Vegas Prep! {part one}

I am SOOOO excited to be going to VEGAS this summer! in 22 days, to be more exact!!

I will be attending the SDE Differentiated Instruction Conference on Tuesday & Wednesday {July  7th & 8th} and then the TpT Seller's Conference on Thursday & Friday {July 9th & 10th} WOO HOOO!! I booked and reserved my spots starting in January and have been anticipating it ever since! Well, more like since last year because I was KiCkiNg myself for not being there last year when I saw IG and FB eXpLoDe with awesome pictures and I was stuck at home! But now, my wait is only 3 weeks long and I know that time will just flllyyyy by!

Soo, in the mean time, I have been prepping myself for the fabulous events surrounding that week, and I just HAVE to share about this awesome goodie I scored for FREE!! I will most definitely be sporting in Vegas at some point and want to make sure allllll of my blogging buddies know about it so they can score one for free too! Yes, that's right... FREE!

A+ Images/TeacherShirts.com has an AWESOME giveaway promotion going on right now! Our TpT stores/blog logos can represented in REAL LIFE on a shirt! I was tempted to order one when I got my business cards from VistaPrint, but I just couldn't justify spending the money. So I passed on it, but wished I had a shirt to represent myself in Vegas.

Then, there was post floating around on Facebook that a company was offering them for FREE and I just had to check it out!
When I went to their website, the design tool was SO simple to use! I've used another shirt design website before and this was basically the same... very user friendly!
The first thing I did was select the shirt style and color I wanted. It already had a simple unisex style t-shirt selected for me. I browsed a few other styles (like a 3/4 sleeve baseball tee) first, but nothing was catching my eye and a plain white shirt is what I had envisioned before, so I selected a white color shirt and left it at that. Then, I selected the "Upload Image" option, picked my blog button .jpeg that is saved on my computer, and BOOM! there it was on the screen exactly how it would appear on the shirt!

I added a comment to the design just to be *certain* it would turn out alright (my logo is a white square and I didn't want it to show up on the shirt and look silly) and submitted the quote with the size I wanted. I got a confirmation email shortly thereafter, and about 3 days later, the shirt arrived in the mail EXACTLY like I had pictured it!

I JUST LOVE IT!
What I also love is that the company included a slip of paper with care instructions so that I can properly wash and care for my shirt in the weeks and months to come! I followed the first set and you can see above that it still looks awesome! (My picture taking skills aren't professional my any means - I can reassure you that the colors are just a bright and vibrant as they are on the top of my blog here!) I just want to give it a quick ironing before I wear it and then I'll be SURE to post a picture as I sport it about town in VEGAS!!

What's great about this company, too, is that they offer SO many design options! They seem to have something for everyone! If you like bling, they have rhinestone & glitter designs! If you're a guy, of course they have manly designs! If you want to feature your WHOLE CLASS, they can do that too! They have a variety of grade levels and specialties. And not just one design for each one, but multiple designs and colors. Plus, the above CUSTOM design tool for anyone to use. Like I mentioned above, they will send you a quote too so when you design it, you get a price quote and aren't ordering blindly on price. I think that's great customer service.

So, if you've been thinking about getting a shirt for your blog, your classroom, your child's teacher, your grade level, your principal, your school, or whomever.. check them out! I'm sure you'll find something you love!

If you want to know more, comment below! I've added links all over my post above that will take you to their website! :)

Giant Multiplication Chart!

Thanks to the amazingly creative Mr. Greg over at Kindergarten Smorgasboard, I have such a fun activity to share with you today!

I saw him posting all over his Facebook and Instagram about completing a giant 100s charts with his 'staches, and instantly wanted to do something fun like this with my class. Since we are in 3rd grade, a 100s chart was too easy, so I made a multiplication chart instead. It took a lot of paper, ink, & cutting, but the result and student excitement was well worth it!

Here's a look at how we put it all together and how it ended up!

I printed the main header numbers 1-12 twice on the green paper from Astrobrights. I printed the rest of the rest of the numbers on pink, yellow, orange, and purple paper that I just put in random order. I recommend using cardstock for durability over the years, but I used what I had and for now it was fine. Hopefully it will hold up for a least another few years!

I laid out the 1-12 headers myself on the floor and explained the activity. I gave every student several number cards and then let them work. I didn't do anything the rest of the time but take pictures. The students took charge and did everything and I was SO proud of how they worked together AND KNEW THEIR FACTS! It was SO much fun - we will definitely be doing this again soon!

I also had to show my colleague (who taught 3rd with me last year and is in Kinder this year) the pictures of the activity because it was so much fun. We decided to try the 100s chart with our Kinder Reading Buddies (which is her class) and we can't wait to try it out!

If you want to try this with your class, CLICK HERE FOR THE MULTIPLICATION CHART! I included the picture and printing tips for you in the file too :) ENJOY!

1K YAY GIVEAWAY!

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!!

I am SO excited to be celebrating 1000 Instagram followers and 400 TpT followers!

