Let's Go Buggy!

Anyone who has read my blog before would know that my all-time favourite resources to use in any subject area are GAMES!  Joining in with an interactive game is so much more engaging for little learners than a worksheet (and even most other hands on activities) - and best of all they'll be happy to play over and over again, practising skills and concepts without even realising!

Just about the most popular game that I have introduced to any of my classes has been 'Let's Go Buggy'!  It's a counting game that focuses on numbers to 10.  To play, children take turns to roll the die.  Choose either numerals, pictures or number words depending on the needs of your kidlets.  Each time they roll, players add bugs to their jar - aiming to be the first to collect 10 bugs.  I use bug toys from the dollar store, but you could just use regular counters.  Adding an element of fun, the dice include a fly swat and bug spray pictures - if either of those are rolled the player must take away 1 or all of their bugs.

I usually use the pocket dice inserts, but this game also includes templates for you to make your own from card if you prefer!

I love this game because it's super easy to set up, works on number recognition as well as simple addition and subtraction concepts, and can be played pretty much all year.  I can't really remember a class who hasn't wanted to play this game right up until the last weeks of school. :)

Once your kidlets have finished playing the game, they can complete one of the 4 recording worksheets included in the resource!

Click on any of the images in this post to see 'Let's Go Buggy!' in my TpT store.

St. Patrick's Day Number Fun! {FREEBIE included}

I'll be honest and say that I don't theme a lot of my maths and literacy activities to special days and holidays.  I like to be able to use resources whenever my students need them, not according to the time of the year.  I tend to do themed activities in subject areas like art and writing, where I don't have to prepare laminated resources and can display the work on a bulletin board to get maximum bang for my buck. :)

In saying that.... there's something about St. Patrick's Day that inspires a bit of fun!  Is it the leprechauns?  Maybe the rainbows?  Who knows - but I do have some cute activities up my sleeve that I love to use in March.

I love to use 'Roll and Cover' as a familiar activity with my kidlets because it's so easy to differentiate.  I start the with number recognition and move on to addition and subtraction as the year goes on.  All you need is a mat per child (I like have my kidlets play this game in partners during math center time) and some dice.  You can use counters or cubes to cover the numbers, or grab some gold coins from the party section of your local dollar store.

For 'Roll & Add' or 'Roll & Take', children roll 2 dice and use either addition or subtraction skills to figure out which number on their mat to cover.

By printing in blackline you have a different activity - choose 'Roll & Color' either to save ink or to use as a recording sheet for your kidlets to glue into their math workbooks.

Click on any of the images above to check out the resource that these pages come from! 
One of my all-time-fave games to use in math centers is 'Race to 20'! In my TpT store you can find 3 of these for free - one of which is St. Paddy's Day themed!  

This is a super simple game for children to play - they simply roll the die and add counters to the tens frame on their game board.  The first to collect 20 is the winner!  You can either use regular counters or gold coins.
If you're not in the mood to create laminated resources to have some St. Patrick's Day fun in your classroom, there's a few easy props you can use instead!  Use gold coins or rainbow pom poms instead of counters, print worksheets on green paper or pretend that a naughty leprechaun has 'hidden' things or turned them upside down when explaining activities, or allow your kidlets to use rainbow colors in their workbooks. :)

Sight Word Sunday! Beach Ball Sight Words

Today's idea is a very simple one that's lots of fun - Beach Ball Sight Words!

All you'll need for this activity is a soft ball.  Inflatable beach balls work best because you can flatten them back out for storage, but if you can't find one any large ball will work.  Write your focus sight words right onto the ball using a permanent marker!

If you have outside space (and weather permits) have kidlets stand in a circle and throw the ball to each other.  It's best if the kidlet with the ball calls the name of the friend they're throwing to, so they're prepared to catch it!  When they do, they need to read the sight word facing them, before passing the ball on.

This game is best if played in small groups so that everyone gets lots of turns, but you can also play it with the whole class.  If you need to play inside, have kidlets sit in a circle and roll the ball to each other!

