Five for Friday: Where did January Go?

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for 

Friday. 
  

I can't believe Monday is February 1st... where did January go.  I feel like we just returned from our Christmas break and now I need to prep Valentine's Day materials.  Our work is never done.  Here are a few highlights from our week.  

One: New Calendar Pages
As part of our morning routine each day I have my kiddos complete a calendar page to practice some math and ELA skills.  We have begun to use a more challenging version of the calendar page as my kiddos have mastered the skills on the previous page.  I love how many math and ELA skills we can quickly cover each morning with these pages. 

Two: Math Tub Games
My kiddos loved the math games we used during the months of November and December and the January games were no exception.  These tubs have been working nicely because each game is very similar to the previous month's games so the kiddos know how to use them.  This saves time each week as I get out the new tubs.  These tubs have also worked nicely because they are easily differentiated for each of my math groups.  The spinners are also great because we can use the games over and over without the kids answering the same number sentences.   

Three: Reading Workshop
Literally want to shout out loud about this... I am so excited about the new Lucy Calking Reading Workshop units.  My principal agreed to purchase the units for me and I've been waiting what seems like weeks for these units to arrive.  They finally arrived two weeks ago and we have been loving the work we've been doing with them!  I'm a bit bummed that I won't get to use all the units but we've already covered most of what's in the first few two units... so we're forging about to unit the unit on characters.

Four: Go Noodle Hall of Fame
We love us some Go Noodle... but I got tired of looking at our certificates taped to the bottom of our board so I created this Go Noodle Hall of Fame to proudly display our certificates.  The kids love it!  Sorry no color printers at our school... black and white will have to do. :(

Five: Picture Says It All

I've been fighting a nasty cold ALL WEEK!  Honestly I've felt fine but the coughing and sneezing is just getting old!  Here's to getting a bit of rest this weekend... this cold better be gone by Monday!

Thanks for stopping by... Have a wonderful weekend!  Don't forget to visit Doodle Bugs Teaching.

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January Prep

I was MIA during the month of December. The month flew by and I can't believe we are in the new year already!!  That being said I've done a bit of creating and prep during my week long holiday break.  To be honest, I did more reading and relaxing than school work and it felt GREAT!!

Here's a peek at a few things I've got ready for the month of January. 

I did do a ton of laminating this week and I'm ready for the month of January.  In this pile are all my math tub games for the month of January.  I'm so glad to have those done for the month.  More about the games later.  I also finished my long u and long e clipcards for the next few weeks.  While this won't take me through all of January, it will allow me some time over the next two weeks to concentrate on prepping for February!

Right before break I felt like my kiddos needed  a bit more of a challenge during our calendar time.  I knew the time would come as it did last year as well.  I created a second calendar page last year and I copied it before break with the intention of prepping it over the break.  These two pages include a few more calendar tasks than the previous calendar page we've been doing since September.  I can't wait to introduce these new pages to my kiddos... I'm sure they're ready for the challenge.  

During the month of November I created some math games for our math workshop block that required little prep, allowed for differentiation, and quickly became a favorite of my kiddos.  Needless to say I created a similar version for December and I just finished the January version.  I can't wait for my kiddos to use them!

I honestly got tired of creating games/activities that required tons of laminating but only allowed for a few uses because the game had one set of cards with number sentences.  By the time the kiddos did the tub once or twice they knew the answers and they weren't getting the practice they needed.  

These math games have been a blessing. The games use spinners and therefore are always "new" because different number sentences are always created when the kids use the spinner.  It's also easy to differentiate these games just by changing the numbers in each spinner.  Perhaps the best part is the fact that the kids know exactly how to use all these games as they've been playing them since November (just with a different theme).  The only thing that changes are the numbers, the themed spinners, and manipulatives.  This month we have snowmen spinners with snowmen and penguin manipulatives.  

The games for January include a doubles games as well as addition to 12, 20, and 35 as well as subtraction within 20, 15, and 10. This makes it easy for me differentiate based on the needs of each groups of kiddos.  

During the month of January we'll also be working on fact families as well as equal expressions using this workmat and dominoes.  

During our math workshop block I like to end each day (doesn't usually happen!) with problem solving practice.  Whether we do a word problem together or my kiddos work on it for practice or as an assessment, it's been a great way to practice this important skill each day.  

I've created problem solving printables with different themes and my kiddos have enjoyed working on these each day. Before the break we were working on construction printables but I wanted to create a pack for the month of January. 

These winter printables include addition and subtraction practice with result unknown, start unknown, and change unknown problems with a winter theme.  I can't wait to get started using these!

  Happy January... hope you're ready to go back tomorrow!  I think I am!

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