Grab and Count

 A rather boring game if you ask me, but it does give the kids good practice at one to one correspondence as well as numeral writing. I decided to jazz the game up a bit and give it a new mat.

Ways to play:
 -if you use investigations you've had your fair share of this game.... essentially the kids reach into a bucket of manipulatives, grab as many as they can with a good handful (i.e. not spill out of their fist), and then count and write how many they got. It varies each time, with changing manipulatives, and from child to child due to the size of their hand. At the time I was using this game we were learning about evergreen and deciduous trees, so I had them grab red unifix cubes to be the apples on one tree and brown unifix cubes to be pine cones on the other. Since the mats were laminated they just wrote with, you guessed it, whiteboard markers right on the mats.

Download Grab and Count Tree Mat 

Needs and Wants

 In Kindergarten we usually start our money unit off with Needs and Wants. This download is a writing activity to use to supplement your math time.


 How to Use:

The first page is a simple draw and label of 3 items the children might need and 3 items the children might want. So in the box next to the number they write the word but in the oval they draw the picture.

The second and third pages I use with my students who are able to write complete sentences... which is most of them. They pick one thing they need, write about it, and draw. Same goes for one thing they want. Some years I have them cut out pictures from magazines and just color a background around the clipping.


Download Needs and Wants

Oh the highs and lows...

 Okay so I think I may be adding mostly things for my higher level thinkers and not enough for the sweet-n-lows, as one of my co-workers refers them :)

   During the measurement unit I am actually focused on numeracy with my low munchkins and practicing skills such as counting, number writing, and number recognition..... rather than lets say the difference between a balance scale and a bench scale.

One Way to Use:
So this download I print, laminate, and attach to foam for thickness. Then have the children practice writing  the numbers 1 to 12 as if it really is a ruler.... then they tend to walk around "measuring" things... I didn't actually make this ruler to be 12"... oh well they'll never know!

Want to be cutesy??
 -any of your measurement games can go in a tool box because these are TOOLS of measurement :)



Download Number Writing Rulers

Email request..

 Got a message asking about the thermometer that I have my higher kids label by 10s. Really, nothing crazy here... just a picture of a thermometer with lines. But I do put it in my math center and kids pick a number card and have to color it in (whiteboard markers.. can you tell I have an obsession with these??).




Download Blank Thermometers

Counting coins... not cards ya'll!

 The first download is going to be for the majority of your kiddos.... they skip count according to the coin. The second download is for your advanced kiddos who can skip count BACKWARDS from 100.

 

One Way to Use:


  Feel free to have the children first place plastic coins on top of the pictures (to practice coin recognition) and then they go through and count all the pennies first. Once they have counted them they write the number in the bubble that goes with that coin. Then move in one layer to the nickels... skip count... write.... move to dimes... skip count... write... you get it!




  The second download has the children doing the same thing but BACKWARDS from 100. So for the pennies they cross of the pennies as they count 100...99..98..97...96... etc.

Download Coin Counting (forward)

Download Coin Counting (backward)

Get your fingers out of your....

  Earlier on in the year we have our kiddos practice making, throwing, and recognizing finger patterns. This resource can easily be put into an independent math station to help reinforce these skills.

One Way to Use:
  - Laminate and give the kiddos a white board marker
 - Have them draw numbers out a bag
 - They color in that many fingers
 - Then have to make it with their actual fingers as well

 - Another way is to have a partner color in the fingers and flash it to their partner
 - The partner has to tell how many fingers and recreate the visual.

 Download Finger Pattern Color

Domino Parking Lot

Grab some dominos and decide who needs to practice reading words and who still needs help with number recognition. This game is engaging because the kiddos love making car noises and drivingggg the dominos in to their parking space!

One Way to Play:
  Mix up a bunch of different dominos face down in front of your group and then have the little bambinos grab on and drive it to it's spot. Easy.... good practice.... done!

Download Domino Parking Lots

Dang... ya'll like stuff :)

 Thanks to everyone for the encouraging posts, emails, etc. It's nice to get feedback or I might think no one wants my "stuff"! I went and check my scribd account this morning and was blown awayyyyy. In less than 24 hours some of my items have been viewed over 90 times WOWZERS!!!

 


GAAAhhh crazy!  I'll definitely get more stuff up tonight :) Thanks again ya'll!

