It's a Freebie Kind of Saturday!

To celebrate the almost completion of my classroom {HUGE sigh of relief} I have two little freebies to share with you today. Check back tomorrow...I will have lots of pictures to share!

The first freebie is a little piece of my Shiver Me "Time"bers Unit. This activity was definitely awarded "Most Popular" from my sweet little students. My kiddos absolutely loved it. It actually turned into a reward for finishing our math instruction early. Don't you just love when rewards can be academic...especially when the kids are begging for more!!! Love those moments!  I hope that your students can find as much enjoyment from this little activity as my students did in first grade! Click on the picture below for the free download.

Argh Have...Who Has?

Don't forget, you can pick this unit up at my TPT store right now! 

I have received several questions about the money sticks that I posted about yesterday. Just in case you missed it...here is a little picture to catch you up! 

Money Sticks

 Let me try to answer a few of the questions that I have received by explaining how I plan to use these sticks during my math instruction. Obviously these little gems will only be one component of my money instruction. Unfortunately, when the students must create a certain amount, the money sticks will not be of much help. I will be using the sticks during counting practice, possibly as a little warm-up during small group instruction (since they will be super easy to hand out) and most importantly as a center activity. Below, you can download a copy of several sheets that I have created that could be included in your weekly centers or math tubs. These are several activities that I will be having the students complete during math centers. You can use all of the sheets in one week or you can mix it up and give them something different each week depending on your focus.  By using the numbering system that I explained yesterday, you can easily check your students' work to identify mastery or to identify those students who need a little extra help. You can download these center activities HERE!

Enjoy these little downloads and hopefully they will save you some MUCH NEEDED time during the BACK TO SCHOOL CRAZE going on everywhere!

Check back tomorrow for some classroom photos...rock and roll style!!! I will also be posting my next unit Get "Reel" With Writing: Creating Award Winning Writers within the next few days. I hope that everyone is enjoying their weekend and resting up for the start of a new year!

Count 'Em Up...Money Sticks!!!

First, let me begin my expressing my excitement about having the opportunity to be one of the authors for Me and My Gang! This is going to be such a fabulous community of learners and I cannot wait to learn and grow from your inspiration! If you have not joined this community, head on over and become a follower!

So, for my first post, I just had to share one of the best ideas (pinterest inspired) that I have seen in quite some time. When I say the words "play money" what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Well, if you are a teacher, you are probably thinking about hearing it drop and roll all over the floor. Or perhaps you are thinking about the fact that each year, your stash of money dwindles away and you are always left wondering where ALL of those coins went. Or maybe you are even one of "those" teachers who has tried to pay for a quick soda and realized that you handed the cashier play money that you confiscated from a student during instruction! If you have any of those thoughts...follow me here...and wait until you see this idea!!!

Money Sticks...WHAT?!?

Are these not the greatest things since Diet Dr. Pepper? I am so SUPER excited about these money sticks and am already dreaming of how they are going to solve all of my play money problems. So much in fact, that I have already created 50 of them. So, if you are going to create money sticks...here are a few little tips that you may want to "borrow". :) 

I created baskets with 10 sticks each for easy center use or small group instruction.

I then labeled the sticks in each basket 1-10 (I am in the process of creating a recording sheet for a little center activity. I will post this little addition ASAP.

To keep the sticks from getting all mixed up, I labeled each basket with a number. I had five baskets, so I labeled them 1-5. I then labeled each stick in the basket with the correlating number on the back. For example, all of the sticks in basket 2 are marked with a 2 on the back. So, just in case they get misplaced, the students know exactly where to put the money stick. 

There you have it! I hope that this little idea that I picked up will help you as much as I KNOW it will help me this year! Now, head on over to check out Me and My Gang!