Saint Patrick's Day Math from Tricia's Terrific Teaching Trinkets

You know how the simplest ideas are sometimes the BEST?! I know. Sometimes I seriously need reminding that having a good time with my kiddos, and providing fun, engaging, and MEANINGFUL activities doesn't have to be a Pinterest-buster (that's a thing I just invented). THAT is why I'm so grateful for today's guest blogger, Tricia from Tricia's Terrific Teaching Trinkets, who has already inspired some SUPER SIMPLE and fun activities in our home! 

[I blew this hundreds chart up at BlockPosters.com, then printed & laminated at home].

Today Tricia's bringing you some Saint Patrick's Day math ideas for kids. As you can see, we've already implemented them! Welcome, Tricia!

Shamrocks, Leprechauns and Gold Glitter... 
all celebratory symbols of March's greatest holiday! 

When I taught First and Second Grade, Mr. Leprechaun would visit our classroom leaving teeny tiny green glittered footprints everywhere, turning desks over and flipping anchor charts upside down in search of his gold. Many years, he also locked me in the closet only to be rescued by 26 giggling students. Oooo...the memories!

Top of the Morning! I'm Tricia, creator of Tricia's Terrific Teaching Trinkets where Math is made easy, differentiated and engaging. I am thrilled to guest post today for Buck and Chuck on this glorious spring day.

So how can we take the magic and excitement of St Patrick's Day and integrate it with math? Easy!  Let's chat!

First repeat this manta after me.... "Math can be fun and easy!" 

Just adding the smallest little spark or turning a math topic into a little game, can bring excitement and joy to a child's learning.  As I always say, when practice feels like play...it can be a win-win.  

As far as the "easy" part...so many people say, "I'm not good at Math" or "I never understand Math." Ok ready for a little secret.   Come close... I was never a good student in Math...like Not...At...All! There were numerous nights spent at the kitchen table next to Daddy crying.  It was hard and I felt horrible!  And now...I am a math teacher.  

So here is why it works: I am able to scaffold and teach the lesson in parts.  Start easy and small and then when my students are "getting it," I kick it up a notch with the numbers or the concept.  Plus I also have great empathy and understanding on my students.  We say tons of Math Mantras and songs in class so we are always working on building confidence and our best self at the same time. 

Today I teach math to grades K-5.  Every Friday we celebrate "Fun Friday."  In fact, that is how I greet my kiddos at the door on Friday.  "Good Morning!  Happy Fun Friday"... and they answer me back the same way... it's awesome to see them so excited coming into the classroom.  Whatever our lesson is for the day... fractions, ballpark estimates, tally marks, word problems... I add any little game I can to the lesson.  Get a problem correct (independently or with support)... awesome... you get two tries to bowl or throw a basketball in the trash basket.  The excitement that day is electrifying and the students can not wait to try a problem.

Now comes the spin of adding a holiday to our math fun. Look at what I picked up at The Dollar Tree for a total of $2.00! 

With all the fabulous manipulatives at Target, Joanne's, Michael's, The Dollar Tree and Hobby Lobby (to name a few) it is easy and cheap to pick up darling shamrock erasers and use them as counters or game pieces.  

Click for Freebie Counting Mats!

I will use these adorable purchases to count by 5s and 10s as well as other things like addition word problems and asking kiddos to draw tally marks to match the picture of items I put out.  The uses really are endless and the kids are so excited about the holiday and the sparkle, our math time goes much faster.

I love creating math resources full of games, puzzles and color by number to help children practice their math skills independently. I created an addition color puzzle just for you below!

Click on the image below to grab two cutie Leprechaun Addition Math Fun Practice Sheets

And so there is...a few fun ways to integrate St Patrick's Day and Math Fun at the same time.

It was wonderful getting a chance to share with you.

Now it is your turn... How do you like to get kids excited about St Patrick's Day and learning?

Tricia from Tricia's Terrific Teaching Trinkets

I'd love to connect with you

TPT Store: www.teacherpayteacher.com/store/Tricia’s Terrific Teaching Trinkets

Blog: www.triciasterrificteachingtrinkets.blogspot.com/

Facebook: @Triciasterrificteachingtrinkets

Instagram: @TRICIASTERRICTEACHINGTRINKET

Math St Patrick's Day Fun for 6 and 7 year olds

Are you interested in being a guest blogger for Buck & Chuck? Click here for details! To follow my adventures in teaching at home, raising Kingdom kids, and balancing this crazy Mom Life, make sure to follow me on Instagram and BlogLovin'! Use the teeny icons on the top left! 

We're Learning to Read through Worship!

Of all of the little activities I've done with Beckett, this last project has got to be the one he's been most excited about. My heart is bursting with how excited he is to sing and learn these worship songs, and to read along as we sing! Make sure you read to the bottom because I'm looking for your ideas, AND I'm giving one set away!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links

So in our church, littles can go to the nursery during the whole service, but Brian and I have chosen to keep them in the service with us through the music worship time at the beginning. We do this for a couple of main reasons: mostly we love exposing them to worship time as a church body and to the worship songs we hope they'll grow to love and live by. We also like the opportunity to expose them to "big church" and the chance to practice sitting quietly in small spurts (announcements, etc). However, one new bonus to keeping them with us is Beckett has started pointing to the words on the screen and "following along" as we sing!