Thermometer Math

 
In this activity (during a measurement unit), the kiddos are asked to look at the pictures and color their thermometer according to what the temperature should be.

Ways to Use


  Usually our K munchkins don't really grasp the full spectrum of degrees and know that 80 is hot and 40 is cool, but we teach them that if the red is up high that's hot.... down low is cold.


  Of my more advanced students I photocopy a picture of a thermometer on the back and have them label it counting by 10's. Then we add these words where they would best fit: cold, cool, warm, and hot.


Download Color the Thermometer

Pass the Pasta!

Okay this game may seem a little weird, but trust me, anything that has to do with food my students literally "eat it up"..... okay so there isn't any eating in this one... but still! For this you'll need the download below as well as pipe cleaners and penne pasta.

How to Play:
-Students use their pipe cleaners and penne pasta to create the first problem (i.e place 4 pasta pieces on the pipe cleaner)
-They write the number 4 in the first box
-Then they pick (or the teacher picks) how many they want to subtract, and write that number in the second box
-They slide that number of pasta pieces off and find the answer


Feel free to laminate this one as well and package it in the pasta box for added fun!

Download Pasta Subtraction

OH no... more beans???

 What can I say? They are such a cheap manipulative! What's cool about this math game is it involves science as well. As the little munchkins are dropping handfuls of beans they experiment dropping them high up and low down.


 How to Play
- Give students a baggy of beans
- They pick a paper bowl (there are 4 different sizes)
- The grab a handful of beans and drop them over the bowl
- They then need to count and record how many beans stayed ON/IN the bowl
- Practice with different size bowls



Download Bean Spill

Counting on you!

This game helps support the addition skill of counting on. The children will each need a dot dye and a number dye.

 

How to Play
 -Child rolls a number dye and a dot dye
 - He or she records both of these dice on the sheet
 - Then the child is to count ON from the number dye using the dots to find the sum of both dice. Record

Download Counting On You

Build A Bear Subtraction

In this game you'll have students pull a number card, count out that many math bears, place them on a cave, and then start some subtraction. I swear half the appeal to the game is the name "Build A Bear" .... whatever works!

 How to Play:
   - Either have children roll a dye, dice, or draw a number card (not included in this download)
  - They count out that number of bears
  - Put the bears in the cave
  - Record that number on the left hand side of the page
  -Then they pick how many bears will go out hunting... 1, 2, or 3 and circle that on graph
  - They then need to figure out how many bears stayed home and write the answer down.



Download Build A Bear Subtraction

Estimation Book

Each day my kiddos had to practice a different strategy to help with their estimation skills. I decided to create a book to keep track of their estimating.

One Way to Use it:
- Have children record their guesses on a sticky and put it on a big poster board shaped jar
- Then review the correct answer
- In their books they record the correct answer in the form of pictures and words
- Each day they progressively have to write more words
- If it is a number that is over 50 for their guess they are allowed to just draw dots so they will fit

Download Estimation Book

Goldfish Color Math

 Yes I realize by now I am addicting to sitting with my laptop glued in front of me, but I can't help it! I'm addicted to sharing now... intervention maybe? Okay so now I am posting an activity I use at the start of the year when we are learning colors and color words. You'll need a bag of those Rainbow Goldfish, these downloads, and some hungry children!

How to Play

-For the first download, I use this with my lower kiddos, we're all teachers here right? I can say lower? If not, scratch that and replace with "children who have not been exposed very much to reading color words".  Before we begin we practice using our color posters in our room to read these words, then I have them color the goldfish at the bottom of the graph to correspond with the word. Then I give them each a handful and the fill in the graph
-For the second download, I use this with children who are more comfortable reading or matching beginning letter sounds to words. Instead of going through and coloring first they are given their handful. They then pick one up and try to find a fish to match it to. At the end they enjoy eating their snack and then coloring the fish.

Download Graphing Rainbow Goldfish

Download Reading Rainbow Goldfish Words

Don't spill the beans!

 This game is in many different math curriculums so I'm sure there is nothing new or brain-science-ish here haha.

      



How to Play
- Give child a cup of two-colored beans or chips (number is decided by what level they are ready to work with 10, 15, or 20)
- They shake and flip out the chips, count the red ones and count the yellow ones
- If you laminated the recording sheets they can color on top of the beans to record how many of each they had
-Then they write the number sentence with vis-a-vis as well
-Wipe off and play again... if you didn't laminate be prepared to copy A LOT of these papers because the kiddos eat it right up!

