Back to School! - And a couple of FREEBIES!

Hello out there! Wow, it feels like it has been AGES since my last post! So let's kick off the term with a look at what we have been up to in Prep C this week, and with a few FREEBIES!

Every morning in Prep, we start off with Circle Time, and I decided to kick the term off with a good dose of kindness!

We began the week by reading 'Have You Filled a Bucket Today?' by Carol McCloud. We created an anchor chart together using a FREEBIE from Scholastic and some bucket pictures I found online. You can download these by clicking the link below. We also talked about ways we were kind to people on the holidays and recorded them on a mind map on the board. We referred to this throughout the day.

Another day we read 'Pig the Pug' by Aaron Blabey and brainstormed all the ways we share in the classroom.

Finally on Friday we watched an online reading of the beautiful story 'Chrysanthemum' by Kevin Henkes and completed an adorable activity I found on Pinterest by 'Keepin' it Kool in Kinderland.' I showed the children a large red heart cut out of cardboard and explained that this was Chrysanthemum's heart - full and happy. Throughout the story we folded it over and over again each time the other mice hurt her feelings. At the end we unfolded it and talked about how even though she felt better and her heart was back in the right shape, we could still see the creases from where she was hurt. We stuck a poem in the centre and hung it up on the wall as a reminder to think before we speak. You can grab this FREEBIE and read more about Khrys' lesson by clicking the link below.

FREEBIE Link to Bucket Filler Anchor Chart - Scholastic 

FREEBIE Link to Heart Poem - Keepin' it Kool in Kinderland

Our sound of the week this week was the 'Long U' sound. As a class we built an anchor chart of the sound, completed a spelling sort and even made our own unicorns after reading a class favourite 'Thelma the Unicorn' by Aaron Blabey!

We made did puzzles, built words and completed a handwriting sheet in our rotations.

If you click on the image below you will find a document with some FREEBIES to teach this sound in your own classroom - including the template for the adorable unicorn craft! Just add some foil for the horn and hooves, and coloured paper strips for the mane and tail.

We reviewed our phonics skills with these super fun letter punch cards from Doodle Bugs Teaching, and Syllable Fluency and Fitness by Tickled Pink in Primary. $2 hole punches from Kmart and it was well worth the little mess they made!

For number sense in maths this term we are focusing on how to show numbers in different ways. On Wednesday we completed an 'All about the number... 8' activity on the whiteboard, then later in the week we worked on tally marks in particular. We worked together to play 'Puppy Pick and Match' and matched tally mark bones to puppies. This was such a favourite that I left them out for the kiddies to play with during free choice math groups. Afterwards, we played another Fluency and Fitness game from Tickled Pink in Primary for number sense using tally marks. We sat on the carpet and write each number we saw on whiteboards and at the end completed the fun fitness activities - and LOVED IT!

If you click on the image below I have also shared my 'Puppy Pick and Match' activity for you all!

Finally, we also kicked off our new Health unit this week. We will be learning all about being safe in different places and situations throughout the term. This week we started by reading 'Monkey Needs to Listen - A book about paying attention' by Sue Graves from the 'Behaviour Matters' collection.

(Can I just say - this collection of books is AMAZING!!! I purchased the set through Scholastic Book Club and I can tell you now, they were well worth the investment! This particular book I have read 4 or 5 times with this class alone and they still love to hear it. And a heads up, if you have the new TBS Book Club catalogue, you will find them in there. I highly recommend them. If you want to check out the other titles just search 'Behaviour Matters Books' in Google and you will find them.)

Anyway, back to our unit. Before our story we looked at our own classroom rules and discussed how we have rules for lots of reasons - getting along, working, playing and most importantly, for safety. After we read our story, we talked about how when Monkey made the choice not to listen, he put himself in danger and spoiled a very fun activity for all of his friends. We then completed a sort of safe and unsafe choices we can make in the classroom which I then turned into an anchor chart to display and refer to throughout the term. At the end of the lesson, the children drew a picture of themselves doing something safe in the classroom. This was a great way to start back at school after 2 weeks off to review our classroom rules, and recover WHY it is important that we follow them.

