Winter Math Centers

I am going to be honest...I had hoped to have this post up back in December...I had a bunch of winter/holiday center ideas using goodies I purchased at Target, as well as freebies I found on blogs and TpT that I wanted to share with you to help make planning easier...BUT some little things like motherhood, teaching, being a wife/running a home and life in general got in the way!

So I pulled out the things that were winter and could continue to be used to share with you!

Let's hope I can be better prepared next year!

Let's start with these snowman plates I found at Target!  They were in the holiday party goods section.  THEY might even be on clearance now!

I found the white pom poms in the Dollar Spot.  If you can't find white pom poms, cotton balls would work just as well!

The double dice are from Lakeshore and can be found HERE.  I have the Jumbo Double Dice (12 to a package) although they also sell regular size double dice where there are 70 to a package!

The tweezers are also from Lakeshore.  I have used them A LOT this year...we've needed a lot of fine motor work.  They work great for picking up Target Dollar Spot erasers too!

Take a look at this video if you need a 'visual':

Here's another way we used the plates as I reference in the video:

And if you don't already own this tape you want it...NOW!

We used it for interactive writing to cover up 'mistakes' but I have found it's great for making center activities when I don't want a permanent mark!

(I used them on these puzzles too!)

And if you were lucky enough to find these erasers (and I even read some teachers found them in Target Christmas clearance for 30 cents a bag!!!!!) you can use them instead of the pom poms/cotton balls.

Speaking of clearance....I am SURE these Santa plates are on clearance now!

I purchased present gift tags and simply removed the string part.  We also used these candy cane erasers with the Santa plates.

The dice were great but I also wanted my kids to work on numbers to 10, so I created this spinner that we used with the plates too.  You can find the spinner in the download pack at the end of this post for FREE!

The other goodie I found in the Dollar Spot were these 2-sided wooden trees.  Of course we called them Christmas trees, but you could also call them 'winter' or evergreen trees!

And for my readers that need a visual...

And a few other things that popped into my head on how you could use them:

Next up is these number ordering cards.  My kids L-O-V-E these because they get to use the fun links!  We have been practicing these since Fall.   I know this picture shows the Christmas stockings, but the winter center pack download (free at the bottom of this post) will have the snowflakes to order.  We'll be using them starting next week!

I don't have a 'counting by 10's' set but they would be easy to make..go to Google images (if you don't already own snowflake images) and find a snowflake image, insert a text box and print them on cardstock.  Cut & hole punch just like above.

Back to the famous Target Dollar Spot erasers...

This is one of my students' FAVORITE early finisher basket activity and I also put it out for morning stations/tubs.  The directions on how to play are included in the FREE download pack.  If you don't have the erasers- no big deal!  You can use chips, cubes, flat glass 'marbles' (you can find them in the florist section of craft stores), pom poms/cotton balls, buttons, etc!

I just added this to my TpT Store for practicing numbers 10-20:

It is a follow-up to the New Year Theme for Numbers 0-10 that I posted for FREE!

Think these are some things you'd like to try out this winter?!

This FREE download includes:

*snowflake number ordering cards (0-10)

*Roll & Remove instructions & game boards for 1-6 and 2-12

*Snowman spinner for 1-10

*Snowman button cards for 1-10

We also used this freebie from Life Over C's:

I printed the Christmas and Winter sets she offers back to back.  We used the Christmas version and will now be moving onto the winter side.  We used the glass gems to help find and count all the items and I put the recording sheets into clear sleeves so we could use dry eraser markers:

I have been pinning a lot of cute center and project ideas on my Winter Pinterest board:

I'd love to have you follow the board so you can grab some of the ideas, as well!

Well tomorrow is 'back to school'!

I hope everyone had a wonderful break and enjoyed down time with those you love!

Until next post,

Let's Talk Turkey...and Pie!

This year I have started incorporating morning explore tubs into my classroom.

It gives my students the extra practice they need- hands on practice- that we unfortunately don't have enough time to do during the day.

I have been trying to keep some of them 'seasonally' based because the kids really enjoy the added holiday/seasonal fun!

Here are two we started using this week!

This first one was inspired by a pin I saw where someone used a paint chip to make a slice of pumpkin pie.  I thought it was so cute- but wanted a way to make it more 'educational!'

So I headed to the hardware store and grabbed some paint chips

The pin I saw had you add burlap as the 'crust' but I opted for some of the brown chips!

Making the pie was- well- as easy as pie!

I cut/taped the brown chips to the orange ones.

I found the middle of the chip and drew a line from each side to the middle point and then cut:

I used a sharpie to add words we have been working on.

I also numbered each slice so that I could have different pies out the on table.  The number on the pie matched the number I put on the spinner!

You can grab the spinners for FREE HERE!

(I even included a blank spinner so you can write in the words you are working on- just don't forget a number in the 'dollop' if making different sets of pies/spinners!)

I found some real cute white pom-poms in the Target Dollar Spot (I originally bought them for a fun winter station I have yet to make, but realized they would work great for this too!)

If you don't have white pom-poms, cotton balls will work the same!

Here is how they will play:

They continue to spin, read, cover...

They then clear the pie and can play again, try another slice/spinner and/or record the words on a white board and/or use one of the words in a sentence!

But that wasn't the end of the paint chip fun!

I also found these color chip 'mini books'

I chose the 'pumpkin' colors

And then used a sharpie to write the numbers 0-5 on the squares (we are in our 0-5 unit)

I made these 'count' cards to go with them:

Print/laminate/cut the cards and then place them face down on the table (I like to print on patterned scrap book paper for things like this- you can read about it HERE).

Students draw a card, count the number of objects and then take a dollop of 'whipped cream' and cover that number on the board.

Continue until all the numbers are covered.

You can also use dice in place of the cards.

