Six Ways to Survive The Last Week Before Christmas

I'm bracing myself for a challenging week. It's a busy time of year. 

There are very few hours of sunlight per day. That really affects the spirit of many. Kids are overstimulated, sleep deprived, and downright cranky.

Here are Six Ways to Survive the Last Week Before Christmas:

1.  Bribery Works!  Yes, I've been known to resort to bribery. I would hope that children want to be good just for that personal pride, but that's not realistic. They need to earn something.  

 

This week, we're working toward a Christmas party on Thursday afternoon. I've already planned the party.  We'll have entertainment and gifts to open, and food and fun stuff. But I tell them those plans can be canceled if they don't earn the party. I've come close to canceling the party in the past, but we've always had the party. One thing to remember about bribery... the "bait" needs to be WORTH IT, or it won't work next time! (I'll be sure the Christmas party is awesome!)

2.  Keep Them Active!  I've got some games that keep the kids out of their seats. These two games are both Dollar Deals!

Try Golfing for Tens

 

or Beanie Toss to 100

The key is to get the kids having so much fun, they don't realize they're practicing their adding skills!

3.  Try a Little Yoga!

Kids really adapt well to Yoga, and it really calms them down and helps them focus! Honestly, it helps me, too!

4. Add some music to your day!

I use this one in my classroom all the time!

 

Any baroque music makes a great calming background for the classroom!

Of course, my acupuncturist uses this background music, and I know it relaxes me!

Or, if you're looking for holiday music, this one is my personal favorite in the classroom: 

And who doesn't love this one?

5.  Let them paint!

I am always amazed at how quiet the children become when I pull out the watercolors! Of course, one needs to have an educational purpose for painting, but I really don't think creative teachers like us would have a problem thinking of something, do you?

6. Have a Game Day!

There are plenty of board games out there that are perfect for strengthening the children's reading and math skills, and some great strategy building, but be sure to keep the "learning" part a secret... they'll think they're getting away with something!  Here are a few of my favorites:

 

Apples to Apples is my favorite! It always makes the kids giggle, and (shhhh...) works some valuable thinking skills! 

Scrabble works reading, writing, and even math, as well as strategic thinking!

Uno is a classic! 

Plus, Yahtzee is a great game for strengthening math skills!

Then, of course, regular playing cards will always entertain, and make mathematical paths in the brain. (Seriously!)

Well, there are six ideas to help you through this week. I hope this helps! 

But, as all teachers know, when all else fails, be sure to keep a stash of chocolate in your desk for those particularly stressful days!

How do you survive the week before the holidays!

Making Addition and Subtraction Facts Stick

I've been wracking my brain for years, trying to think of a way to get those basic facts to stick! 

 

There is way too much math that depends on knowing the basic facts, so we want the little ones to go beyond the "counting on fingers" or "counting on in your head" stage!

We've been using this sequence for learning facts at my school, and I must say, the kids are getting it! We all know it's not a good idea to introduce all the facts at once. There are 200 facts to be learned, and learning them in some systematic way is necessary. My knowledge of brain based learning tells me we need to help the children make connections, use visuals like color and pictures, practice frequently, add a social component, and make it fun. This will all help those facts stick!

 

I've taken 8 basic patterns and made 8 color coded sets of cards to be practiced based on these concepts:  plus one families, plus 10 families, plus 9 families, sums of 10, doubles, doubles plus 1, plus 2 families, and the remaining facts.  The "families" include 2 addition and 2 subtraction facts for each fact.  (For example, 1+8=9, 8+1=9, 9-1=8, and 9-8=1 are all connected.) These connections help children remember! I've even included a game that's connected to the cute little pictures on each card.

Practicing the facts is only half the challenge.  The other challenge is showing mastery.  

I've included assessments with each set. There are 2 basic assessments with each family. The 2 assessments are both similar. I just thought you'd like a second option so they aren't taking the exact same assessment each time. Each assessment has 5 columns of 10 facts. I give the children one minute to complete as many facts as they can. (The timing helps distinguish between the kids who know the facts, and the kids who still need to figure them out.) I have found that kids that get 20 - 25 facts in a minute are definitely ready to move on to the next level. (This, of course, is up to you.) Some kids really need a one on one assessment with the cards, as their writing skills just can't keep up with their thinking skills.