I hope this is an activity that your wriggly little learners will love!

Sight Word Sunday! Sight Word Hide & Seek

Hello again! I'm stopping by today with another interactive sight word activity that you can (hopefully!) use in your classroom.  

This activity is one that is perfect to use during your whole class teaching time.  It's also a great time-filler if you ever have 5 extra minutes that haven't been planned for. :)  I call it Sight Word Hide & Seek!

As you can see I use my pocket chart to play this game - but you really don't need one!  Blu-tacking the words to a white board or wall is just as effective.  To prepare this activity you just need some cards with your focus words written on them.  I use the flash cards I already have - you've probably got some made up, too!  On the back of 4 cards you want to tack on some little characters for your kidlets to find.  I used monsters but you can use any images that fit your classroom or current theme.

The aim of the game is for all of the monsters (or whatever) to be found.  Kidlets take turns to ask the question "Is there a monster behind ____?"  Flip the card around to reveal if there is or not.   (This is a great time to create a bit of drama just for fun!)  When a monster is found everyone cheers and whoever asked the question basks in their 5 seconds of fame. :)  Keep playing until all of the monsters have been found!  Usually this game is nice and quick so you'll have a chance to play a few rounds at a time.  Just turn your board around (or have your class cover their eyes) to hide the monsters again. 

My class loves this simple game - I'm sure yours will too!

Sight Word Sunday! Tower of Power

Sight words are a super important part of the learning our kidlets do in their first year of school.  Due to their frequency in simple texts, and the fact that many can't be decoded by 'sounding out' the letters, it's so crucial that little learners have a bank of words they can recognise instantly when they're reading.  We need to work on sight words every day.  The only problem? Sometimes sight word activities can be a little *cough* boring.  Sometimes it's tricky to think of hands on, engaging tasks that our kidlets will be excited to try, and that also flash those important words in front of their eyes as many times as possible.  To help you out, I'm going to stop by on Sundays and share a simple idea that you can use to spice up your sight word teaching time each week!

First up, my all-time favourite sight word activity: Tower of Power!

All you need to play this game are a bunch of plastic cups with sight words written on them.  I use about 40 cups with 10 words per set - that way each word is seen and read multiple times.  Just give each group of kidlets the set that contains the words they need to practise.  The best way to store your cups is in empty Pringles tubes. :)  Writing words on cups is a great job to give parent helpers, too!

Tower of Power can be played in pairs, small groups, or individually. Kidlets take turns to choose a cup, read the word and add it to the tower.  If the tower falls, all the cups go back into the pile and the game starts again.  The aim is to have all the cups built into a tall tower!  I use this game as a literacy centre activity, then add it to 'Fast Finisher' tubs for the following weeks.

I hope you'll try playing Tower of Power in your classroom! Please let me know if your kidlets enjoy it. :)

5 Second Rule!

I love playing board games! Whether it's Scrabble with a glass of wine on a Friday night or Trouble with the kids on rainy afternoons, they're the perfect way to spend time together.  It's also no secret that I often use board games in the classroom, either to focus on math or literacy skills or just to facilitate friendly play (read this post to see what I mean!).  Today I'm here to review a new game called '5 Second Rule' that fits both of those situations perfectly.

As you can probably tell from it's name, the aim of '5 Second Rule' is to answer questions within the 5 second time limit.  When I read the questions this seemed like such an easy task!  Naming 3 things that start with R should be simple, right? Um, maybe not! The fun of this game comes with the pressure of time - answers either completely evade you, or you end up blurting out something ridiculous.  Cue lots of laughs!  When you're successful you move forward 1 space on the board.  If the question is too tricky you can use one of your 'Switch' or 'Pass On' cards to relieve the pressure.

We first played together with the girls and, unlike other board games, this one was perfect for them to join in with.  When it was our 3 year old's turn we didn't flip the timer and just let her answer in her own time.  I also hand picked questions for her to make sure she would have some ideas.  For example, one of her questions was 'Name 3 places you would wear shorts' and she said kindy, the beach and the shops. :) When our 6 year old had her turn, we let her have 3 flips of the timer to have 5 seconds for each answer (she didn't always need that extra time.)