If you click on the image below, you will also find a document with this safe/unsafe choices sort for you to use in your own classroom.

Well it has been a long short first week back and I am now off to do some well-earned relaxing!

How was your week?

Another Cute Number FREEBIE!!!

Would you like some awesome news? I have updated this file of adorable Jungle Number Posters to include numbers to 20! Prep them the same way as before by matting them onto coloured paper and laminating. For these numbers I would suggest using A3 pouches to laminate the 2 parts of each teen number together (this worked well for my number 10).

These posters have been a staple in my room this year, and that of lots and lots of other teachers! I have been so happy to see them in use in other classrooms and just HAD to share the teen version with you all! They are perfect for number sense warm ups and for aids when teaching number in math lessons - plus they make a ridiculously cute display!! Just click on the image above to download your very own copy :)

I hope you love the new set as much as the old.

Until next time my friends :)

A Dinosaur Math FREEBIE!

Hello to all my lovely teacher friends out there!! I hope that my Queensland friends have had a great first few weeks back, and that those of you on holidays (lucky ducks!) are enjoying a relaxing time away from the classroom.

I am back with a post to share with you a fabulous FREE resource which my cubs have just adored working with over the last two weeks.  

On the holidays I found this adorable counting book along with this super cute dinosaur (Thanks Kmart and Big W!) and just had to create some resources to match! So I am here to share with you a set of math resources for a week or tow of dinosaur-themed fun!

Warm-Ups

These are quick games I use daily to start my math session. The lovely number posters you can see in most of them are from another of my blog posts which you can find here.

This game is a twist on my Apple Picking game, After the children fill their trees and find their number, the class must decide which tree has more apples for the dinosaur to eat. And of course this dinosaur is a VERY NOISY EATER!! NOM...NOM...NOM!!

Another twist on a classic game - form a numberline and use your dinosaur to cover a number. I like to have the children write the number they think on a whiteboard and show before explaining how they knew.

This is a very quick game for when you only have 5 minutes. I sat with our dinosaur and fed him apples - like I said, he is a VERY HUNGRY DINOSAUR! while we counted how many. A child found the matching number from the numberline and the children then drew the number and matching collection of shapes (triangles, circles squares etc...)

This game was inspired by my most fabulous teaching partner! Inside my bucket were a set of dinosaur number cards with paper clips attached. I chose a number (in this case 5) and had the children take turns to fish out a number. They then needed to decide whether their number was more, less or the same as mine. I wrote out the words MORE, LESS and SAME on yellow card and stuck them above each hoop for us to sort into. The number cards I used can be found in the dinosaur packet, accessible at the end of this post.

Another comparison game, this one requires a set of dinosaur eggs for each 'nest'. The eggs I have used are from a fabulous clip art set by Krista Wallden which you can purchase HERE, but eggs drawn on coloured paper would work just as well, or those plastic Easter eggs every teacher loves would be a great substitute too! Even scrunched up balls of paper (remember I love all things quick and simple).

For this game, place a set of number cards upside down in the center of the nests. Two children com up, draw a card and place the matching number of eggs in the nests. The class then compares the collections and decides which nest holds more (or less) eggs and draws or builds that number.

A fish and write game using dinosaurs! A child hops up and is given 30 seconds to catch as many dinosaurs as they can. Again these dinosaurs are from Krista Wallden's fabulous clip art set which you can purchase HERE. After they have caught their dinosaurs, the children count how many, fins the number and write it on their whiteboards (or build with snap cubes).

Lucky last, this is a twist on Fish and Build. In the hoops are sets of dinosaur numbers with paper clips. The children take turns fishing for a number and building with the sports markers. Again, the class decides who had more or less and writes or builds it.

Quick Dinosaur-Themed Lessons

Build number recognition by placing these number cards in a pocket chart, and hiding a laminated pictures behind. The children take turns guessing what number it is hidden behind.

