Last Minute Christmas Tree Craftivity & Mathtivity

The holiday break is almost here. Whether you are counting down the days until winter break or you are counting down the days to Christmas, practically everyone is counting down to something this time of year.

In this mad rush to finish the shopping, trim the tree, grade the papers, and find something to do for the kiddos in your life, the last thing you need is yet another thing to add to your list. ~Unless, of course, it is a quick, inexpensive, and easy craftivity sprinkled with a math lesson that will keep the kiddos busy while you are finishing the shopping, trimming, and grading papers.

This Christmas packet from Rainbows to Snowflakes includes an easy-to-make tree craft created with ribbon and pony beads. Also included are two math worksheets to use either as a follow-up to the craft project or as homework.

Skills addressed:

Fine motor skills

Counting with a 1-to-1 correspondence

Duplicating a pattern

Creating and solving addition sentences with answers less than 20

So put on some holiday music and have fun crafting and mathing with the kiddos.

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

This post has been shared on the following blogs. Please check them out:

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Crafty Moms Share dot Blogspot dot Com

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I Can Teach My Child dot com

 

The 15 Ducks of Christmas & a Snowman or 2, TOO!

 

CLICK HERE TO GET A FREE PDF OF THESE IDEAS FROM TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS

What do silly rubber ducks and Christmas have in common? They both provide a wonderful and fun avenue for learning important skills. Today’s post is all about having fun and learning at the same time. And, what better way to do it than with Christmas-themed rubber duckies? While you can easily print and use the images I am posting below, you can definitely add to the fun by getting a set of ducks for your math tubs. I found mine on Amazon. So, let’s get quackin’ and have some rubber duck fun.

The best way to begin is by adding new lyrics to an old familiar song-The 12 Ducks of Christmas is sung to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas, with the same ole’ dragging out of the words.

 

After you practice the song with your little ones, why not add to the excitement by using either the printable or your own rubber ducks to practice using positional words. In fact, where else can a duck go—in a stocking, under a present, etc?

What would Christmas be without a little silly duck humor?

 

 

As a reminder that winter is almost upon us, another changing of the seasons, I am reposting (by request) my Seasonal Snowman poem.

 

Happy Holidays, everyone!

 

This post has been shared on the following blogs. Please check them out:
 

 Squishable Baby dot Com

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MINTY MATH FOR KINDERGARTEN & FIRST GRADE

Welcome to December—the eternally busy month where it seems as if there are never enough hours in the day, enough hands to do the work, and enough dollars to do it with.

As refreshing as a peppermint, the posts this month will provide activities and ideas for those that are somewhat busy, those that are very busy, and those that are—Are you kidding? When will I ever find the time to do that?! busy. If you are too busy to read this blog, don’t worry— these posts will still be here in January when the whirlwind of December is behind all of us.

If, however, you fit into the first category, take the time to drop a peppermint into your cup of cocoa and check out these ideas to use that winter-fresh candy with the little ones in your life.

Whether they are the real starlight mints and candy canes or the printable versions, these sweet treats provide wonderful opportunities to practice many math skills.

Included below are printables and suggestions for practicing math skills that include counting, single-digit addition, identifying shapes, sorting, non-standard measurement, comparing numbers of objects, sequencing, and more. Created by Rainbows to Snowflakes, this candy cane and starlight mint themed resource will provide ideas and materials to use in math centers, as warm-up activities, and small group practice for kindergarten and first grade.

 

 

 

 

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PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAPS WITH HANDS-ON LEARNING

Today is all about my favorite veteran, my sailor husband. I am thankful for the time and devotion that so many who have proudly served our country gave to protect our freedoms and our loved ones.

Therefore, my post today is an early rendition of Thanksgiving leftovers. I am reposting an earlier post for preschool through first grade with a link to a free printable PDF.

THANK YOU TO ALL THAT HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY.

In a time when budgets are trimmed, dollars are stretched, and educators are forever expected to do more with less, sometimes it helps to tap into free resources to add to your curriculum materials.

