Big Big B-I-G News!!

Well...I have been keeping a secret for a few days now. Actually, a few weeks. Let me explain--

I think you longtime readers know how passionate I am about math and math instruction. (In fact, I now have a Master's in Math Curriculum and Instruction!) I watch my 4th graders struggle year after year in math, mostly due to them trying to build new information and ideas on top of a weak foundation. It leaves them frustratrated and confused. I do all I can to get them where they need to be, but it doesn't fix the problem. I have just been applying band-aids! After many months of personal turmoil (wondering how much longer I could continue to apply band-aids) I decided to talk to my awesome and super supportive principal about it. I expressed an interest in moving to a lower grade level to help with building a strong mathematical foundation in our kids. She AGREED and started working on her master plan. For the last month I have known that I would probably not be in 4th grade next year, but nothing was certain. My prospective grade level was "narrowed down" to 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade. Well, I FINALLY found out for certain on Wednesday of this week. Are you ready for this??! Next year, I will be in...



FIRST GRADE!! :O What do you think about that??!?!?!


I am TOTALLY excited, especially about doing math. However, I've got a lot to learn because (other than student teaching in 1st and 2nd) I haven't taught any other grade or subject other than math, science and social studies OR been self-contained! Any ideas or advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!!


There's one other thing--help me decide what to do with my blog!!! I will continue to blog but am unsure of how I will go about this. I will either create a separate blog just for 1st OR just continue to blog on here and change my name. Please vote below! (I do still plan on making and sharing upper grade products/ideas though, so don't worry!!!)

Help me decide! Should I create a whole new blog or just revamp mine for 1st grade??

Create a new one!

Keep the same blog!

Create your own poll with LearnMyself

Ecosystem Freebie Follow-Up

I posted an ecosystem freebie a few days ago. I used it in my own classroom on Monday and thought I would share the results with you--only because one of my students went above and beyond and made the CUTEST little panda bear! He is also the only one that colored it... Check it out below:

Ecosystems Freebie

So in science we are starting ecosystems this week. I took the suggested beginning discussion (from our curriculum) and turned it into a quick worksheet--I need all the grades I can get! I know it's nothing exciting but thought I would share it anyway! :)

Download it from one of my shops:

More Math Anchor Charts! Part 1

So I am FINALLY posting these photos that I actually planned on posting a while ago! We have made sooooooo many anchor charts in the past few months and I would LOVE to share them with you!! For each chart, the kids have a corresponding page in their math notebook.

We made this one after we observed what happened when converting measurements.

We made this "Big G" after completing a few capacity activities!

Wall full of charts!!

Stay tuned for part 2, which includes multiplication and division! :)

Tangrams Unit Giveaway Winners!

Alright, I am FINISHED with the Tangrams Unit!!! It has been uploaded to my Teachers Notebook store and my TPT store. I am very excited about it, especially since I will be using it in my own classroom next week! I'm glad to see that so many of you were excited about it as well. I hope it meets your standards. :) SO anyway, here are the three random winners (with the help of random.org):

jcwalrus, please email me so I have your email address!! :)

Congrats to you three!! I hope you enjoy!!!

Tangram Unit!

So this is what I have been working on:

I should be finished with it in the next few days--I have a few final things to do...I would LOVE to give away some free copies of it. If you are interested in a copy comment below--I'll randomly pick 3 of you to win it when it's finished. :)

Have a great week!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Polygon Sort FREEBIE

My kids still struggle (in 4th grade) with knowing what and what is not a polygon. They have had little experience with irregular polygons, so they think that only those familiar shapes (like a regular trapezoid, regular hexagon, regular decagon, etc.) are polygons. They oftentimes do not realize that polygons include many more figures than they think, and that they will not always look the same (for instance, a hexagon can be represented in many different forms). We have had lots of practice making 2D figures (including polygons) lately using these "angle sticks" I made. I also created a simple little sorting game for them to do for additional practice and I would LOVE to share it with you! You can download it by clicking on the picture below! Enjoy!! :D

Angle Sticks

I know...2nd post in the same day. In my defense, the other was Expo related so here is a post especially for you! :)

While I was planning my geometry unit, I realized that I didn't have any manipulatives for making lines, angles, and all of the 2D shapes we cover. I was actually about to buy a popular angles-making set of manipulatives when I remembered something I saw on Pinterest! I took that idea and adapted it to fit what I needed. Here is the result!

It only took a few packs of colored popsicle sticks from Hobby Lobby and 2 packages of round velcro coins from Wal-Mart to make them. The cases they are stored in are actually photo cases (from Hobby Lobby as well). My students really liked using them!! We used them to show different types of lines and angles, make various 2D shapes, and talk about attributes of shapes.

I call them Angle Sticks because the name is similar to what I was going to purchase and my initial intention was to use them for angles. Has anyone else made these?? Can you see your students benefiting from using these?

Speaking of shapes, I've got a polygon freebie scheduled to post for tomorrow! ( I wouldn't want to do THREE posts in one day!!) Be sure to stop on by to check it out!

Whewww--It Happened!!

Well, the Everything's Intermediate Virtual Teaching Expo debuted yesterday!! I gotta say, I was SOOO nervous about it! This has been a 4 (or so) month process for me! I've never done anything like that before and I was unsure of whether or not what I had to say was beneficial to anyone. After receiving some feedback from some of you that viewed the presentation, I feel a million times better about it! I am glad that it is out there and that I no longer have to worry about it being good enough!! I found some pretty horrifying technical issues in my presentation but I think I can get over it ;) (I'm such a perfectionist, lol).

I THANK YOU all for the encouragement, support and feedback!! I TRULY appreciate it! :)

The other presenters did a fantastic job as well!! I picked up MANY new things from viewing their presentations! If you didn't get to check out the Expo but would like to, click on either image above for the information!! The good thing about it being a virtual expo is that you can view it at your leisure!

Happy Earth Day!!!!!

Virtual Teaching Expo Question and Answer

Thank you SOOOOOOOOO much for attending the Everything's Intermediate Virtual Teaching Expo!! I am SO honored that you stopped by to listen to me ramble. :) I really hope that you learned something new and are able to take some ideas back to your classroom and implement them. I have a few questions for you now--I hope you stick around to respond! :) 


1. What do you think math instruction should look like?
2. How do you feel about what you heard today?
3. Did you learn anything new? 




Please feel free to write below with any questions or comments you may have! I am happy to respond! Thanks again!!!!! :)