I used these cute colour dinosaur cards to make simple sight word sentences with my class. Simply blue tac the pictures to the board and write the sentence ‘The dinosaur is ___.’ above. Give the children clues of the colour you are thinking of (e.g. the colour I am thinking of is the colour of a fire truck, …grass, …clouds before a storm etc…). Add the dinosaur to the sentence and practise reading 1:1. Having children help by pointing with a large pointer is great too!

This term we are focusing on comparing numbers (can you tell yet?). For this activity I printed a set of dinosaurs - guess who from haha! - and made this little comparison activity on my board. This activity was done many times as it was great to practise the children's skills. I have included in the dinosaur download a set of cards you can print to do the same activity, or again you can make your own set with dinosaur clip art.  

Guided Math Activities

This term I am starting my new-look guided math groups, starting with these adorable Dinosaur games! Each of my groups have a set in their groups buckets. During their time with myself or my aide, the children play these games and we check for understanding, help with building 1:1 counting, and assess number recognition. I have included these games in the download at the end of this post. Included in it are instructions for every activity with photos to help guide you. 

A few of the activities being completed by my cubs.

All of these activities are included! The best part, is that I can put all the activities into a big zip-lock bag after the 2 weeks and they will be ready for next time, or you can swap them into math centres to be completed independently!

If you would like to grab this fabulous FREEBIE, just click the picture below to snag your own copy :)

Remember, if you have not yet found me on Facebook or Instagram I am there - and I absolutely LOVE hearing from my fellow teacher friends who are using my creations! I would love for you to find me and send pictures!!! Find me on Facebook at Teaching Outside of the Box, and on Instagram at @teachingoutsideofthebox

Until next time my friends!!

Five Little Speckled Frogs Math - with a HUGE FREEBIE!

Hello to all my fabulous teaching friends here in Oz! We are definitely over the hump of Term 1 now and only 9 days away from our Easter break (but hey, who's counting??). 

Last week I shared with you how my little Cubs are in need of a bit extra work on the basics this year. Over the last few weeks I have focused my teaching on learning to read, write, count and build numbers to 6 through the use of number rhymes and songs. This week we continued with the song 'Five Little Speckled Frogs' and I would love to share some resources with you which I found very useful with my little kiddies. 

You can click on the picture below to snag all the materials you will need to use Froggy Math in your classroom!

To give you an idea of how I use my focus rhyme with my kids, this is how my maths lessons go.

Number Sense Warm-Up

We start every maths lesson with a number sense warm-up - If you have been following my posts you would know by now that I just LOVE this part of my day! It is a chance to play with numbers. At the moment I am keeping to working mainly with numbers 1-6 and trying to match our theme for the week. I have always found that this time of day is when my Cubs are the most engaged! We don't all get a turn every day, but for most activities I try to give everyone a whiteboard or blocks to keep them involved in the game.

If you would like to read more about my warm-ups you can check out some posts by following the images below.

This week our warm-ups were all frog-themed. First we played a fishing game where 2 children came up and used my magnetic rods to fish for frogs (laminated pictures with paperclips attached), while the rest of the class counted to 20. The children then counted up their number of frogs and built it with sports marked in a chalk tens frame. We then had an opportunity to discuss who caught more or less, and recognise same numbers.

Next we played another variation of our fishing. This time our goal was to practise reading, writing and building our numbers. One child at a time hopped up, fished out a frog and read the number I stuck to the back. The Cubs then wrote the number on their whiteboards and built it with their cubes. I usually set up whiteboards or blocks in a semi-circle ready for our lesson. This helps to smooth the transition from lunch to starting our activity (and takes the stress out of having them not know where to sit). If we are not using any of these things I draw a semi-circle on the carpet in chalk as a guide.

Another day we played a combination of the two games and had two Cubs fish out a frog with a number on the back and build it in the 5 frames. This was a very quick game play and I managed to get through a fair few more kids.

