Groundhog Day Activities {Plus a Freebie!}

Hi Friends!  Happy Saturday!

Can you believe it's the last day of January?  Crazy, Crazy!  Anyone still having a hard time writing 2015 instead of 2014 still, like me?  Since I don't teach anymore, I rarely write the date, so I have to remind myself.

You know what I totally forgot Monday was?  Groundhog Day!  It kinda sneaked up on me.

If you're like me, and forgot, then you might want to check out this free SMARTBoard game that you can customize to meet any curriculum needs quickly without much prep time!

There are 3 games set up for you on each slide:

Have students practice sorting with the first game:

Students match the correct answer to the correct math problem in the second game:

 And finally, the third game has students unscrambling words.  I've already set up the game with 6 Groundhog Day themed words, but you could certainly change them.

It's all yours - just snag them here!

In addition - check out my other Groundhog Day Packet that include math and literacy activities.  Here's a sneak peak:

You can see all the details here.

Finally - tomorrow's the big game (duh!) - if you still want to keep the excitement going into Monday morning - don't forget to check out this post with some free football-themed games!

Have a fabulous rest of your weekend!

Throw Back Thursday {10 Ways to Use A Deck of Cards}

Hiiiiiiiiii!

It's time for another installment of TBT - a series where I am featuring some popular posts from the old blog so that they don't disappear when the old web address vanishes.

All need for today's tip is a deck of cards and this quick printable

I'd love to hear some ways you use a deck of cards in your classroom!  Please feel free to share in the comment below!

Have a wonderful day!

SMARTBoard Games in a SNAP!

If you asked me what resource I had in my classroom that I couldn't live without, I without a doubt would say:  My SMARTBoard.  

I only had a SMARTBoard for one year before I stopped teaching full time, but boy, the thought of going back to pre-SB days made me shudder!

My students and I used the SB all day every day.  And if you have bought any of my units on TpT, then you know that the SB plays a very important part in the daily lesson plans.

There is soooo much you can do on a SB, and having worked with it in my classroom only a year, I only scratched the surface.  But, having still used the software to develop units, I've been able to learn quite a tips on how to use the SB in your classroom.  And one great way:  GAMES!

I have eight video tutorials that you can use to help you create games on your SB (they are great for anyone who might be new to SB!)

Grab a snack and sit back and watch these easy tutorials:
{Feel free to pin this post if you don't have time to watch them all now!}

Do you have a SMARTBoard?  How do you use it in your classroom?

100th Day of School

Happy Monday, friends!  I hope you had a great weekend.  We enjoyed dinner with friends (baby-less) on Friday, a busy Saturday of errands, and then my hubby and I were part of a concert at our church on Sunday.

I'm actually happy that it's Monday.  With such a busy weekend, I'm ready to get back into the daily groove.

AND - I'm REALLY looking forward to finishing (fingers crossed) my colonial unit by the end of the week!  It's coming together very nicely!

Can't wait to show you all the details!

So - have you celebrated your 100th day of school year?  It's getting close for the kiddos around here, so I wanted to share a fun game you can play with your kids on your 100th day of school.

It's called "Close to 100"

Students roll a pair of a dice three times and add up the numbers to see who can get the closest to 100.

It's great practice in number sense, addition (with and without regrouping) and subtraction (with and without regrouping).

Throw in a little friendly peer-to-peer competition and you've got yourself a winner!

You can find this freebie game here with the complete set of directions.  It will also be always available in Math Games Tab under "number sense."

Enjoy, my friends!

Find more activities for the 100th Day of school on this Pinterest board!

PS - in case you missed it - check out these two super bowl games to play this week in prep for the big game :)

1/23 :: Friday Faves

I love me a good Friday!  I'm glad it's the weekend, as I'm sure you are, too!

It's time for another installment of Friday Faves (1st one on the new blog)

Here are a few things that caught my eye this week:

{click any pic to see more details!}

Decomposing Numbers:

Students find dominoes that represent the number in the circle.  Great number sense practice for the little ones.

Holy Multiplication Chart!

There have got to be 100 ways that you can use this in your classroom.  Racing games, great visuals...love!

Groundhog Treat!

Create review games in a snap!  No prep, no stress!

Pay the banker! (Plus an awesome new way to use a chip tray!)

5 Minute Filler Games or Brain Breaks!

Hope its a killer weekend!  See you soon!

Throw Back Thursday! {Make and Take Game for Types of Sentences}

Hold tight, my friends.  We are so close to the weekend!

Hopefully you've had a great week (short weeks are the best aren't they?)

So - we have a sliiiiiight problem on our hands.  My old blog address will be expiring soon.  This means that all of the old posts that I've written over the past 2+ years will disappear into the great internet abyss.  

So, here's the plan.  I've looked back at old posts and will be re-sharing some of my popular posts on "Throw Back Thursday"

Check out this easy center game you can make to have your students practice types of sentences.

All you need are: 

library pockets, a Kleenex box, and index cards

Label each pocket with a type of sentence:

Tape the packets on each side of a square Kleenex box.

Write several different kinds of sentences on index cards (or if you want to be fancy, make cute cards on the computer and print out). 

Place all of the sentence cards in the center of the Kleenex box.

Students pull out one card at time, read the sentence, and place the card in the correct pocket on the side of the box.  

Boom!  Add a recording sheet for students to record their answers and you've got yourself a center in minutes!

Of course, there are a million other ways you can use this game idea.  Anything that requires sorting can use this idea.

If you need game to practice sentences:  Head over to the literacy games tab and scroll down to the "Sentence Practice" category!

Hope you have a great rest of the day!

Football Fun, Plus Colonial America Unit Sneak Peak!

Hey everyone!  How's the week treating you so far?

I had a cavity filled this morning, so you can guess how my day has been :)  

I just put the little nugget down for a nap, so I thought I'd pop in quick to give you two fun games that you can use to use in your classroom this week and next as we get ready for the super bowl (already bought our chicken wings :) Boom.)

I'm not a super big football fan, I'm mostly in it for the food, but I can always get on board a themed-game of any kind.

Over the past couple of years, I created these two games:

{click either picture to download}

The games are always readily available in the "Super Bowl" category of my holiday games tab, and can certainly be used at any point during the year - especially if you have some sports lovers in your classroom, or have a sports themed classroom.

Hope the games work great in your classroom.  Let me know if you give them a try!

Something to look forward to:

I have been working over-time to finish my Colonial America unit.(aka - I had to work AND watch the Bachelor at the same time...anyone else watching it? - Wow. What a season so far.)  It was one of my favorite units to teach in 4th grade (that and the American Revolution - so fun!)  Here's a sneak peak at what to expect:

Much more to come...