Only a handful of e-mails kicked it back, and I just sent them a private link using google docs.  We've gotten some great feedback from parents.  They are so thankful for activities to help their child get ready for kindergarten.  For more information, click here.  Plus, I just discounted the price.  :)

Enjoy your summer!!