Game Show Bonanza

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed making my new Game Shows!!  I'm working on one for Landforms at the moment, but have quite a few for 2nd-4th grade Math and Language Arts.  I've really upped the game by adding game show contestants and actual on the spot automatic scoring.  It's really added a LOT to the games and the teachers (and students) are having a fun time with them!

They are basically in a Jeopardy style format with categories and dollar amounts.   There are four contestants, so you'd begin by dividing your class into four groups. Those four groups choose which "contestants" team they are on.  One by one, a team will choose a category and dollar value.  A question appears and the team answers.  Once you guess an answer, you click the "Check Answer" button for the answer to appear.  If you got the answer right, you click on your "contestant" to award your team the point value.  You can now choose to go back to the game board to choose another question OR go to the scoreboard where you'll find the contestants at their game console, which also shows the current scores.

The games all follow Common Core Standards and include:
Multiplication & Division Facts
Place Value
Comparing & Ordering Numbers
a Halloween Theme for Grammar

Here's a link to the Game Show page at my TpT store:  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tiny-Toes/Category/Game-Show

She just ate too much!

One of the best parts of teaching PreK is the funny things the kids say!  Recently, we were reading a book in which the grandmother came to babysit the little girl.  Mom was obviously very pregnant: didn't have room on her lap for daughter to sit on anymore, knitting tiny clothes even when her dolls didn't need clothes...

As much as I questioned the things Mom was doing and that she returned home with a baby, only one figured out that she had been pregnant.  (The one who figured it out is about to have a little brother!)  So, suddenly as everyone is saying ALLLLL their moms are about to have a baby, one boy said, "My mom's not about to have a baby, she just ate too much food!"

Gotta love em!

Apple Centers

Who doesn't love Apple Themes at school?!  We have had such a good time with it.  We even related it to habitats since a star "lives" inside an apple. So here we are.  We've talked about apples, graphed them, and tasted them. Now to stamping with them.  It was exciting to discover the star inside, especially when we were about to stamp with them.  Each child got half of an apple and dipped it in the red paint.  Not all of the kids got the star to show up in their pictures, but the ones who did, were so proud!

 

The next center was to glue down Apple Jack cereal to their colored apples.  I drew in dots as a guideline to where to put their dots of glue.  They have not had a ton of experience with the glue bottles yet, so I was very impressed that the majority did so well with their dots!

i Write Words lite handwriting app

The kids are LOVING this iWW lite handwriting app. (i Write Words) It was a FREEBIE app and so easy to use.  The desktop icon is a giraffe, so the kids recognize it instantly.  There are quite a few options to choose from once you tap the giraffe.

Once an option is chosen, a little crab appears along with an upper (or lower) case letter. (Numbers are also an option to choose from.)  When the letter appears, numbers mark their way to show the direction you should be writing.  You put your finger on the crab and follow the numbers.  If you do it correct, he will continue with the next section of the letter.  If you go off course, the app will "squeak" at you and return to the beginning of the letter.  It took the kids a few times to realize, OH!  I'm going the wrong way!

They love the lady's voice that speaks words of encouragement and just the simplicity of the format.  A small bonus.. really a HUGE bonus, is the little wheel at the bottom!  When you've completed the letter or word a little wheel appears and it is spinning.  You angle the iPod over a little and the letter will slide into the wheel and gets "eaten" up!

5 Questions With Teacher-Author Tiny Toes

I am beyond excited to tell you that I am this week's Teacher-Author on the TpT blog!!!  Talk about completely humbling!  Here is a link to the post:

http://blog.teacherspayteachers.com/5-questions-with-teacher-author-tiny-toes/

Beginning of the Year Testing

Halfway through testing the classes for Beginning of Year testing. We'll do this each 9 weeks prior to report cards. We test on colors, shapes, upper and lower case letters, the sounds of the letters, numbers, and writing their first name. We have a LOT to cover this year!

We learn in many ways.. through tracing, computer games, creating with playdoh, iPods, shaving cream.. you name it! Lots of practice in different ways.... keeps us all happy!

Are you able to test your little guys successfully without an aid in the room to help?  I thought it was going to be very difficult, but our learning centers have made the testing pretty easy going.  They know their groups now and have down the use of the centers.  One happy teacher here!

Johnny Appleseed's birthday

What better way to celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday, but with a game! I can't wait to share this upper and lower case alphabet interactive game with my little guys. We are just now introducing the letters, so I know it will be early for many of them. I know they will have fun with the graphics anyway. I'll take pictures and let you know how they did.