A few days later we had a family lunch, and after we'd eaten I brought out the question cards and timer (we had too many people to use the board properly).  We enjoyed a glass of wine and a hilarious hour taking turns to answer the questions using the timer.

Setting up '5 Second Rule' is quick and easy.  Unfold the board and make sure the question cards are in the box and you're pretty much ready to go!  The timer makes a funny noise that the kids thought was great - it became a toy in itself!

If you're looking for a Christmas gift for your children (or any board game fiend!), '5 Second Rule' would be a great choice.  It would also be the perfect addition to the game shelf in your classroom if you teach in the older primary grades, too!

Board Games in the Classroom!

If you've read my blog before you'll know that I absolutely LOVE using games in the classroom! As well as being hands-on and engaging for little learners, they can also help kidlets to practise and consolidate many maths and literacy skills, as well as social behaviours like turn-taking and rule-following.  While I'm all for using products that have been made specifically for use in the classroom (like those you can find on TpT), you don't always have to print and laminate to have a resource that fits in with the curriculum.  I own lots of store bought games that I use either straight from the box or with a few simple hacks. (Read to the end to find out how I get them on the cheap.) Here's a few of my favourites - with some ideas of how to use them! 

1. Snakes and Ladders!

Usually Snakes and Ladders is set up as a 100s board - bonus! Use a regular die to work on subitising, counting and number recognition with your kidlets. You might also like to use different dice depending on what your maths focus is.  This makes it a great game for differentiation! One group may use a dice with numerals, one with number words, another with ten frames and yet another might use two dice to work on their addition skills.  Ask questions as the game progresses - What number are you on now? You've rolled 5 - what number do you think you will land on? What number do you need to roll to land on the number 20?

2.  Scrabble!

Scrabble (or Junior Scrabble) is a perfect word work activity.  Depending on the ability of your kidlets, you could play the game in the traditional way or modify it to make it a little easier.  I like to have the letters laid out on a table - kidlets simply pick the letters they want to build a word on the board.  Speaking of the board - you don't even need to use it if it's too tricky and we never bother to keep score.  Of course, the Scrabble letter tiles can also be used for a tonne of other spelling and phonics activities - use them as you would magnetic letters, stamps, letter beads etc.

3. Boggle!

I like to use Boggle initially as a letter recognition game.  Give the container a shake and then name the letters you can see!  Kidlets can write one per shake on a whiteboard etc. or cross them off a worksheet or board as they appear in the game.  When you begin phonics teaching, have students say the letter sound rather than it's name.  Of course when your learners are ready they can play the game as it's intended - writing down words made from the letters that appear after each shake.

4. Guess Who?

Let me start by saying that if you have the original style Guess Who? with the flat boards, make sure you hang on to it!  The newer version has connected boards that stand upright and it's much trickier for little learners to manage.  Guess Who? is perfect to play straight from the box - it's a game that encourages kidlets to use critical thinking and specific vocabulary in order to narrow down the faces on their board - and on top of that their questions must only have a yes/no answer.  If you watch your kidlets play this throughout the year you'll see how their skills improve.  If you have the time, make up a game board (either a sheet or individual cards depending on which version of the game you have) with the faces of your whole class.  A perfect way for kidlets to get to know their peers! Hasbro even has additional character sheets that you can print from their website to mix things up a bit - and a little Googling will help you find themed sheets that other clever clogs have shared.

5. Trouble!

Everyone loves the popomatic bubble!  Trouble is perfect to play when little learners are working on number recognition and counting skills.  No hacks necessary. :)

6. Hungry, Hungry Hippos!

Another game just made for maths groups. After each round of marble chomping, kidlets count how many their hippo has eaten. Whose hippo ate the most? Whose ate the number closest to ten? Using two different coloured marbles extends this game further - six red marbles and two yellow marbles makes eight in total etc.