Give students 2 dice for addition practice!

You can program them with any numbers you are working on!

Grab the Counting Cards FREE HERE!

The next one was inspired by this pin:

I had purchased 'build a turkey' clip art and was itching to use it, so I made these:

Students roll the dice, count out that many beads and drop it into the bottle! 

If you're visual like me, this might help:

I originally thought the tweezers would be great to use for extra fine motor practice BUT they wound up being too hard so I just had the kids use their fingers (thumb/pointer so we were practicing that 'pinch' grip!) to put the beads in.

You could have a whiteboard there for them to practice writing the number and or use for addition and have them write the number sentence for what they added to the turkey!

The kids had SO much fun with this one!

They said to me 'Mrs. Drake can we use these even after Thanksgiving is over?!'

Now my wheels are turning....feed Santa maybe?! 

Must save more bottles!

You can find the turkey bodies/feathers to tape onto your water bottles for FREE HERE!

Here are a few of the other fine motor stations we worked with this week:

Ordering numbers 0-10

Although we have only covered 0-5, I left 6-10 in there and told them to reference the number line if they needed help.  This one was super popular (and quiet)...a lot of concentration to get those links on!

You can download the number cards HERE for FREE!

Number Ordering Puzzles from Melony White:

They really liked these!  You can find them HERE.  She has a fun Thanksgiving set too!

Build and Record A Turkey's Feathers:

I saw a cute FREE idea like this from Mrs. Plemons Kindergarten but I wanted something that had both the building and recording all on one paper, so I made these.

You can grab them for FREE HERE.

'Clothe' the Turkey:

This was super simple...just printed 'naked' turkeys on cardstock and laminated.

Put out a bucket of feathers and they had to 'read' the number, count out that many feathers and put them on the turkey.

They really liked that these were 'real' feathers!

You can grab that mat for FREE HERE!

Build A Turkey Tower:

This is from my Thanksgiving Super Centers Pack

Students look at the number and build a tower with that many blocks.

Then place the tower on the turkey.

Count and Slide Cards:

These are 2-sided...one side has the pumpkin with seeds and the other scarecrow with the number.  

If students can't recognize numbers yet, the pumpkin side supports them so they can count to ID the number of beads needed.

I simply printed both, glued them together, laminated and then put a hold punch in the side to attach a pipe cleaner.

You can grab the cards FREE HERE.

We will bring out this guy next week:

You can read all about him HERE!

I don't have any pictures of us using this fun pasta yet, but I made a few things to go with it for counting, sorting, same/more/less and number ID that I hope to post soon!

And while I was at The Christmas Tree Shoppe I grabbed the Hanukkah and Christmas versions of the pasta too!

Hope some of these ideas help you make your classroom exciting and fun over the next few weeks too!

You can grab each FREEBIE from the links above or find them all HERE!

If you need additional Thanksgiving Resources, be sure to check out what I have in my TpT Store:

Here are a few of my favorite things to do in my classroom this time of year:

Thankful Crown/Hat

We wear these at our Thanksgiving 'feast' on the day before Thanksgiving.

Pilgrim & Native American Readers

A lot of books about Pilgrims and Native Americans are WAY above my students' reading levels, so we make/read these and keep them in our book baggies all month.

Thankful Mat

We make these, I mount them to construction paper, add a handprint turkey to the back and then laminate.  We use them as our placemats for our class party and then they take them home to use as placemats for Thanksgiving dinner.  Parents LOVE them!

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Turkey 

The newest book in the series...I am so excited!  We have already read There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat and There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves, so I know they are SURE to love this one!  I have always done There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Pie for Thanksgiving, but now get to add this one in too!

And FOLLOW THIS LINK to all my Thanksgiving themed posts on my blog:

There is a Thanksgiving Retelling bracelet 

that the kids LOVE to make for FREE 

and a

Stained glass turkey project that makes windows and doors festive to name a few!

Until next post,

The Holiday EBook is Here!

It's That Time of Year When....

The Holiday EBooks come out!!!!

I am so excited to be included in this wonderful collection of FREE holiday tips, ideas and products!

If you head to page 27 in the PreK/K book....

you might just find a familiar face!!!

My kinders had so much fun using candy canes as pointers last year I knew I had to include that as my tip!

Actually...if we want to be technical...our Elf- Jolly Candy Cane at the time- was the one who thought of it and left us the candy canes and books to read!  What a smart elf!! ;)

And if you want to find my featured freebie:

Click on the picture above!

Students will spin a spinner to find out how many gifts/objects in Santa's sleigh.  You can use the pictures included in the pack, or use small holiday erasers or trinkets!  There are 4 different mats- perfect for differentiation!  I don't have any pictures of it 'in action' yet- but it is all set for a math center for next week!

And as I was printing my set to use tonight, I remembered this FREE clip art I stumbled upon:

that would make a perfect recording sheet- and also serve as a great way to practice writing numbers!

 (It can also be used for word lists, read/write the room, lists for Santa, spelling tests and so much more!)

But the fun and 'gifts' don't end there...

Head over to Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs Facebook page!  For 12 days she is giving away gift cards and products from her store and stores of other teacher authors!

(Click the picture above for entry and contest rules)

Tomorrow- Day 4 (12/4) I am honored to be a part of this group:

Day 4 brought to you by:

Jennifer Drake

Deanna Jump

Jennifer Tice

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs

You can enter to win the gift card and fabulous products/store credit via Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Design's page (Giveaway tab) or right here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Each day's giveaway only lasts for 24 hours, so you have to enter fast- and make sure you head back each day through 12/12 for a chance to win $360 worth of gift cards and $240 worth of products!

So what would you get with a $30 Starbucks gift card?  I am thinking a peppermint mocha might just hit the spot about now!

Good luck!!

Until next post,