Peek at last week

Last week we went over 2D shapes. I like one activity in the planning given to us through C2C. Students made a triangle and quadrilateral using straws they cut to different lengths and pipe cleaners cut into 5cm pieces. They used sticky tape to attach their shapes to a piece of paper.

 

You can see the pipe cleaners inside the straws. The pipe cleaners bend, creating the shapes. Some students made more than 2 shapes which also worked out well.

Next, they coloured in each shape they made within their larger shape. 

Finally (not shown) they labelled each of the shapes they coloured. Students were able to make pentagons, hexagons, right angled triangles, rectangles, rhombuses and just plain quadrilaterals.  The kids really enjoyed it and since I demonstrated it to the class first, it was a very successful small-group lesson for my first year student teachers to take on. The kids couldn't wait for it to be time for their group to do this activity!

Here's just a random chart....

I teach 'theme' as THE MEssage so we always talk about "The theme, or message, that the author..." Writing it like this helps them remember what 'the theme' means since the letters for 'theme' is spelled in 'THE MEssage'.

Grid Freebie

Here is a little freebie poster that I've just done up to show the little saying that was taught to me by one of the kids in my class when I taught Grade 6 to remember to read the x-axis before the y-axis (wow, that was a long sentence!). 

It is simple: You crawl before you walk! When you crawl you are horizontal so you read the horizontal axis first, you are vertical when you walk so you read that second. I thought it was pretty genius and I've been using it ever since! I'm pretty sure he learned it from a previous teacher, so thank you if it was you!

Click on the pic to download. I've done two up: one with letters and one with numbers along the x-axis. 

Edit: I often receive emails asking if I know of other Aussie blogs. Well, if you are an Aussie, or even if you're not, I've created a page that has links to other Aussie blogs. Click on the link under the blog header if you want to check out some Aussie talent!

Free 2D Shapes Game

One thing I love to do during our two week breaks is to try and get ahead for the following term by creating a few resources. I like to think that Future Kylie will be happy that I've reduced my workload during the term!

Here is a game I made to review 2D shapes. You can download it for free on TpT. 

Halloween Math Centers for 2nd-3rd Grade

I saw this on Pinterest today and just had to share:

 Source

Hehe, this is so me when I'm supposed to be working and get distracted on Pinterest or Instagram!

Even with the distractions, I've managed to finish a Halloween math pack filled with lots of hands on activities for my kids to complete after the holidays. 

 

It comes with 13 math activities for multiplication, division, graphing, area, time, transformations, directions, skip counting, arrays and measuring. You can find it in my TpT Store. 

Why Place Value Hundreds, Tens, and Ones Bingo is a Classroom Must-Have

Looking for an engaging, low-prep way to teach place value? Say hello to Place Value Hundreds, Tens, andOnes Bingo—a fun and interactive game that’s perfect for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-grade classrooms! Whether you’re tackling tricky misconceptions about numbers or reinforcing foundational math skills, this bingo game is a game-changer!

Here’s why I’m obsessed with this product:

1. It’s Perfect for Differentiation No two students are the same, which is why this bingo set comes with four different types of calling cards to meet diverse needs:

• Standard Form
• Word Form (American and British options!)
• Place Value Form (e.g., 9 hundreds, 3 tens, 4 ones)
• Expanded Form (900+30+4)

Got a mix of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level mathematicians in your room? No problem. You can easily switch up the calling cards to make the game more or less challenging depending on your group’s skill level or make differentition even easier with my Tens and Ones Bingo Game. Both games look similar, meaning different groups can be playing different games at their level. Plus, the inclusion of two-digit numbers ensures students understand the difference between tricky pairs like 910 and 91. No more place value confusion!

2. It’s Low Prep (and Budget-Friendly!) Let’s face it—teachers don’t have hours to prep elaborate games. Luckily, this set is as simple as print, laminate, and play. You only need to cut out the calling cards (just 2-3 pages per set), and you’re ready to play again and again. Prefer a no-laminate option? Just slip the boards into plastic sleeves, and students can use dry-erase markers to cross off numbers. Bonus: It’s designed to save on colored ink. Only a small portion of each game board uses color, and there’s even a black-and-white version included!

3. It’s Flexible for Whole Class or Small Groups With 26 unique game boards, this set works perfectly for a whole-class activity. Want to focus on small group instruction? Pull out just a few boards for targeted practice. It’s great for math centers or work stations, early finishers, or even a quick review before a test. Many of those who have purchased have left feedback that it was perfect to leave for a sub!

4. Misconception Busting Made Fun One of the best parts of this bingo game is its ability to tackle common place value misconceptions head-on. For example, distinguishing between “nine hundred ten” and “ninety-one” can trip up students, but seeing the numbers represented with base-10 visuals reinforces the correct understanding in a hands-on way.

Why You’ll Love It Place Value Hundreds, Tens, and Ones Bingo is the perfect mix of fun, simplicity, and educational impact. Your students will stay engaged while building critical math skills, and you’ll love how easy it is to prepare and use. If your kiddos are still working on tens and ones, check out the Tensand Ones Bingo Boards or the Bundle in my store for even more place value practice!

      

Grab your set today and make place value practice a breeze!

I take it back...

