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Monday, January 31, 2011

Monday News & Place Value Marshmallow Activity {first grade}

{Scroll Down!  Printables posted below!}

Happy Monday, sweet friends!  It's been a *dang* good day, and I'm certainly glad that Monday is out of the way.  I'm mildly tuning into The Bachelor while I type tonight.  {Sidenote: Does Brad get Botox?  I'm not judging, he just looks a little...hmmm...tight-ish in the face??  Also, Chantelle just said "orifices."  Shoooo, buddy.} 

Anyway, thank you so much for your sweet comments about the new blog!  I'm working with my amazing blog designer on the finishing touches and it should be up and running soon.  But, until then, those of you who are here to read about un-teaching related topics will just have to persevere. 

So, this weekend.  I'm failing miserably at NOT working on the weekend.  Of course, I'm spending every Sunday naptime up at school, despite my accountability partners (mom and Dr. B) calling to tell me I need to be at home.  I can't help it.  As I'm sure many of you can relate, sometimes teaching is so much more of a hobby for me than a chore.  I get a lot out of organizing, planning, and creating.

Speaking of organizing.  I bought a bunch of paper trays at Goodwill on Friday night and couldn't wait to attack my filing cabinet, which was ridiculously overloaded with stuff.  And I came to one conclusion: I am a Paper Hoarder. Hi, I'm Abby and there's nothing that does it for me like a fresh stack of colored paper. Except maybe a new package of Flair pens...  Apparently, I have enough pink and purple construction paper to last for many Valentines Days to come.  And then some. 




All while I was doing this, Becks was running around terrorizing playing with all the goodies in my room.  My kiddos kept coming up to me this morning asking why they found an odd item in their desk or out of place.  The culprit?  This lollipop eatin' chickadee.  He was in to everything.  I'm still scraping play-doh particles off his shoe soles. 


A couple of quick teaching ideas...

In an effort to send off the snow with a bang, we completed our gobzillionth snow activity last week, and I announced to my class that I would not be discussing snow anymore during the remainder of their first grade year.  SO. OVER. IT.  {And, of course, we're supposed to get iced tomorrow.  Lovely.}

How precious is this sign?!  I had a few students volunteer to make it so pokey fingers wouldn't be tempted to touch our VERY touchable creations!  I love that it says "are" instead of "our."  Only in first grade :)

We made super fluff snowmen with a combination of shaving cream and white Elmer's glue. If you're looking to make them, I have no scientific method for mixing the two, but err on the side of more shaving cream for a fluffier mix. No one likes a runny snowman.
Sorry for the pic overload, but I just LOVE how cute they turned out!  A VERY tactile activity, too!





Today, I taught an introductory lesson to place value, and it went surprisingly well!  I found this idea online somewhere, and then adapted it for my classroom, plus created a printable for my students to use with it.  First they assembled place value holders with marshmallows and toothpicks.  I made a little hundreds, tens, and ones mat for them to sit their marshmallows on.  Then, I called out 1-, 2-, and 3-digit numbers for them to create using o-shaped cereal on the toothpicks.  Afterwards, they used the worksheet to recreate the marshmallow activity and write the numbers they were making.  {This is a good lesson to do before introducing cubes, longs, and flats.}  I hope the pictures below help you make more sense of this activity.


 

And, if you want a free download of the corresponding recording sheet and sorting mat, click HERE. Let me know if you have any questions :) 

Have a super Tuesday, y'all!!!

33 comments:

Carolina City Girl said...

i wish i had the patience to organize some things in my life like you organized your "paper" closet :) looking good!

AbbyS. said...

I too love going on Sundays. I feel so much better about my week and sleep so much better on Sunday night. C went with me last week. It was wild! He colored on things and we are still finding conncet four pieces everywhere.
I hope you come link up on Thursday. Save a good idea for then! :)

According to Ashley said...

I got so excited about printing this (for my more advanced K students) that I forgot to switch out the paper and accidentally printed it on cardstock! :) Thanks girl! Keep the ideas rollin'! I'm seriously too lazy to come up with many new activities, but I can spot a cute one and steal it in a heartbeat!

Ashley said...

Wow! That look's so organized! So excited for your teaching blog!

Jenny said...

I love your ideas! And your blog! It makes me happy! I gave you an award! http://imacoachswife.blogspot.com/

Conchy said...