One Way to Package:
-Get a box of rice, use the first page of this down load to help cover one side of the box
- Use the recording sheet to cover the other side of the box
- Place the chips or beans inside the box with a whiteboard marker as well
- The box act as the cup, a place to do the recording, AND the storage all in one... LOVE it!

Download Don't Spill The Beans

Addition Mats

I'm sure ya'll have seen these before, but instead of having to take the time to cut construction paper, glue them together and laminate them... just hit PRINT! Viola! These mats, once they are laminated, are perfect for an introduction into addition. Provide children with manipulatives at put on the top half of the board, white board or vis-a-vis markers to write the number sentence, and they push all the objects to the orange part to figure out the answer. Easy-shmeasy!

Download Addition Mats

Kindergarten Being A Writer

If you use this writing program, my K team and I have re-ordered the lessons to better suit us. Then I created writing papers to go with each week slowly progressing how much writing space they would need, lines, etc.


Enjoy! (p.s. no I am not THAT awful at spelling... I'm bad... but this was the beginning of the beginning of the year to teach inventive spelling and those are the sounds the kiddos heard so I wrote them as such)

 

Download Being A Writer Journal Pages

Who let the letters out??

  As awesome as Dr. Jean's alphabet song, Who Let The Letters Out, is it is also a little toooo long for my kiddos to sit through. Many teachers have thought about putting movements with the song like children pretending to eat an apple on the letter A and making the /a/ sound, but I wanted to also add visuals. Attached is the document that has all the picture cards to go with the song but below are the movement I do, you can change them, to help teach my children the letter sounds. Don't forget they aren't making the sound of the picture but the letter sound (i.e. Mmmmmm when doing monkey moves not oohh ahh ahh.... hahah)



A- apple - pretend to take a big bite out of it
B- ball - bounce a ball with one of your hands
C -cat - form your fingers on one hand into the letter C and claw like a cat
D - dog - use both hands to clap together to be a dog barking
E- elephant - use your arm, place it near your nose and act like it is an elephant trunk
F - frog- jump around like a frog
G - ghost - put your hands out like a ghost and make the /g/ sound in an eerie way
H - hot - fan yourself with one hand as if you are sweating
I - itchy - scratch all over your body
J - jump rope - self explanatory I hope :)
K- kick- pretend to kick a soccer ball
L- loly pop- pretend to hold a loly pop and lick it, which works well to teach children to use their tongue for this sound
M- monkey- alternate a hand on your head and one on your side itchy like a monkey
N- No - shake your pointer finger from side to side
O - octopus - move your arms around quickly to try and make it look like you have 8 tentacles
P - penguin - with arms down by your sides, extend your hands outward from the wrist and waddle
Q - queen - use both hands straight up on top of your head to make a crown
R - run - run in place
S - snake - use your two fingers as if they are  snake tongue and slither your body side to side
T - time - point to your wrist as if you are late on a watch
U - ugly face - fun for kids to do this one as the song is getting long, so they just make crazy faces while making the /u/ sound
V - violin- play an imaginary one
W - washing hands
X - X - make an X across your body
Y - yo yo- place your two fingers in the shape of a V so it makes the letter Y if you include your arm, and drop and up a yo-yo
Z - zipper - pretend to zip up your shirt

Download Who Let the Letters Out Picture Cards

Birthday Graph

I'm not one of those teachers who is down with paying $20 for a cute poster set for my classroom. Why buy stuff if you can make it? So instead of buying those cute little birthday cakes for my classroom and writing children's birthdays on them, I made each child a birthday cupcake and formed a graph out of them on one of my walls.



How to Make:


-Download the file (link below)
-copy the images and place them in Word (if you have ComicLife that is how I made these and it's even easier to adapt)
-Add a text box over top of each cupcake with a child's name and birthdate.
-OR just print them, laminate, and write on them with vis-a-vis.
-the first page of the download shows you want mine looked with with wording, the other two pages are blank for you.

Download Birthday Cupcakes for Birthday Graph

Schedule Cards

Highly doubting that ya'll have the same schedule as I do, but I figured you could print and use the ones that we have in common. I made these in ComicLife, so if you have that program it would be VERY easy to change the pictures/words to better suit you.

 In my room what works best is I printed these, mounted them on colored paper, laminated them, and put magnets behind them. It is a students job each day to go up and adjust our schedule (i.e. if we have P.E and not Art they switch them out).

