Same Old Puzzles, Brand New Fun

I've been on this kick for simplicity. Mostly I'm just all over the place when it comes to parenting/teaching/wifing/blogging/life in general so sometimes I'm way over the top and then sometimes I'm reminded that if I feel like I'm losing my mind, I'm allowed to make a change. [Can I get an amen?!]

So we're gearing up for spring by diving into all things GARDEN and I happened to find this beautiful puzzle in the clearance section at TJMaxx yesterday. Can we say MEANT TO BE?! There are exactly ONE MILLION THINGS you can do with a fun puzzle like this. Did you know that?! I won't list all one million for you, but I'll start you off with the three we did today:

1. Hide and Seek
First, I hid the pieces of the puzzle around our little library room. The kids got SUCH a kick out of this. Of course you will know how difficult to make your hiding spots but mine were pretty much in plain view and my kids still needed help. Beckett asked to do this three times and I'm pretty sure puzzles will forever require a search and rescue step first.

2. Word Match
I'm a big fan of flash cards. I know there's a whole movement out there where flash cards are the epitome of lame but WHATEVER MAN. It's my party and I'll flash card if I want to.

So I whipped up these bad boys, because I'm ALSO a big fan of computer creating + lamination. However, this would work JUST as well if you wrote these words neatly on index cards. And your kids could not care less.

Once Buck & Chuck found all of the pieces and put the puzzle together, Beckett chose animals from the puzzle, one at time, and matched them to an index card. He used the puzzle itself to help clue him in when he didn't know the word. You may not know this, but this is a FABULOUS skill for kiddos to practice! We want them using their resources (in this case, his puzzle) to answer questions and solve problems. Once all of the puzzle pieces were matched with their flash cards, Buck & Chuck worked together to reassemble the puzzle.

3. Word Recognition
Finally, I challenged Beckett to read the flash cards, using the photos as a sort of answer key. He thought this was totally boring and we didn't make it all the way through, but I still stand by the concept: I placed the assembled puzzle on the floor for him to reference while he read through the cards. After your kiddo has done the word matching enough times, they will start associating the puzzle pieces with the words, and hopefully be able to read them! Imagery is a POWERFUL learning tool, so pairing mental images like this is a great way to learn to recognize new words!

That's it! Super simple, low-prep, no mess fun! What do you think? Do you have puzzles like this at home that you can turn into a new adventure? We'd love to hear from you! Join our BOOK conversation here!

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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! 

Black History Month Bulletin Board Giveaway!

Happy First Day of Black History Month!! In celebration, today I'm bringing you the deets on my cutie cute new Black History Month Trivia Bulletin Board, AND I'm giving one away! WOO!

If you've been here before, you know that I'm not in the schools anymore. I'm rocking the SAHM life and so grateful for that opportunity. But sometimes I miss being in the schools! Lucky for me, my bestie still works at a local elementary school and she "lets" me do her bulletin boards for her! I say "lets" because I LOOOVE it and it's totally not her thing, plus she has all the - you know - TEACHING to do, so really it's a win for both of us.

Every time I dig into our history of slavery and the Civil Rights movement, I'm awed and honored all over again. The things these people endured are INCREDIBLE. Did you know that at age SIXTEEN, Booker T. Washington walked over 500 miles to college? When he arrived, the understandably apprehensive headmaster asked him to sweep the floors. He did such an incredible job sweeping, mopping, dusting, and washing the walls (all several times), that she admitted him to the school and allowed him to work through college as a janitor. I do not know a single teenager with that much drive.

So! I see it as a big responsibility and incredible privilege to share pieces of our history with our students! While this board is FAR from comprehensive, it is a perfect little peek at simple interesting bits of information that will hopefully pique the interest of our young minds!

I wanted to have a few different types of questions, so I decided on three approaches:

1. "I Statements" in first person, describing an overall descriptive fact about each of my ten historical figures: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Thurgood Marshall, Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass, and Jackie Robinson. In the packet, the question and answer cards are on the same page for simplicity's sake.

2. Quotes from each individual. These quotes are actually pretty tricky, but some make a lot of sense once you think about them. They are great topics for discussion. Several really got me thinking.

3. Word Scramble. While unscrambling words is not necessarily specific to the individual historical figures of the board, I just couldn't continue to pass over these words during my reading without plugging them into this activity. The question cards have a scrambled word + the definition. The answer cards restate the definition and use it in context, specifically referring to one of our displayed historical figures. Fancy pants!

Finally, of course, the set includes the extra little tid bits you'll need to bring the board together: The title letters, the "black history month trivia" poster, and the Melonheadz "headshots" of each historical figure!