7. Connect Four!

Connect Four can be used to work on turn-taking and critical thinking skills straight from the box.  By using a marker, some dot stickers or painter's tape you can also modify it to use for lots of other purposes! I've mostly used it as a sight word game by writing words on the chips.  Kidlets choose a chip from a bag (otherwise they'll just pick the words that are easy for them each time!) and add it to the game if they can read it. Put all the red chips in one bag and the yellow in another. The winner is still the first person to line up four of their chips before the other player.  You can see how easy it would be to modify this to suit any skill you're working on - write letters for recognition or phonics practise, numerals or number words, CVC words (or whatever words suit your phonics focus), shapes etc.

Now you might be thinking - this all sounds great but seems like it could be expensive! It's ideal to have the games differentiated and ready to go whenever you need them, but that means having two or three of each in some cases.  I'll be honest with you and say that I've paid full price for very few of my classroom games! The easiest way to get them for free is to pop a note on your classroom door or school newsletter asking for donations.  There's always families looking to declutter their toy cupboard who are more than happy to share the love and donate to little learners.  You might get a few that are missing pieces - combine them to make a full set.  The next best place to look is in second hand stores, or garage sales.  If you'd prefer to buy new from the store, keep an eye out for knock-off versions that are less expensive.

I hope I've inspired you to raid your board game cupboard and find a few treasures to use in your classroom! 

Rhyming Activities for Little Learners!

Phonemic awareness (listening to, isolating and changing sounds in words) is vital for both reading and writing development in little learners - and rhyme is a BIG part of this learning process.  It's sometimes a concept that kidlets find tricky to grasp - so I thought I'd stop by and share some activities that I've used successfully with my classes over the years, as well as a few new ideas that I'd love to try. :)
From the very first week of school I like to expose kidlets to rhyming words through our poem of the week.  We read it together every morning and talk about the vocabulary used - this is a really great way for little learners to start thinking about words, how they sound and what they mean.  As the year goes on you can spend time identifying letters and sounds, nouns/verbs/adjectives and rhyming words! I usually have a poster sized copy of the poem on the board and we circle and underline words as we identify rhyming pairs.  At the end of the week kidlets glue a copy into their books (I have a dedicated poetry journal) and because we've read it so often together most children can independently read it.  Here's a resource you might like to use - or you could choose any simple poems and rhymes that fit with your classroom themes!

Another oral language activity that my kidlets always LOVE is a simple one.  I have an IKEA igloo that I set up on the carpet area.  Before we start I've collected a box of random objects from around the classroom.  I ask the class to close their eyes while I hide one in the igloo and then say "What's inside the igloo? What could be in it for me? It starts with ___ and rhymes with ___. Oh what do you think it could be?" For example, if I've hidden a book in the igloo I would say "It starts with /b/ and rhymes with look."  Someone guesses the object and then gets to check inside the igloo to see if they were right! We play this game LOTS before we move on to reading and writing rhyming words.  If you don't have an igloo you can use whatever you have - e.g. "What's inside the big, blue bag?"

Of course, our Alphabet Monster helps us during this stage of learning too!  I use the flashcards that come with our phonics program but you could use any that you have.  I lay them out on the carpet and ask kidlets to feed the monster.  I might say a word and have them find the card that rhymes, I might ask them to choose 2 cards that rhyme, or perhaps I'll lay out 3 cards and ask them to feed the monster the one that doesn't rhyme.  During these activities the whole class joins in by saying each word and segmenting the sounds.

 I love to use hands-on activities, particularly in literacy centres.  Top of my list of new ones to try is this one that uses Duplo blocks. If you click on the image to the pin you can check out This Reading Mama and download the pictures used here - or you could use ones you already have!