This past Sunday, watching him was incredibly precious (and a little bit distracting), but it also gave me an idea! I obviously can't spend too much time during worship helping him know which words we're singing, but I sure can make them accessible to him at home! And so my Sight Word Worship Song Charts were born.

Because we're talking about Valentine's Day this month, we've included books in our book box that relate to love and hearts, including Jesus Loves Me (which is basically just the lyrics to the song, and SO CUTE). So, it made sense that we would kick off the fun with this song!

I chose the two main verses and three sign words. In our case, "Jesus" will be a sight word. I printed them up on card stock and laminated it so we can use it for a while. Beckett was IMMEDIATELY enthralled with "reading along" to a song he know so well. He's asked me to read his poster with him countless times in the last two days.

Then I recreated the poster on a large post it pad. We sang the song repeatedly as I wrote the verses out in pencil. Then we went through and traced the words we were focusing on. Beckett pointed out each time he saw Jesus, loves, or me and I traced it with the color that matched our mini poster.

Then we sat around and sang and colored our poster! This was mostly for fun and so that Charlie had more of an active role in our activity.

We hung the poster in our kids library and have referred to it several times in the last couple of days! I love that it adds to the atmosphere of our little Valentine's Theme we've got going on.

I went ahead and polled my mommy friends for more ideas for posters. As of now, the pack is mostly kids songs, but I'd love to add choruses of songs we hear in church regularly! For a chance to grab yours for free, check out the Rafflecopter & comment below with YOUR favorite worship songs! And make sure you're following my on Facebook and BlogLovin. The goal for 2017 is to host LOTS of giveaways!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tot School: Fall Y'All

Are you loving Tot School?! I've had such great feedback and ideas from Mommies & Pre-School teachers everywhere! If you haven't jumped on board yet with your littles, I highly recommend giving it a try. I LOVE having specific topics and activities to explore with my little man (22 months). And while the idea may seem intimidating, Tot School is really just about making time to be intentional with YOUR kid in a way that suits YOUR family. Do what works for you!

If you're just joining us, here are a couple notes to catch you up on MY Tot School journey:
- Beckett is currently 22 months. Around 17 months we started being more intentional about teaching letter names. You can read more about how I taught the alphabet here.
- We started Tot School Last month with a few specific goals in mind, including a lot of flexibility! You can read about the start of my journey here.
- September's theme was "Things That Go." You can read more about that plan here. Or just go ahead grab my materials pack here. 
- Tot School is about doing what works for YOU and YOUR TOT! So take what works for your kiddo, and leave the rest behind! Make sure you're having fun with it!

So last week I briefly introduced my October Tot School Plans! Later in the week, as I was completing my packet, I decided to make some revisions! So today I just wanted to show you what's in my October Tot School pack, which is TEMPORARILY FREE in my store! Grab it here!

The first change I made was to the vocabulary words. I decided I wanted to add a few more and take away the colors (which I would be working on anyway). There are 12 total cards in the set. Remember to do what works for you though! If you feel like 4 is enough, stick with those! Check out this post for some interactive games to use with your cards.

I plan on using the "ball" card instead of the "football" card, but wanted to include both for those tots that can handle the more complex pronunciation.

When I'm choosing my words, I'm also looking at beginning sounds. I want to focus on about 4 letters per month and have cards to go along with those letters. 

Remember to use the cards for whatever skills are appropriate for your Tot! You could focus on names, sounds, blends or word families, writing, etc. The letters for this month are A, B, P, & S. For each letter, I've included two letters cards with the appropriate photos.

Just like last pack, I also made these plain letter pages for each of our focus letters. There are a lot of ideas for using these other than just coloring! Get creative! Hopefully I'll get a chance to share some of mine with you too. Last month, we used our dotter, which Beckett adored!

New this month are these spelling cards. The pack includes 6 total cards, with 3 and 4 letter words. We plan to use these with our letter beads. I'll make sure to share anything else we come up with!

Finally, this month I decided to add in some number cards! Last month we touched on counting a little, and Beckett did great! In my October materials pack, I included these cute leaf cards. 

If you head over and grab my Fall Cards Pack, you'll have the option of apples or pumpkins too! Or mix them all together!! 

While you're working on numbers, don't forget to grab my FREE counting mats!

What do YOU have planned for your October Tot School?! Do you have any fabulous activities that you'd love to share? I ADORE hearing from other teachers and mommies out there. If you've got a Tot School blog post you'd like to share, please link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

It's FALL YA'LL!

Welcome, welcome!!! I'm so excited to kick off my Fall Y'all Linky Party! This week is dedicated to all the goodness of FALL! I'll be bringing you some fabulous freebies, a fun fall sale, and a giveaway EVERY. DAY!! You're welcome. ;)

I could list a million bazillion reasons why I love fall, but I will not. Instead I will just present you with this loveliness.