What do you think? Are you ready to win your own?? Simply enter the Rafflecopter below as many times as you'd like. The winner will be announced Saturday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out more great ideas for Black History Month with my friends below! Feel free to link up your blog post and/or giveaway. [No product posts please.]

An InLinkz Link-up

5 Fun Ways We're Counting with Cards

Flash cards can be totally boring. But they don't have to be! While some teachers are very anti-flash cards, I happen to think they're a cheap and easy way to provide consistent but versatile practice with your kiddos! We LOVE flash cards in our house.

October was a very busy month for us, so we've decided to carry on our Fall theme into November. Right now, Beckett is OBSESSED with counting. He counts everything he sees. So right now, he's loving his number activities. Here are five fun activities we're doing with flash cards!

Put them in Order
Ok. This may seem basic but I challenge you to make it fun! With Beckett, I start off the first three numbers in a line, and scatter the rest around the room. We count them in all the fun ways we can (he likes to walk on them), then we have a big exciting hunt to find the next number. When we find it, we dance and celebrate and put it in order. Really, it's not hard to entertain an [almost] two year old.

Group Objects
I have several sets of cutie manipulatives (toys) that support our current vocabulary & we use for various activities.  For this, I simply grouped some of them together. Then Beckett & I counted them and looked for the card to match.

Fine Motor Counting
I grabbed these fun eyeballs from Walmart the other day. Beckett thinks they're hilarious! We used them to count onto the number cards. These are also great for fine motor skills. They're super small & exersice that pincher grasp, plus are hecka hard to pick up off the hard wood floor!

Clothes Pins
This is my new favorite activity. Beckett is intrigued by the clothes pins but can't manage them quite yet. This will be a simple & fun way to exercise those little hands. We simply counted out the number of clothes pins that matched the card I chose, then clipped them to the card.

Eat Em!
Ok.. so Beckett actually came up with this because he's way more creative than I am. His spiders started eating the numbers and I just went along with it. "He's eating a FOUR?! No way!! Can he eat the... SEVEN?! Nom Nom Nom!!" He was so. entertained.

And that's all! Simple, quick, & entertaining! If you like these cards, you can grab the apple ones by clicking here or my brand new turkey ones by clicking here.

What activities are your Tots loving? I'd love to hear about them! Comment here or message me directly with any questions or comments!

Tot School Tuesday: The Beginning of Our Things That Go Adventures!

Welcome Back to Tot School Tuesday! The goal of this weekly blog is to share with you my experiences in Tot School. If you missed the beginning of the adventure, you can check out my last two weeks' posts here:

Tot School with #TeacherMom (Aug 18)

Tot School Tuesday: Things That Go (Aug 25)

To summarize: I'm diving in to the world of Tot School! I have a lot of ideas and a general plan but know that there will be a lot of learning and modifying as I go, so bear with me as we adventure through this together!

Last week, Beckett & I started working through some of our "Things That Go" plans & materials (available for FREE until Sept 22!). I AM LOVING IT SO MUCH! His curiousity and attention span are MELTING MY HEART. He's excited every time I pull out an activity! Hopefully, we can both keep up the energy. :)

Here are a few highlights on what I'm doing and lessons that I've learned.

Pom Pom Sort

The first day we attempted the pom pom sort, it was a hot mess. First, I just dumped all of the poms out and tried to explain the activity. HA! Beckett was not ready for that. I wanted him to put red in one column and yellow in another. I quickly realized that I needed to pull out JUST the red and yellow items.

Here's how we did at first (with a lot of guidance!):

This wasn't working for us, so I decided he needed more structure. I ran into the kitchen and grabbed two of my Ikea kid's bowls (which don't have red). 

From there, he did significantly better. He already knew these two colors (inconsistently) so with each pom/item he chose I said something along the lines of, "ooh! what color is that?!" and then after he answered, "yes! now where is the BLUE bowl; can you put it in the BLUE bowl?"

With these modifications, he totally rocked this activity and I was able to switch up the colors later in the week with no issue. One side note: I got these plastic tongs at the Dollar Tree. They were PERFECT for grabbing items easily and had the perfect amount of tension, size, & a great little cuppy end that easily held onto items. BUT THEY BROKE. He broke two sets before I switched to my Pampered Chef tongs. These are much more difficult to use, but he got the hang of it and isn't going to break them!

Because I don't have enough color bowls to continue to do this activity, I decided we needed cutie themed mats to use. These will also be available in my store for free until September 22. For these, you can drop the pieces straight onto the cards/mat, put clear cups on top of or next to the cards/mat, or insert the cards into a big muffin tin! The set includes 11 colors. Grab them here!