Focus Lesson

After our warm-ups we move on to our lesson. I have mentioned before how my Cubs are very wriggly and cannot remain focused for very long. This is why my math focus lessons rarely go longer than 10 minutes at this stage. Below are some photos of our number lesson activities this week. We acted out the song with ourselves, blocks on our arms, and my story prompts. We ordered numbers to 5, counted and sequenced collections and build and counted frog collections using my big pond. (The pond is just made from A3 coloured cardboard - green grass, blue water and a couple brown rocks scattered). 

You can click on the picture below to grab your own copy of these materials PLUS a copy of the story to print and read to your own children.

This week we have also (finally) moved onto sorting by attributes. This was another math lesson. During the week I have two focus number lessons, and two focus lessons on another strand - sorting this term.

Buddy Follow-Up Games

For the last 10 minutes of our Maths session we play buddy games. I have snap bags of activities in buckets prepped and ready with everything my Cubs will need to make it easy quick and easy to start. This week we built froggy towers with cubes, played a dice game to build collections, and practised sorting shapes and counters. For this part of the day, I hand out the bags of materials to pairs (who I choose) and the Cubs find their own spot in the classroom and get to work. We are just getting started with buddy games so are still learning how to stay on task and work together.  

Again, if you would like a copy of these cute frog buddy games just click on the picture below!  

I know it is very short, but at the moment, that is how my Maths lessons look in Prep. As the year goes on we will slowly be able to extend our sessions, but at the moment it is more important to me to focus on the quality of learning, not the quantity of time spent.

I also just wanted to show you what we have been up to in learning our letters. This week we learned the letter d and made some very cute dotty dinosaurs. We practised handwriting the letter d and then write words starting with d on our whiteboards. Slowly, slowly, slowly we are getting there!

I hope this has given you some ideas for your own early years classroom. Don't forget to snag your own set of Five Little Speckled Frog Math by clicking on the picture below.

Remember, you can also find me on facebook and receive updates of new posts, freebies and activity ideas as soon as they are posted! Click on the image below to follow me ;)

Until next time my friends :)

Term 1 Update - and a couple cute FREEBIES!

Well we have reached (actually surpassed) the half-way point of Term 1 here in Oz, and I thought I would share with you a little of what we have been up to in Prep C.

English Crafts

This Term we have been reading a story a week. Each week we read, discuss different themes, read a sentence and write, but my favourite by far is our craft time! Have a look at the crafts we have completed so far. While we have been completing our crafts we have also been discussing colours, which has been made rather easy by my choice of texts - Hattie and the Fox (orange), The Pout-Pout Fish (blue) and The Very Hungry Caterpillar (green and red).

When we complete our crafts I try to make them as simple as possible. This year I have a very tough class who take FOREVER to do anything. Most pieces are pre-cut and ready to stick together. Last year I had my kids do much more cutting on their own. This term I have just had to make a few changes to this so that things can be completed within a day.

Hattie and the Fox - Paper plate faces, orange crepe paper squares, black white and orange paper for the eyes, ears and nose.

The Rainbow Fish - Template from Google images, and coloured patty pans cut into thirds with one silver piece per child.

The Pout-Pout Fish - Painted paper plates, fins and tails cut from blue paper (free hand), black and white paper for eyes, and purple crepe paper squares for spots.

Stellaluna  - Black paper/card, paper stars (pre-punched), yellow paper circle, bat picture (from Krista Wallden's Creative Clips.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Sequencing activity with scrapbook paper circles, red circle, green paper grass, yellow circle sun, gllgle eyes and matchsticks, black and white fruits to sequence.

Maths 

Over the first few weeks I have learned that my darling Cubs (who yes are a challenge), are going to need a little - well, a LOT - more work on the basics than I had hoped. So this term I have taken everything back to basics. Colours, shapes, numbers to 6, directions - everything we will need BEFORE we can progress to learn further maths skills.

Last week I shared this adorable colour sort in a quick post. We used it in class to verbalise colours. Each child was given a card (and reminded politely to not to bend them, put them in their mouths or tear them) and had to identify the colour shown and then match it up to the cards on the carpet.