Unless you're a teacher, nobody understands why you spend so much time there.
Thanks for all the wonderful activities you share. With all the "regimentation" going on in schools to boost test scores, you've helped me find the fun in teaching again.
Take care and 'gracias" :)

AbbyS. said...

ps-
LOVE those snowmen and B looks SO big! Looks like he would fit right in.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the place value marshmallow idea! I'm definitely using it in my classroom. Can you tell me the name of the font that you used for the directions?? Thank you for sharing your ideas with us! :)

Anonymous said...

Love the supply closet before and after! I love a good organization makeover!

Mrs. Lewis said...

Love it! Thanks for sharing your terrific ideas! :)

Tanya

Miss Kindergarten said...

So organized! Good job!

Jamie said...

CUTE activity girl! Your closet looks great too :)

Anonymous said...

First time commenting after awhile reading...I'm in school for special ed, hoping to also be certified in early childhood, and I L.O.V.E. all of your lessons & ideas! I cant wait to refer back here & use some of them. They are all fabulous. And your paper cabinet...oh. my. gosh. Beautiful! Hope you have a great week!

Rachelle said...

I love the idea Abby!

I also agree...teaching is fun for me. I consider it one of my favorite hobbies! :)

Rachelle
www.whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Great job organizing that closet!! I love fresh spaces like that...

Love the place value activity!! You're a super woman!! Always coming up with something new and exciting...love it!

Northern Mama from the South said...

I love the new cabinet. The same goodies get me all excited too. I won't lie that last Valentine's instead of getting me flowers my hubs bought me a teacher set of markers, pencils, and crayons.

FYI- your 1st grade activities make me want to abandon 6th and run for an elementary.

bmeyer said...

Love that you took your little one with you. We're building an igloo in our classroom and when I took my son with me to school...what do you know he put a hole in the backside of it by throwing a basketball into it. We left and I made repairs the following day!

School Day Love said...

I went to school this weekend and tried to do the same thing. My room was just too much of a mess last week. I love the snowmen- those are adorable!

Anonymous said...

I love the marshmallow idea! Many of my students can't eat gelatin, so I need to think of an alternative because it's so cute!

Luke and Kate said...

Hi Abby! I started reading through my friend Ashley at Perfectly Pollock. I wanted to tell you that your teaching posts are so encouraging. I am a kinder teacher and it's nice to know I am not the only one who gets super excited over arts/crafts/new teaching ideas :) Looking forward to the teaching blog!

Anonymous said...

Hi Abby! We loved this marshmallow place value exercise and featured it at our blog, Kindergarten Lesson Plans! We made certain to give proper idea/photo credit, as well as a link back to your blog, but we'd love for you to take a look at the feature and, if there are any problems, we'll be sure to fix them/take the post down immediately!

Thanks so much!
Kayla Johnson
Kindergarten Lesson Plans

Desiree said...

Abby thanks for the wonderful ideas. I am thinking about doing place value activities in my classroom this year, inspired by Debbie Diller's Math Work Stations. But I like the marshmallows idea, just to catch those kinesthetic learners. And I LOVE your snowmen... I can't wait to try that this year!

Kinders on the Block

bcrimmin said...

I love your stuff! Thanks for sharing! I am trying to get the sheet that goes with the marshmallow place value activity. Any ideas why I can't get the sheet? Thanks in advance!!

Jen said...

My kids loved this place value activity! thanks!

Mrs. M said...

thank- you :)

Nicola said...

I LOVE your activities! I did this with my firsties today and they rocked it out! Thanks for the great activity! Also, would you mind telling me the name of the font you used for the marshmallow math title? Presh!

Anonymous said...

I love your place value activity! What a fun and creative way to practice math. Thank you for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Abby, I am doing your place value activity for an observation Monday. Do you have a lesson plan or do you just do the activity as a review? I am just not sure exactly how to put it together, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

tarynweave@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Any chance of turning this into a smart board activity?

lovepurplelivepink said...

That is the cutest idea. I hope you don't mind if I use it for my class.

Patty Rutenbar said...

I found your idea on Amy Lemon's blog! It's so cute! I know my kids will love this. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Patty
Second In Line

Patty Rutenbar said...

I found your idea on Amy Lemon's blog. What a great way to practice place value by using the marshmallows! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Patty
Second In Line

Anonymous said...

Hi, Abby.
I am interested in downloading your marshmallow place value printables, but there is some security code that wont allow it, its been a while since any recent posts. Are they still available?