In my last post, I was hoping to get *just* sick enough to justify having a day off because I was so exhausted. I wish I hadn't written that! By midday the VERY NEXT DAY (Monday), I could barely talk. I had to whisper Tuesday because my voice was gone and I started to get a cough. Wednesday and Thursday I had to have off because I couldn't talk or stop coughing. Never in all my years of working (even before I became a teacher) have I ever had to have more than one day off. But they weren't the lovely, relaxing days off I envisaged them to be. Nope. Basically it was wasted time. I didn't get any marking, planning or creating done. I sat at the computer for a long time though, mostly just staring at it, wishing I could feel motivated to do something... anything.

Friday was tough. I had a coughing fit of two (or three...) when I couldn't stop coughing for a few minutes. My poor kiddies were so concerned. I had a lovely reception though when they saw me come out the door in the morning! Even the parents noticed! It's Saturday evening and my voice still isn't perfect. It starts to get croakier if I start talking. I had TWO naps today. 

At least now I know why I was feeling so exhausted last weekend - I was coming down with something! Hopefully those naps will rejuvenate me and I'll be 100% tomorrow. 

I did get this pack finished today. You can click on the pics to see it at TpT. It's 20% off, as always, for the first few days.

 It has 5 math centres/centers:
1. 1 page of word problems with addition, subtraction and multiplication scenaries (10 problems).

2. Autumn Number Order (3-digit numbers). Comes with 6 sets of 6 cards to place in order and a choice of 2 recording sheets (record in ascending or descending order).

3. Greater Than/Less Than Leaves - 2 sets of cards (2-digit and 3-digit numbers) and recording sheet.

4. True or False Equations - Sort the addition facts onto the True and False mats and record. Some facts require students to mentally add multiples of ten and then the ones (e.g. 22+17, 32+15).

5. Apple Place Value - Sort the apple cards onto the Hundreds, Tens or Ones mat according to the underlined number. Students record the value of the underlined number on the recording sheet.


Have you ever wished for something and had it come back and bite you on the bum? I'd love to hear your 'be careful what you wish for' story! Even if you haven't got one, leave a comment below and I'll give this pack to a person or two sometime tomorrow.

Recent Purchases

This girl is EXHAUSTED! I need me a break big time! We have just finished Winter here in Australia and you'd think I'd get sick at least once in that 3 months and be able to have a day or two off but NO, I didn't get sick it all. Either did my boy, so I couldn't stay home with him. I would have liked to get *just* sick enough for a day off! Oh well, we still have 12 weeks of school to go in our school year. There's still hope. And holidays in 2 weeks. Please let me get through these 2 weeks!

One of the reasons I'm so exhausted is that I have soooo much on after school. Look at the coming week for instance. 

• PD after school Monday on Cued Articulation from 3-5pm. I miss our weekly year level meeting to go to this. Visit my nephew in hospital until visitation closes at 7pm.
• PD after school on Big 5 comprehension skills Tuesday from 3-4pm. My boys footy training from 5-7pm. 
• Staff meeting from 3-4pm Wednesday. Woohoo, early day!
• PD Thursday on problem solving in math from 3.30-4.30pm. My boys footy training from 5-7pm. 
• Friday - P-2 staff meeting from 8.00-8.30am. Come home and sleep (as is my weekly routine!).

This schedule has been going on for ages too. The  comprehension and math problem solving PD's go for 5 weeks each. The cued articulation is only this week and last week. 

I shouldn't complain though... I signed up for all the PD's since I haven't really done anything this year and as my fellow Aussies know, we are required to do 30 hours each year.

Oh well, 10 school days and I'll be on holidays. 

Anyway, to get to the title of this post, I've also done a bit of shopping. Last Wednesday I went to the Scholastic Warehouse Sale and nabbed me some bargains. See those green stickers - $1! I've now got a book for each of my kids for their end of year present by buying the $1 books. I LOVE the Australian Geographic magazines you can see in the corner - I buy 6 of each title whenever I see them and use them for guided reading groups throughout the year.

 This is my most recent Scholastic book order. I also got some chapter books for my boy and new pocket charts, Aboriginal paper etc, but these are just the books for my class.

 This is the huge box of books I've got hidden in a corner of my lounge room so that I can see it all the time. It's the books I desperately want to contact so I can take them to school. I slowly make my way through them and contact them while watching TV but then I go and buy more and it fills up again. My garage is full with other boxes like this, but those books are so urgent.

These are some that I've just contacted. My  boys and girls are going gaga over these books. I had to make a new label and tub for Super Hero books. I'm so good at covering the books in clear contact, I hardly ever get any bumps! The corners of the books don't get all dogeared either - books I've had since I started teaching in Year 2 still look new!

Talking about tubs, I've been picking up a few of these new ones the last two weeks whenever I see them. I found these cute containers too - I don't know how I'm going to use them but they are in my colours and they have polka dots - how could I resist??  You hear me, right?!

 

I picked up these glasses from the cheapie store too - they are great for the 'oo' sound. The idea is from the Teacher Wife and she has a set of glasses as a freebie. You write 'oo' sounds like 'look' around the rim of the glasses. I LOVE the idea, but I prefer to use these because they are funky and sturdy and the kids don't have to try and cut out the middle so they can see!

So that's probably it for another week, I doubt I'll have time to post again until the weekend. 

Oh, I am giving away any item from my store at a giveaway over at Coffee, Kids and Compulsive Lists. You have 4 days left to enter!