Download Schedule Cards

Peanuts! Get your peanuts!

 A fun way for kids to practice grouping and counting by 10's! You can use real peanuts, packing peanuts, or some other manipulative.

Ways to play:
- Set the stage for you kids that they are going to be working at the circus and their job is to feed the elephants.... BUT they can only use 100 peanuts a day! Model for them how to count out 10 peanuts at a time (going downward under each elephant), and then how to skip count to make sure they didn't go over the 100 peanut limit. Kiddos like to get silly with this and even name each elephant... haha I love when I hear them say "Dumbo.. wait that's a bad word".

Ways to package:
-Either fill an animal cracker box (the kind that looks like a circus car) with peanuts
-Attach all the columns to ONE page going in a line
-Laminate

Download Elephant Skip Counting

Pop goes the...groundhog?

Not really content related but just turned Groundhog's day into a math activity. Use this 10 frame game however you would normally for your class, it's just cuter!

Ways to play:
-With a partner taking turns filling in the groundhog hole ten frame using the groundhog markers
-Rolling a single dye and filling in the board and then having to tell how many are empty
-Rolling two dice, filling in the board, if it equals ten then they get to collect a shadow.
-MANY other ways to use which I am sure creative cookies like yourselves out there can school me on ;)


Ways to Package
-Laminate EVERYTHING (my fantastic T.A.= blessing )
-Either in a gallon ziplock bag or large manilla envelope, with the game title adhered to the front

Download Groundhog 10 Frame

Give me 5!

Another money game but this time to help grasp the concept of exchanging for an equal value (pennies to nickels).

One way to play:
  Have 2 students playing each with their own board. Students take turns rolling a dye and filling in that many pennies. If one of the rows fills up they are to exchange those 5 pennies for a nickel. To do this they push all 5 pennies onto the nickel, cash them in, and place the nickel on the piggy bank. The player who reaches 20¢ first, wins!


One way to store:
   See if you can get your hands on a bank bag, you know those zippered ones that companies use to do drops? Adhere the title of the game on the outside, print the game board at half size (so 2 will fit to a page, then cut), laminate them, and put them in the bank bag. Don't forget to put plenty of (plastic) pennies and nickels in with the boards!

Download Give Me 5!

Coin Collection

Nothing new and spectacular.... just a face lift! Use this board any way you please but my intention in creating it was for a new bingo board when teaching money.

How to Play:
Either hold up or call out a coin or value for your munchkins to find on the board. For example, you could call out "Quarter" and they could put a marker on the front of the quarter, the back of the quarter, or the value of 25¢. Hopefully this game will help my kiddos to be more fluent in recognizing coins and their values.

1 Way to Prep:
 Sometimes its all in the packaging!
-Buy a large purse or knapsack (shout out to GoodWill!)
-Laminate several bingo cards
-Buy several wallets or coin purses
-Put plastic coins in all of the coin purses to be used as markers
-Put boards and coin purses with coins into the large knapsack

 Download Coin Collection

Dr. Seuss

His birthday isn't that far off ya'll. I made a game that incorporates math and language arts into one! Although the number recognition of 1-9 will be a little too easy for your kiddos, the rhyming part makes it a little more fun.

 

Download Dr. Seuss Number Rhymes 

 How you play: pull out a picture card, read it, and try to match the number word it matches with. For example: shoe would go on top of the 2 on the game goard.

 One way to "package" it
-Use a red file folder
-Attach the title of the game to the front of the file folder
-Adhere the number board inside on the right (the laminate)
-Attach a ziplock baggie or library card envelop inside on the left
-Place the rhyming picture cards in the baggie/enveloped (after you laminate them of course)

Double Stuffed presents....

STUFF!!!

  A couple of my co-workers have begun blogs to share with the education community so I decide to join the bandwagon. Partly because it's good to give back when I have been taking so much... but also because it motivates me to keep creating new things. Kindergarten is rewarding and hilarious, but at the same time if I am not constantly keeping things fun, new, and exciting the troops may retaliate ;)


Please feel free to print, use, and share the things I create. I only ask that if you decide to post any thing of mine online that you give due credit.. oh yah and that you don't charge money for it! Sorry no freebie's here for teacherspayteachers (aka sometimes-non-teachers-stealing-from-teachers-to-rip-off-teachers haha)