This summer, Beckett and I had a Summer Bucket List. It was LONG and we didn't finish EVERYTHING on it, but we did a whole lot and it was a BLAST! I loved having the list hanging in my kitchen, reminding me to be intentional with creative activities for my kiddo.

But NOW. Now we get to go into Fall: The Holy Grail of Seasons. I'm in GO MODE, y'all! Fall soaps and scents are out, decorations are in the making, October's Fall Themed Tot School is planned [and going live TOMORROW!], and now we've got a week of Fall Y'all Goodness coming to the blog! To start this week off with my own little version of a Fabulous Fall Celebration, I bring to you this trifecta of goodies:

1. FREEBIE!

You can download the bucket list (above) for FREE, in my store. Just click here.

Along with the printable bucket list, you'll find this cute addition! Perfect for brainstorming with your preschooler or primary kiddos.

2. SALE!

I have LOTS of fall goodies in my store. I've been working to give all of my fall products a face lift so if you already owned a fall product, make sure you head on over and download the update! If it still looks like the old school version, stay tuned! The update is on the list! I've also added several NEW goodies this year. Every single fall product is ON SALE in my store for the rest of the week! Check each one out below by clicking on the picture.

An InLinkz Link-up

3. GIVEAWAY!

I'm giving away ANY fall product from my store! WOO! :) Pick any item from the grid above, comment with that product in the Rafflecopter below, and I'll email you the product when the giveaway closes on SATURDAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Fall Y'all!

Are you a blogger with some Fabulous Fall Goodness to share? Feel free to Link Up! Just grab the button and link back here! For more info on my Fall Y'all Linky, click here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Flash Mega Sale on My Growing Bundle!

I'm loving this growing bundle so much! I'm working on the next SURPRISE set, and wanted to give my Sunday planners a special treat before the next set hits and the price goes up! My growing bundle is priced at 50% off today!! Grab it TODAY ONLY for $12!! Grab it here.

This set is going to be huge and I’m so excited to be sharing it in my very first Growing Bundle set. ☺ By buying this as a bundle, you’ll save BIG on the entire set! AND BUY EARLY!! I may be adding some SURPRISE sets & the price will go up with each! ;)

Here’s what it includes:
- 12 months of Primary Informational Text Packs

- Random SURPRISE packs with more specific themes.

- 6 Informational Texts Per Pack

- 3 Comprehension Questions per Text

- 2 Formats (Multiple Choice & Fill in the Blank) of each set of questions, for no-prep differentiation. 

The sets included in this pack SO FAR are:

August: The US Flag, The Pledge, Summer, Bus Safety, Schools in the US, & Dogs 

Fire Safety SURPRISE PACK!: Firefighters, Dalmatians, Fire Trucks, Calling 9-1-1, Bunker Gear, & Fire Hydrants

September: Labor Day, Johnny Appleseed, Football, Apples, Rosh Hashanah, & The Constitution

October: Harvest, Fall, The World Series, Deciduous Trees, Christopher Columbus, & Leaves. 

Using Exit Tickets to Meet Student Needs

At the end of a lesson, how do you know what your students have learned? Do you give an assignment for every lesson? Do you ask each student a question individually? Do you have group discussions? Do you ever bother to ask your students what THEY thought of a lesson? 

Once you've evaluated, what do you do with the information you've gathered? Do you just jot down a grade based on how well the students kept up? Do you modify the next lesson based on how far your students have come? Do you ask yourself if your approach is effective and consider making minor changes to the next days' plans? Hopefully your answer is "ABSOLUTELY!" But if it's not, don't be alarmed, you're not alone!

I think a lot of teachers get in a habit of making a plan (and an awesome one at that!), and plugging through those plans, hoping their kiddos get the concept by the end of the lesson or unit. But are we really meeting student needs?

Exit tickets are one simple way to evaluate an individual lesson. They are low-pressure for the student and allow them to give honest feedback on the classroom experience they just had. You can ensure that your students feel free to be honest by not requiring a name. This way, they can tell you candidly if they have no clue what just happened, if they thought the lesson was only worth 2 stars, etc.

Once you have this information, you can tweak your next lesson accordingly. Did 70% of your students totally miss the point? Did MOST of your students decide they were confident and ready to move on? Use the information to guide your planning. Review a particular point in the next lesson, change your approach, pull small groups for extra help, etc. 

Another great thing about exit tickets is they are quick and easy! They'll take a few minutes at the end of class. Your students can hand them to you or drop them in a basket as their ticket out the door. They are simple to fill out, but provide a plethora of information.

Here are some other tips for using Exit Tickets in the Classroom.

Exit tickets are super easy to make. You don't even need anything fancy! You can just jot a question on the board & let your students scribble their answers on a corner of notebook paper. VOILA!

Or you can grab my Exit Ticket Pack for only $1 in my store! This pack includes exit tickets with six different questions, plus a blank ticket to add your own questions! It also includes the How To pages you see above. 

Let me know what you think!

Denise Hill, #TeacherMom