Monday Made It! 3 of 'em!

Linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for THREE Monday Made Its!!

Don't you just love when ideas randomly come together?? I've always wanted a Jumbo Checker Set from Cracker Barrel and my whole family knows this. At the end of the school year, my youngest son's teacher was cleaning out her classroom and she had one of these awesome sets to GET RID OF! So my son snagged it for me - isn't he the SWEETEST?!?!? Anyway, I thought it would be an awesome free time activity for the kiddos... UNTIL I saw FlapJack Educational Resources' post on Classroom Freebies... She made Jumbo Checkers Measurement Facts!! Her FREE printables focus on Common Core 4.MD.A.1 and 4.MD.A.2.

Since I'm in Texas and we don't do Common Core, I tweaked mine to fit our math TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills --- for those of you in Texas, 4.11.A is a Readiness skill)... Our students don't have to memorize conversions between standard and metric units because they are given a Math Conversion Chart. Our big push in measurement is knowing how these measurements apply to life... For example, what does a gallon/cm/ton LOOK like? So I adapted my checkers to question my kiddos on what I call "real life measurements". I also threw in the formulas for finding area, perimeter and volume.

All regular checkers rules apply, however to move, you must answer the question on the pawn you're moving. You can check to see if you're right by looking on the bottom... Incorrect? Lose a turn!

I printed my questions and answers onto regular copy paper, cut them out and modge podge'd them to the checkers. They crinkle a bit, but they do stick! Want a copy? Download for FREE HERE!

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Do you have jobs in your classroom?? I have classroom "managers". Last summer, I posted a Monday Made It where I explained WHY I use classroom managers, showed HOW I use classroom Managers and posted pics on WHAT it looks like in my classroom (see the post HERE). This year, I've made a downloadable version for YOUR classroom! 

You can purchase the pack in my TeachersPayTeachers Store HERE. The pack includes 21 manager positions (including "Managers on Vacation") and blank cards for you to create jobs in your own classroom. There is also a Classroom Manager Positions description sheet (so kiddos know what positions are available) and an application page (I make my kiddos apply for their jobs - be sure to check out why in my blog post from last summer!)

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One of my favorite things about summer is I have the time to hang out with family and friends. We had a party last weekend and I made Texas Caviar. It's a delicacy in Texas -- not really but it is delicious. 

Here's the recipe!

- 2 cans yellow corn

- 2 cans Rotel (I like the HOT version)

- 1 can of black beans

- 1 can of jalapeno pinto beans

- 1 red onion, chopped

- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

- 1/2 package of taco seasoning (or more to your liking)

- splash of Italian dressing (as much as you like)

I like mixing all of this up the night before and letting the flavors get all yummy and delicious together. Then right before serving I add avocado! I usually use 3-4 depending on their size. Serve with Tortilla Chips! 

Hope you've enjoyed all of my Monday Made Its! They're all kind of Texas themed... YEEHAW! 

CAMT 2012 Rocked My WORLD!!!

Wednesday - Friday I was at a math conference... I know I've only been a teacher for a year, but I've been to enough conferences to know the majority are BORING. CAMT, the Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching (annual event for Texas teachers) was not. It was MIND BLOWING! It's not a sit-and-listen-all-day conference, it's a get-up-and-choose-what-you-want-to-learn-about (and leave-if-it's-boring) kind of conference! And the vendors... OH THE VENDORS! I spent a lot of money... SO WORTH IT.

I went to a lot of sessions on measurement since our kids struggle so much with it. All of the sessions I went to were great... Only exception was one that had us exploring grams with Sweet'N'Low... By separating the substance into milligrams.... With hotel key cards.... Are you seeing the problem?? My friend and I thought this was a great visual / concept, but very inappropriate. We decided using sand and shovels was a better idea?? Any one out there have another suggestion? ?
The activity at left is finding out how much an object weighs in pennies. SO CUTE! The idea came from the Children's Museum of Houston.

I also attended a Marcy Cook session. The Place Value activities she has created with just some simple number tiles are amazing. TEACHERS. ARE. SO. SMART. Rachel A. and I bought 4 of her activity sets. :)  (We're also smart, we went halfsies on a bunch of goodies so we share and save money!)

Next was Dinah Zike Foldables. This is one popular lady. I tried to attend her sessions on Wednesday and Thursday but they were full. There were hoards of people in line to attend.... I finally made it into a Friday session (it was for K-2 so the foldables were simple, yet still supremely cool) by getting there 40 minutes early... Of course this would be the session that was NOT full, started at 8:00 (putting me there at 7:20), and that people were walking in late to..... Blah! Oh well, better to be safe than sorry.... I bought one of her books and snapped this awesome fraction foldable idea from her booth. Rockin'!!

I also went to a Fractions without Distractions session, put on by a LoneStar Learning associate. CUTE fraction ideas. Like that PLATE! Take two different colored paper plates, cut a slit halfway through both of them, slide them together, and BAM! You have fraction circles for your kids to use.... GENIUS!

 

Finally, KIM SUTTON with Creative Mathmatics. Rachel A. and I are kinda Kim Sutton stalkers. Yes, I snapped secret pics of her. SHE'S A MATH CELEBRITY!!!

Kim Sutton spoke at our district last winter. I got a hug from her and some free stuff for helping during one of her examples. I brag about this a lot... To teachers... Because no one else understands! (or cares... Lol) Rachel is the one that kept running into her this time. They had conversations AND Rachel sat near her in another conference... They're practicall CAMT BFFs! Jealous!!

During her session we sat front and center so we got in plenty of K.S. time. LOVE HER!! If you don't have any of her stuff, GET IT. It's so fun, easy, helpful and QUICK! It takes no time to do her drills and kids love them. My suggestion? Get a random numbers CD.

As you can see, CAMT was amazing. Hooty's Homeroom was there too, but we didn't run into each other. We were SO BUSY running to-and-fro!

Question for all you fantastic teachers out there... I went to a session on Tabor Rotation. Anyone heard of it or use it? I really like the idea but I want more info... Thanks!!

Teacher Craftiness & A Giant Ruler!!

Today was most excellent. Two of my friends (and fellow teachers) came over to my casa for "Teacher Craft Day."

We made homework lottery tickets, file folders for centers, word work, math stations, homework "Black Book"s, Mr. Potato Head pieces for positive behavior (class compliment = piece on Mr. PH.  Once he's all made up we celebrate!) and A GIANT RULER!!

The ruler idea came from my awesome friend, Rachel A. She was inspired by a church sermon! A teacher's brain never quits. Lol. You can't tell from the pic but each "inch" is actually a foot.  Measurement is hard for kiddos to grasp, so a giant visual for measuring inches, half inches and quarter inches is going to be great!!  GO RACHEL!

Other craft ideas came from Pinterest (where else?!) and Tara at 4thGradeFrolics. CHECK OUT HER BLOG TODAY! She is a teaching/creating genius!!