I am giving away a pack of teacher awesomeness to say THANK YOU!

The prize pack includes a 10 pack of Papermate Flair Pens, a 5 pack of neon Sharpies, a 10 pack of neon Ticonderoga pencils, a 30 pack of brand new Creative Paper post cards (only available in the Creative Paper Box from Creative Clips!) PLUS a $10 Starbucks gift card to help fuel you through the remainder of the school year!

Giveaway ends Saturday, April 25 at 6:00pm and I'll announce the winner by 8:00pm/ET. GoooOOooD LuuUUuCCcckK!!

You can enter 3 places: here on my blog, on my Instagram, and on my Facebook page!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check this out!

Hey friends!

I am so excited to tell you that the Erin Condren Teacher Planner that I love and have showed you on my YouTube tutorial is on sale for teachers for 25% off for all of May!! It's the perfect time to save some money and get a jump start for next school year!

BUT, you can also CLICK HERE and save $10 off your first purchase of one!! It's such a great deal for an amazing planner!

THEN... you can transform and streamline your lessons with sticky notes with my FREE template from TpT here.

Your lessons plans can look just like this, and shopping now can save you some moolah!

It is too good of a deal not to share it with you! I am heading over to snag some deals now! 

Happy shopping!

1K YAY GIVEAWAY! + a face lift!

After waiting for what seems like AAGGGGEEEESS! I have finally hit 1000 followers on IG! I am also suuupper close to 400 followers on TpT, and hit over 1000 views on my Erin Condren Post-It Planner video on YouTube in just 2 months - whoa! So of course I am saying YAY! and having a 1K giveaway!!

But before I announce it, I have to know....what do YOU WANT to win?? Instead of giving away something I love (been there, done that... several times) I want to YOU to win something YOU love! So tell me what you would love to see and stay tuned, because I'll be back in a jiff with details on how to enter! Be sure to follow me here, on Facebook, and on Instagram to be entered as much as you can! If it's something YOU would want to win, I'm sure you'll want to enter, right!!?

I also gave my blog a bit of a face lift with a slight design change and new color scheme... what do you think?! I am currently loving it! But am a big fan of change, so don't be surprised if it doesn't last long...ha!

DOUBLE LINKY! Favorite Things & April Currently!

I am so excited to be linking up with Teaching Trio for a fun, new linky - FAVORITE THINGS!

This month, I am LOVING these three things...

1. I ALWAYS love to have fresh flowers in the vase on my desk. They just brighten up the room, any time of year and bring us a little joy indoors :)

2. There's something about tearing off an old, messy calendar page to a fresh new one! The same for changing the one in the classroom. I love how neat and tidy a brand new one looks at the beginning of the month!

3. SPRING BREAK! I really feel like there is no explanation needed here! haha... Easter Break starts Friday at 2:00pm and I am ITCHING for it! My Hubby and I will be packing the Boss and heading to Florida for a week to visit my grandparents. I can't wait to hug them, and relax in the sunshine! This Ohio winter was just a tad too much for me!

What are some of your favorite things?

AANNNNNNDDDD...... seeing as it is April 1st, that also means it is time for Farley's Currently! :)

LISTENING: to the TV.. SVU is just ending. nothing terribly exciting here! lol

LOVING: Spring weather! It was 56 and sunny today.. I rolled down the window on the way home and cranked the radio! We had a looongg, cold, snowy winter here in Ohio. It has been fabulous to see the sun!

THINKING: It has been a looong week, and it's only Wednesday! I worked out tonight and I am pooped... soo ready for bed!

WANTING: Easter/Spring Break! We get all week off next week and Hubby and I are hopping in the new Boss Mustang and driving to stay with my grandparents in Florida!! I haven't seen them in 2 years and can't wait to hug them and have them all to myself for a week! :)

NEEDING: DITTO to what I am wanting. I have felt so stressed this week between working out, packing, teaching, planning for after break, cleaning.. oh, and the Ohio Resa Task 2 due the 15th. I am NEEDING a break as much as I am wanting one!

EGGS-PLAIN YOUR NAME: O-H So Blessed. O-H!! I'm a born & bred Buckeye! and oh so blessed by my Heavenly Father to be able to teach His Word and live this life He has given me! I am especially blessed to celebrate our RISEN Savior on Easter Sunday <3

Well.. that's my linky fun for tonight! I am off to linky-hop for a few minutes before I cuddle my pillow and blankets! :)

G'nite and..

Implementing & Integrating Multiple Math Concepts during MATH Stations

So, I wanted to follow up to my series on my MATH stations, but orginially planned to make the next post about division. But then I decided that instead, it would be probably more informative and beneficial to give you some more ideas on how you can incorporate them with other contents, especially as I have now moved into our unit over counting money & telling time. I still have many students working on mastering their multiplication facts, but I didn't feel that lingering in multiplication & division skills was necessary any longer. I especially felt this way as I gave our end of the unit Interview Assessment over the foundational skills and every single student reached mastery level! It was definitely time to move on (maybe even a tad overdue) and I wanted to take some time to explain how I am integrating the new unit while several students continue to work through The Multiplication Station. [if you missed any of those posts about my MATH stations, you can start here in reading them].