Want to check it out? See the image below for the freebie version of the first set along with the assessments. Addition and Subtraction Fact Fluency Freebie!

 

See here for the full system: Fact Fluency System for Addition and Subtraction

How do you help the facts stick?

Count to 1,000 Booklet

Some of my students have been struggling with counting once they get over 100. 

I decided to give them a hand and have them make some booklets where they can count to 1,000 with little help. 

The kids started working on their booklets on Friday and they were totally into it!  You couldn't hear a peep in the whole room!

To make this booklet, click the image above or click here: Count to 1,000 booklet.

I have a few games and activities I play with the children with these booklets. 

• First, I have them trace the numbers, each hundred in a different color. 
• Then, we play "find the number". With a small group, I'll name a 3-digit number and have a race to see who can find that number the quickest.  (I'll give a token to the first few to find that number.)
• Then I'll let individuals call out 3-digit numbers for classmates to find in the booklets.
• Then we call out numbers for them to name the number before or after.
• I'll bet you can think of other ways to get the children to search their "Count to 1,000" booklets to help them get to know Number sense!

Feel free to find more differentiation options by exploring the image below or see here: Count to 1,000 booklet.

This resource gives the option of making booklets with the numbers already there, having the children fill in most of the numbers, or having the children write ALL the numbers.  I had my second graders fill in the numbers, one page at a time. The first hundred were easy for them, but when they got to the second hundred, many of the children needed assistance.  Going through this process will really help the little ones understand our number system and its patterns, and help them develop their number sense!

 

Practice Makes Permanent and Games Make it Fun!

I started playing a game during Math the other day that I hadn't played in years!

We were practicing skip counting in my second grade class, and I realized a lot of these kids really need to practice skip counting a whole lot!

 

After all, research on brains and learning tells us that practice makes permanent. (This is good if they're practicing the skill correctly, not so good if they're practicing the skill incorrectly! I suspect we all know the pain of unlearning a bad habit!)

So in order to practice the skill of skip counting, I remembered this game:  Countdown!

The children stand in a circle. The teacher decides which numbers will be repeated for the game. To start, we counted by 5s from 5 to 35. A child was chosen to start the game by calling out "five". The children went around the circle calling out the next number in the sequence. Whoever said 35 would sit down. They repeat the sequence, eliminating the "35" person each time, until there is only one left standing, the winner!

Luckily, they enjoy the game, so they're glad to repeat it, with variations on the counting pattern! Plus, brain research tells us that adding an emotional element (fun) improves the memory!

This game works for ANY sequence that needs to be learned. Here are some examples:

• the seven continents
• the states of matter
• the seasons
• the times tables
• prime numbers

I'll bet you can think of more! 

What are your ideas?

In case you're interested, I've written these directions out so you can download and put them in your files!  Just click the image or click here: How to Play Countdown!

Give it a try: your students will love it!

Camping for a Week in the Classroom!

It's been another fun week in second grade!  This week was Camping Week (see THIS blog post), and boy oh boy, did we have fun!

The children read loads of camping books, listened to nature sounds,

played learning games

did loads of writing,  played "camping math" scoot, and had a wonderful week!

I'm so glad I did camping week!  Here are some pictures:

1.  I brought in the little pink tent my daughter had when she was little.  It became a great place for reading books about camping!

2.  I brought in my little travel camping table.  The kids used it for reading as well as playing games!  

3.  So many kids brought in sleeping bags, it looked like a big pajama party!

4.  After Friday afternoon's special, there was a little treat waiting for the children.

5.  Yes, that's my REAL camping tent in the classroom.  We found out we could squeeze the whole class in my tent!

The s'mores and the tent made their day!  And, honestly, the smiles on their faces made my day!

It was a great week!

It also inspired me to make a new resource, based on most of the activities we enjoyed this week.  

 

Somehow I have to make it through 8 more school days and one more teacher workshop day.  After a week at the beach and a week camping, next week's theme will be "fun at home".  

We'll be spending most of the week remembering all the fun stuff we did this year and planning fun stuff to do this summer.  

What do you do during those challenging last few weeks when the kids struggle to pay attention to anything?