Sticker Addition

This past week we finished up our addition unit and used stickers to review and practice joining groups!

This was a simple, yet engaging and fun, no-prep activity that really helped reinforce addition and prep them for their unit test!

I purchased a few sticker 'books' from Dollar Tree, as well as the circle/dot 'incentive' sticker packs and spread them out on the tables!

Here is what they did...

I printed a frog spinner for each child (it was leap year week!).

You can use a dice, but we had been practicing addition with numbers 0-5 so I wanted to keep with that 'theme' and by making the spinner from 0-5 it let me do that!

They used a paper clip and their pencil to 'spin' the first number.

They recorded the number and then spun it again to determine how many more would be added.  They recorded that number.

They used the stickers to show the two groups

and then counted up the stickers 'in all' to determine the sum of the two numbers

They continued to spin, record, spin, record, count and write the sum for the allotted amount of time we had for math, giving them a chance to do both the front and back

They were very engaged during this activity...it did get a bit noisy but it was all 'good chatter' and discussions about the different groups they each got!

If you'd like to try this out with your class, you can get the recording sheet and frog spinners FREE by clicking HERE!

And if you are still working on addition, and want to add a fun St. Patrick's Day theme to your practice, I have placed my St. Patrick's Day 'Add the Room' pack on sale for the entire week as part of Markdown Monday over at Kelly & Kim's Kindergarten Kreations!

You can find it by clicking here:

The following cards are taped around your room (or you can place them in a sensory bucket or decorative/holiday basket or bin)

The students solve the addition problem on the card and record their answer on this recording sheet

They can self-correct their answers because on each card, in the tiny circle on the bottom right of the card, is the answer..but in order to see it they will need a magnifying glass!

I decorate my glasses with a shamrock cut-out (included in the pack) but you can leave the 'self-correct' element out if you don't want to use magnifying glasses!

If you want to challenge your students, you can have them write the number sentence and answer instead of just the answer!

This pack will be on sale from Monday March 7th-Saturday March 12th!

You can find the rest of the marked down deals for the week by clicking HERE!

And if you need other St. Patrick's Day resources...

Until next post,

Leprechaun Magic!

I can't believe St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner!

Soon it will be time for the leprechauns to visit and 'wow' us with their magic!

I have two fun 'magical' activities that my students really enjoyed last year to share with you!

The first one was 'Magic Leprechaun Dust' and it was such a hit!  

Here are some pictures and the easy 'how to'!

I purchased enough Glad 4oz reusable round containers so that each child would have their own 'dust' and several boxes of instant pistachio pudding (I think I wound up getting between 6-8 containers for each box of pudding but I can't remember!).  I made a top for the containers to make it more 'magical' looking!

To prepare the 'dust' I put 1 Tablespoon of pudding mix in each container

and then sealed it up!

On St. Patrick's Day morning the leprechaun left a stack of magic dust in our classroom

When it was snack time we followed the 'directions' from the leprechaun...

and the 'magic dust' turned into a delicious treat!

(we also had some green jello with whipped cream to snack on!)

Here are some 'how to' pictures from my trial run at home!

 Add 1/4c. cold milk to the 1T. of mix in the cup.  Seal it up good and shake!

After about 2-3 min of shaking....

it solidifies and turns into pudding!

It is ready to eat right away!

This year I have a nut allergy in my class, so I am going to try putting vanilla pudding mix with a dot of green food coloring into her container.  I also have a child with a milk intolerance so I am going to have him shake with almond milk.  I will let you know how these modifications work!

If you would like to treat your kids to some 'Magic Leprechaun Dust' I put the container 'labels' and note from the leprechaun into this free download:

It includes 'how to' pictures and directions 

and the lids and note in both color and black and white

The other 'wow' we did last year was creating a leprechaun's hat!

I came across this idea on Pinterest and had flashbacks to doing it as a kid!