At least one of my literacy centres is always a game - and I love to use Bingo! when teaching rhyme.  The caller says a word and the rest of the group covers a picture on their board if it rhymes with the word called.  Click on the picture below to check out a resource I created to allow for some differentiation with my kidlets - it includes boards with pictures only, pictures + words, or words only with calling cards to match. :)

As soon as we move into reading and spelling rhyming words I include the teaching of word families.  There's a tonne of great resources you can use for this concept but I love Marsha's Word Families Galore pack! It takes time to print and laminate everything but once you're done you're set for years! My favourite thing is the word wall I made using her cards - I hot glued them to coloured ribbon and it makes a gorgeous bulletin board full of rhyming words for the kidlets to reference as they work!

I also love this hands-on task that is essentially matching rhyming words just like the Duplo idea - except this one includes words for the kidlets to read when they are ready. Click on the image to see more!

Of course any rhyming fun must include lots of reading stories written by our favourite doctor! Dr. Seuss books are perfect for listening to and identifying rhyming words.  After reading 'The Cat in the Hat' I love to have my kidlets invent their own character using the same rhyming pattern.  This is a great way to see which children understand what rhyming means, who can choose 2 words that rhyme, and also who understands the spelling patterns involved. 

And who can resist this gorgeous craft that makes an awesome classroom display? ;)

Hopefully I've shared an idea or two that you might be able to use in your own classroom! I'd love to hear any awesome ideas you have that work on teaching rhyme. :)

Photo Catch Up - it's been a while!

It sure has been a while since I've stopped by to share photos of the things we've been up to in my classroom! This post has no real theme - it's just a hodgepodge of pictures that I'd taken in the last few weeks of term - and it seemed that most of them were snapped in a hurry, so sorry about the quality. :)

The end of Term 1 means lots of reviewing of the concepts I want to make sure my kidlets really 'get' before the Easter break.  As we worked on counting skills two games became the new favourites!

'Race to Fill the Cup' is super fun and very simple to set up.  All you need is some large cups (or really any container), some counting cubes and a die.  Kidlets roll and count that many cubes into their cup.  The first to fill their cup is the winner!  For extra fun I made some pocket dice cards and included a little 'thief' clipart.  When he was rolled, 1 cube had to go back into the middle.  A regular die would work just as well.

Dino Dash is perfect for easy differentiation.  Some of my groups used one die to practice counting, while others used two and worked on early addition skills.  Dinosaur tokens are moved along the rock path and stop to 'rest' under the trees when they make it to the end.  Players have to get as many dinos to the end of the path as they can.  You can grab this game in my store (click on the pics!) and add some plastic dinosaurs for extra fun.

We linked up number representations to review numerals, ten frames, words and dot patterns to 10. 

We made shape ice-creams to review 2D shape!  And who knew that some old cardboard would turn out to be the smash hit of the year so far...

...?  I needed a five minute time-filler activity so during lunch time my TA cut these shapes from old boxes.  I blindfolded a kidlet who had to identify the shape by feeling the number of sides and corners etc.  After we'd done the four shapes I wrapped up the activity and those who'd missed out on having a turn were devastated.  They literally begged me to keep the shapes out as a fast finisher option, and for weeks afterwards there would always be a pair of kidlets playing the 'Mystery Shape Guessing Game' - complete with high levels of excitement.  Who knew it would be such a hit?!

Once a week we do a whole class sorting activity to introduce or review reading and phonics concepts.  That activity then became a small group task. You can click on any of these photos to see the matching pack.

We reviewed letters, words and sentences and completed a cut'n'paste worksheet.

We worked on those tricky medial vowel sounds - next term we'll use mailboxes showing letters only rather than our Sound Waves cards.  We'll do the recording worksheets then too.

These cute tulips are sorted by the number of phonemes (sounds) in each picture.  We also did a cut'n'paste activity to match this sorting work as well, but who knows where that photo ended up. :)

Squirting sight words was by far the most fun sight word review we did all term.  We wrote the words  with chalk inside a bug shape on the path outside.  Depending on the group, kidlets squirted the bug containing the word called or identified the word based on clues given.  "This word has 4 letters and starts with l" etc. Perfect for kinaesthetic learners!

Phew! Told you I had lots of photos! Hopefully you've found an idea or two that you can use in your classroom. :)