Today’s post is not actually an activity—the post is how to use a FREE resource to teach and reinforce many concepts in your classroom. With a little help from your students, you can quickly fill a tub with these handy dandy manipulatives and therefore have the materials necessary for countless center ideas.

This resource of simple lids saved from common household objects can be used to teach many concepts at the preschool and primary levels. These activities can be used in a guided lesson or as a center activity.

MATERIALS:

Assorted plastic caps in multiple colors and sizes

Printout shown (optional)

 



LINK TO FREE PDF ON TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS



INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prior to using the tub of caps, assign your students the task of collecting clean plastic lids from home.

2. Create printouts of image provided to accompany the tub of caps.

3. Put on your own thinking cap and see how many ways you can use this FREE resource with your children. Here are just a few of the possibilities:

COLOR SORTING

COMPARING BY SIZE

ORDERING BY SIZE

IDENTIFYING ORDINALS

CREATING AND EXTENDING PATTERNS

CREATING NUMBER SENTENCES

PRACTICING FINE MOTOR SKILLS

SORTING BY SHAPE

What concepts can you teach with this resource?

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LIFE IS JUST DUCKY WHEN YOU MAKE ADDITION FUN

October is finally here. That means we have reached the month of learning, fun, and giveaways on my blog.

Today’s post is a simple way to use October-themed objects to create story problems. In fact, the term problem is not entirely accurate. When your little ones use these cute little ducks to practice the concepts of counting and addition, they will be creating and solving story fun. No problems here!

So grab your rubber ducks and a handful of candy corn to have some fun with addition.

LIFE IS JUST DUCKY WHEN YOU MAKE ADDITION FUN

Grade Range: K – 1

Time to complete: 15-20 minutes

VA STANDARDS of LEARNING: Math K.6

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS: CCSS.Math.K.OA.A.1

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION: Students will count up to 10 objects with correct one-to-one correspondence. They will use those concrete objects to create and solve addition problems.

MATERIALS:

Set of October-themed objects (rubber ducks used for demonstration)

Candy corn and pumpkins
Pencil
Worksheet (provided)

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prior to beginning the math portion of the activity, discuss the types of rubber ducks, giving each duck a simple name based on the costume (ex: Vampire Duck).

2. Each student will count out 10 of each type of candy to use for the addition sentences.

3. Read the first story problem to the students. Students will use their ducks and candy to create the story problem that was read to them.

4. Students will solve the addition problem and write the correct answer in the space provided.

5. Repeat steps 3-4 to solve the problems on the worksheet.

6. To check for understanding of the concept of addition of parts into a whole, students will use their candy to create their own flower, writing a number sentence to represent their creation.

MORE DUCKY FUN: Use the images on the worksheet to compare the amount of candy each duck has. For each of the 3 images shown, circle the duck that has more candy.

Interested in adding these cute Halloween ducks to your counting bin? Register here to win a set.*

OR...

POST A COMMENT ON THIS BLOG**

*This giveaway will include a free set of rubber ducks for parents and teachers of children over the age of 3. The registration will last from the posting of this blog post until midnight, October 8, 2013. One winner will be randomly selected from the entries. The ducks will be shipped from Amazon within approximately 2 weeks following the close of the giveaway. The giveaway is open to residents of the United States with a United State’s mailing address. The winner’s name will be posted on the blog, unless the winner chooses not to have his/her name posted.

**To be considered for entry into this giveaway, the entrant’s email address must be submitted to the blog administrator.

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GIVEAWAY UPDATE 10-10-13:

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 3 WINNERS OF THE HALLOWEEN DUCKS:

Berdine, April, and Erica  are winners of the Halloween ducks.

Erica, from What Do We Do All Day has generously donated the value of the ducks to an upcoming giveaway that will take place in November. Thank you, Erica, for paying it forward to this VERY special giveaway.

Thank you to all that have entered this giveaway.