The day before St. Patrick's Day the leprechaun left us this note with some cups and markers:

We got right to work decorating our cups that the leprechaun claimed would turn into his luck hat!

I had them put their name somewhere on or inside the hat.

Look at how great they turned out!

That night the cups magically found their way to my house and into my oven!

 Of course this part was all my little secret!

To make them transform I pre-heated my oven to 250 and used a dark sheet pan (yes- this pan has seen some use and love!)

I put them on the tray and put them in for about 2 min- you will want to keep the light in the oven on and watch them because they transform FAST!

You might also want to crack a window open...the first batch was no biggie- but by the time I was on batch 3 there was a faint odor in the house that was probably not so great for my lungs!

Here is how much they shrunk:

And look at how cute they all turned out!

The next morning they each found the hat they had made sitting next to their morning work activity and a note on our board from the leprechaun!

They were AMAZED!  They couldn't believe their 'name' shrunk too!

They got to take their hats home that day- and under each hat was a gold coin- which they took home too! 

Just a warning- the hats are pretty fragile!

I had to do hat surgery on a few that were touched with too much zealous! 

Here is a copy of the note I left- you can 'right click' on it and save it as a picture to insert into a document to print:

That wasn't the end our the leprechaun fun though!

He did the normal 'room trashing' too...

He opened the paint cabinet and found the green!  He spilled it and walked through it all over our room!

He dumped our math manipulatives!

He ran through the traps we made and left some of his pots of gold!

And no leprechaun visit would be complete without a trip to the bathroom!

Hoping the leprechaun finds your classroom and brings as much fun this year!

If you are in need of some St. Patrick's Day resources for centers, math, reading and more come visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Until next post,

Three Cheers for Leap Year Sale!

It only comes once every four years so it calls for a celebration!

I have teamed up with several others sellers to bring you 'hoppin' great deals for 3 days!  

Be sure to scroll down to the end of the post to get the links to the participating stores!

On Sunday February 28th find $4 deals!

Find my Spring 'Read the Room' pack for only $4!

Purchased individually, it would cost $12...it is normally reduced to $8 but on February 28th it will be only $4!

This will give you 'read the room' centers for practicing CVC and CVCe words for Read Across America week, St. Patrick's Day, Easter/Spring and Bugs/Spring themes!

You can find all the other $4 deals of the day by typing leapintosavings into the Teachers Pay Teachers search bar:

On LEAP YEAR DAY, Monday February 29th, find 50% off deals!

Find my 'Writing A 'How To' Book Bundle' for only $10.50!

It currently consists of 7 'how to' writing packs for building a snowman, taking care of your teeth, making a pizza, making a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, making a valentine, making a cake and growing a flower!

If bought individually it would cost $21, it is normally reduced to $15, but on Monday 2/29 it will be only $10.50- that is only $1.50 a pack!

Just like Sunday, find the rest of the 50% off deals by typing leapintosavings in the TpT search engine!

On Tuesday March 1st find $1 deals!

Find my 'Old Lady Swallowed A Clover' retelling and sequencing pack for only $1!

My students LOVE these stories and we use the book in this pack for individual book baggies, the retelling activities in listening center and the sequencing activity for comprehension checks!

You can also find it in this money saving BUNDLE of all of my old lady packs:

it is on sale for 20% off the bundle price discount too (reduced from $44 to only $24) and includes 'bundle exclusive' retelling bags!

But that is not all...

From February 28th-March 1st my entire store will be 20% off!

You can also enter this amazing giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

But that's not all because I have linked up with Kelly & Kim's Kindergarten Kreations for Markdown Monday!

Monday 2/29 through Friday March 4th this set of 60 editable puzzles will be 50% off!

Click THIS LINK to find all the deals of the week!

If you are still searching for some fun things to do for Leap Year Day, be sure to check out this post that lists 29 Fun Things To Do With Number 29 on February 29th:

To find all the daily deals and participating stores, please click these links:

An InLinkz Link-up

Enjoy the extra day!

Until next post,