Color Parking Lot

The color parking lot was a lot of fun. To use this activity, I introduced one car at a time, talked about the name (bus, car, truck) and color, then we pretended to drive it around making fun sounds. Of course, I use a lot of praise for his answers and imaginative play. 

With lots of modeling and prompting, I eventually guided him to find the matching color boxes and drive the cars to the appropriate place. This was a bit of work, because he also really enjoyed just drivin the cars around. I am 100% ok with that and have set a goal of NOT being overly task oriented. I want him to enjoy this experience, but learn at the same time!

Alphabet Road Book 

This is probably one of my favorite activities this month. I just think that it's such an adorable idea. I found it on Playdough to Plato. You can grab yours here. 

Tracing is not one of Beckett's strong suits. This activity is proving to be pretty difficult for him, but he is very entertained at the idea of driving his cars on the book, so I'm very hopeful that it will be a good activity to help with his tracing concepts! We'll just pull this one out more than others!

Remember when you're doing activities like these to be intentional about incorporating your lesson goals. When we choose a page, we talk about the letters he sees and then he chooses which one he wants to drive on. I model for him often. We also talk about the vehicle he is chosing to use and the color of the vehicle or page. If he's not interested in answering my questions, that's ok too. I try and use the vocabulary often, "wow! I love this red car!! I think I'm going to drive the red car on the C. Want to watch? Would YOU like to drive the red car on the C!?"

Books!

We read books A LOT throughout our day. I have set out all of his transportation books on a shelf in our front room so they are easily accessible and a first choice when he's ready to read. Sometimes, we read the book verbatim and sometimes we just talk about the pictures.

I love this book because it has simple single pictures on each page, and the colors are very easiy to identify. When we read this book, I have chosen to ignore the actual names of the trucks and call them all "truck." We talk about the color and I asked questions, "Do you see the yellow truck? What color is this truck?" We also identify the letters we see on each page. 

Letter Sorting

This activity was not on the materials list, but Beckett wanted to play with his letters, so this is what I did! We pulled out the letter cards, reviewed them, and then pulled out a bunch of appropriate letter beads. I walked Beckett through identifying the letters, and matching them to the appropriate card. We also spent time talking about the pictures & beginning sounds. 

What are you currently doing with your tot? Whether you're doing this Things That Go unit or are using a completely different plan,  I would love to collaborate and share ideas with each other and other mommies! Please feel free to link up with me! If you'd like to add in a shout out, I'd love for you to link your post back here. However, this isn't required! ;) Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Blog Lovin to get updates on new posts on Tot School and more!

An InLinkz Link-up

Tot School Tuesday: THINGS THAT GO

Alrighty mommy friends!!! Last week I made the decision to finally dive into some sort of Tot School Structure for Beckett. Today, I've got September's plan built and ready for take off!

First, however, let me clarify that this is just as much a trial and error thing for me as it will be for any other mommy reading this. Of course, my background is in education so I have a pretty good concept of planning & teaching but I've never done THIS before, so bear with me as I figure out what works for us!

My main goal is just to be intentional about spending time with little man, working on basic skills he needs. More specifically, I would like to:

- expand his vocabulary

- finish learning the alphabet names & sounds

- learn to count & identify numbers to 10
- provide new experiences

-prepare him for writing through fine motor activities

A few notes on my monthly plans:

1. They are not a detailed lesson plan intended to walk you through a lesson. They are a list of ideas to incorporate into a schedule and routine that works for you. We plan to work three mornings a week (he's in Parents Day Out the other two) and will choose activities based on our time & mood! I'm not sure if I will do ANY scheduling or planning yet, but I threw this diddy into the download just incase that's how you roll. ;)

2. I do not plan on listing ALL of my activities for learning the alphabet. There are a few alphabet activities in the plan, but we will also continue using the same activities we've been doing, and will incorporate them in our daily Tot School Time. You can check out our favorite activities here. They are working well for us. At this point, Beckett (21 months) can identify most of his letters and a couple sounds.

3. I plan to incorporate counting throughout. There will not be a lot of specific counting lessons. We will count the things we see & use during fine motor activities. We will assume “counting mats” is on every plan. [You can grab my free counting mats here].

And that's it!! So now for September!!!! (I'm really excited, ya'll).

This month's theme is "Things that Go." I chose it because Beckett is really into cars & trucks right now, so I thought it would easily hold his attention. Also, we already have a trip planned to the fire department at the beginning of October, so it just worked for us!

Here's a look at our list of activities for the month. You can download this printout here. 