This week we moved onto talking about 2D shapes as well. We reviewed 2D shapes, talked about what makes a 2D shape, named, built and drew shapes. We made adorable 2D shape monsters and talked about what shapes we used. I also make up a similar sort for 2D shapes which I have also uploaded.

Along with taking things back to basics, we have been spending the last few weeks focusing on numbers 0 to 6. So the question I hear you asking is "How do you keep it fresh and engaging when you are doing the same thing for 6 weeks?" Well the answer is with stories, rhymes, songs and games!

The last 2 weeks of number work have involved reading and singing "Five Little Ducks"and "Five Cheeky Monkeys."

For "Five Little Ducks" I cut and laminated some sets of ducks to act out the song. See the picture on the right? Those are my collections hidden behind my whiteboard. As we sing, the little ducks wander over hills and behind the board, where they are swapped out for the next set - MAGIC! (or so my kiddies think) My Cubs were so engaged for this!!!

These are some follow-up activities we completed throughout the week to consolidate our learning. We ordered our duck collections and practised writing numbers to 5; we used snap cubes to act out the song, removing one cube each time a duck disappears; We used laminated ducks to build collection, and matched numbers to collections.

If you would like a copy of the cute duck collections you can grab a copy for FREE by clicking on either picture.

When we read 'Five Cheeky Monkeys' we read the story I put together and acted it out with our hands. Next we used these cute bed cards and snap cubes to act it out as well, then sequenced our monkey cards from 5 down to 0. Again, If you would like a copy of these materials (story, cards and monkey beds) you can click on the picture below.

As follow-up activities we also played these monkey games with our cute monkey mascot, Styrofoam bananas, sports markers and our animal number posters. For our first game I placed collections of bananas in 6 different buckets. The kids helped me sequence our numbers on the markers and then I invited a couple of kids up to count the bananas in each bucket and match them to the numerals. Our second game was for number recognition. I hid a banana underneath a number cone and had my Cubs try and find where it was hidden by calling out numbers. Fun and simple.

So other than our story games and maths, we have been playing all sorts of games and activities to work on numbers to 6. We have played our tower and dice games, matching cards games, and our new favourite warm-up - Apple Toss. We sequence the numbers to 10, then one student at a time comes up and stands on an 'x' and throws 10 apples (scrunched up red paper) into a hoop. They then count the number of apples which actually landed in the hoop and stand by the numeral.

Science

Man this is a long post!! If you are still reading - thank's so much for hanging in there! I promise I am nearly done.

So this term in science we have been learning about plants and Australian Animals. We have learned all about life-cycles, plant and animal needs, what living things are and animal habitats. Each week for the past 3 weeks we have talked about a different Australian habitat - rivers, rainforests, and the bush. As we learned about each habitat we created a display (Well the kiddies looked at pictures and told me everything they could see to be a feature of each place, and I painted our windows overnight). They they coloured in or collaged different animals who call that place home and we added them to the display. We discussed how the animals needs are met in each place, and learned about butterfly life-cycles, platypus needs and how to draw and label a koala.

We also did these super cute crafts for our 5 senses and plant parts which turned out pretty well. At the end of our unit, the kiddies all created their own habitat collage on A3 card for an animal (I am still yet to finish this off with some kids - that is Monday's job!). Yesterday we were lucky enough to meet an Australian animal too! One of my parents have a Southern Bearded Dragon at home and waws kind enough to offered to bring her in for 10 minutes to show the kiddies (NO TOUCHING ALLOWED - My kids have very rough hands!). I was absolutely amazed at how much they learned in this time! After 'Phoebe' left we brainstormed everything we had learned on my board and my goodness, they filled the whole board with ideas!! Amazing how something so small can help them remember a thing or two, isn't it?

Anyway, I think that is about it from me for today. Next week we will be moving on to History and learning about families - sure to be interesting with my class! I hope you have had a great week with your kiddies and are enjoying a lovely relaxing weekend :)

Until next time my friends...