I chose 8 fine motor activities to prepare. I don't have a specific goal for how many we complete. If the same activity entertains him every day for the entire month, so be it! I hope to do at least one adventure per week, but that may be a lofty goal with a newborn! We'll see! I just gathered all of my materials for the month, and we'll keep the box handy for every morning together. 

I went on a scavengar hunt through my house to look for any books that have a transportation theme. I was kind of dissapointed at how many I found! I was hoping to have an excuse to add a few books to our collection. Apparently there's no need. :) Here's the collection of books that will be in our book box this month:

Looking to bulk up your collection? Here are some of our favorite books from this stack.

An InLinkz Link-up

I also plan to have a set of toys or manipulatives on hand each month. We had a good collection of cars already, but I wanted to make sure I had a variety of "things that go," so I hit up the Dollar Tree. This was very likely unecessary (don't tell my husband), but I had to pick up a couple of supplies for the fine motor activities anyway, so I just grabbed them while I was there! :)

I also made my first set of vocabulary cards, alphabet cards, & coloring sheets for this adventure! You can download these sets for FREE for until September 22 (after that it will be $1).

And now for rest of the goodies! Here is a list of links that will be helpful to to as you work through these activities. Note that some of the activities are my own ideas and will be coming to the blog in the next couple weeks!

My Counting Mats

My "Things That Go" Materials Pack

Sticker Station

Letter Tracing Roads

Color Match Parking Lot

Dot a Dot Printable Sheets

I'm a Little Airplane Song

I would LOVE to hear what you think! Make sure to comment below or connect with me through Facebook or Instagram and let me know how it's going for you!! To keep up with these posts, follow me on Blog Lovin'.

Have a blog? Please feel free to link up below so we can share our ideas! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Tot School with #TeacherMom

Ok guys. This is happening. I've been toying with the idea of Tot School for a while now. Beckett and I have done well on and off with intentional learning activities, mostly regarding the alphabet. You can see what we've been doing here.

Now I've decided to take the dive into a more organized (but still flexible) structured learning plan for him. I'm going to be honest: I have NO CLUE how this is going to go. But I'm excited! I've done some reading and found some great articles and insights. I like this article best. So! Following her structure, here's my thought process:

My Goal:

My main goal is just to be intentional about spending time with little man, working on basic skills he needs. More specifically, I would like to:

- expand his vocabulary

- finish learning the alphabet

- learn to count to 10
- provide new experiences

-prepare him for writing through fine motor activities

I plan to have an "assessment" sheet that will be super informal and completely unecessary, but helpful for ME! It'll just be something that I can track his progress and see what we've accomplished over the year!

My other goal is to share my adventures here! I make no promises about how all of this will pan out, but I invite you to join with me on my adventure! I'll plan to upload my printable plans to my TPT store (for free, of course).

My Plan:

My plan is subject to change! Seeing as I have NEVER done this before, I plan to go a month at a time and see how it pans out.

For now I'm aiming at laying out a basic structure and tweaking it as I go. I plan to have monthly themes as opposed to weekly themes I've seen elsewhere. I know my toddler and I think spending a full month focused on a theme will give us more opportunity for both flexibility and mastery.

Each Month, I will have a list of vocabulary words I would like to focus on, songs we can sing, adventures & activities that support our theme, themed activities to build fine motor skills, & manipulatives for counting.

Here's what my September Brainstorm looks like:

Regarding a schedule, I think for now we will just aim at choosing a couple of activities that we feel up for each morning. With our alphabet activities, we worked while I drank coffee and that worked out really well for us!

My Set Up:

Well, my house is currently under renovation. Eventually, my front room will be a library (eee!) where we will do things like Tot School & Homework. For now, we'll work on our rug.

I plan to have a book box where I'll have books specifically geared toward our theme for the month. We used this when I started focusing on the alphabet and I loved that when I pulled out the box, we were working on letters no matter what book he chose. You can see our box here:

We have LOTS of books in our house, but also have a really awesome library system, so hopefully I'll always have a variety that fits our needs. I'll plan to share our books here.

I also plan to have a manipulatives box that supports our theme. Next month it will be filled with cars & trucks, etc. We can use these for talking about our vocabulary words, colors, and numbers. I just printed up these counting mats to use.

And that's all! Do you Tot School?! I would love to know what you've done! What has worked for you? What resources do you love? What advice do you have? Do you have any FABULOUS ideas to go along with our September theme? Comment here or connect with me on Facebook or Instagram. And stay tuned! I'll have September's plan and materials laid out for next Tuesday!! You can follow me on Blog Lovin' to make sure you don't miss out! :)

I also plan to have a linkup for any Tot School Moms out there who'd love to share what they're doing! Link Up will start next week!