To quickly recap, the four MATH stations are: M- math facts, A- at your seat, T- teacher time, & H- hands-on. In my new unit, I am leaving the [A] station the same. Most students are still working through The Multiplication Station, so I have not changed that aspect. Four students have finished within in the past two weeks, so this gives me the opportunity to differentiate for them with higher-level skill practice. As students finish, it gives me an opportunity to continue differentiating based on the student and his/her skill level. It's also a great time to implement review of old skills.

[M] time in the unit is also basically the same. It's a time to continue to practice those facts, so students who demonstrated mastery and fluency on all of the facts through x12 won't lose what they've learned. It's also a time I can have them practice facts in other ways, such as through division, two- and three-by-one digit problems, and missing number equations.

[T] and [H] are the main areas I have taken and added in the new skills we are learning. Especially during [T]eacher time, can I teach concepts like time to the minute, other ways to say the time, and the ever challenging elapsed time. I am also simultaneously teaching money. I decided to move toward a "spiral" style lesson implementation (I guess we could call it that) by alternating the time and money lessons every other day. This way, I am teaching multiple skills at once, we are practicing them on alternate days, and students are staying completely engaged. For instance, on Monday I might teach a time skill while they practice money skills during [H]ands-on time. Then on Tuesday, I switch it and teach money skills while they practice the time skill they learned the day before in [H]ands-on time. Then switch again on Wednesday, Thursday, and so on. I have really liked how it has been working so far, and as I said in the first post that MATH stations are a lot of prep work, I know that my students' excitement, engagement level, and comprehension levels have been completely worth it. I also have reaalllllyyy enjoyed watching them have fun in their learning during this time, so it has been fun for me as well!

Here's some pictures and examples of what we've been up to this week, as well as interactive lessons I used in the past that could easily be integrated as I mentioned above. I am already thinking that next year I will alternate and "spiral" teach my lessons so I am not focused on "chapters" and "units" but am just teaching the overall math skills my curriculum teaches in our MATH stations format. I am excited for summer so I can sit down and really think about, and plan it all out!

Okay.. now for the fun part for real, enough of my talking... my students in action!


After a day of working with some manipulative clocks to make times and talk about the parts of a clock (just to awaken those skills) during teacher time one day, students worked on these clock flaps during [H]ands-on time. These are from Blair Turner, once again...

I love how the student above extended the clock hands and used a highlighter to show exactly where the hands are, just as I taught them :)

Above, the students who finished The Multiplication Station already (and are my higher level thinkers) worked on Math Menus from Schoolhouse Diva during [A]t your seat. I was able to choose which menu and which differentiated worksheet they used to practice money skills. They did fabulous and loved it!

 You can see some students are working on two different things at the same time.

GIANT coins from The Dollar Tree toy section make counting money way more fun! 

These students above using the worksheet are again my higher level thinkers. They worked on a more advanced workbook page (I feel obligated to use because parents paid for them, even though I really dislike our math curriculum)... so I gave them the option of using manipulatives and writing on the table to make it more engaging. 

Other students worked below to count coins with Lucky Little Learner's INB money activities.

I also added the option of them being able to make money amounts with the giant coins using cards I have from another activity I made. They are from my Fast Food Money Match in my TpT store. You could easily print some up and do the same! This student is working on this during the [H]ands-on station.

These students below are using my Problem Solving Math Mats to practice problem solving skills related to multiplication and division during the [H]ands-on station. I loved her stance - she had her hand on her brow, thinking really hard!

Here's another look at activities in The Multiplication Station. A deck of cards (without the face cards) makes for a fun game to practice facts!

This one dug out an old school file folder game I made to practice division facts. Carson-Dellosa provided this one, and so did my sweet Crayola skills!

The above and below images show an example of [M]ath fact practice. I used blank INB flaps (again from Blair Turner) and challenged my to students to practice "tough" facts. You can read below that this learner copied in my directions exactly from the example I made.... she rocks! :)

 Another old school fact practice.....Tupperware flashcards!

(sorry for the blurriness!)

 These fact family houses are from the beginning of the year, when we review addition & subtraction skills. If you want to implement MATH stations in other unit studies or grade levels, multiplication & division could easily be replaced by addition & subtraction. These lessons from Lucky Little Learners could easily be used during the [M] or [H] stations.

These are from our Geometry unit we worked through before starting MATH stations. I am thinking that next year, I would introduce the vocabulary flaps you see here and the shape attribute flaps below (all from Blair Turner) would be taught during [T]eacher time. I would then have the [H]ands-on station activities and [A]t your seat work relate to our study also, while they practice either addition, subtraction, multiplication or division facts at the [M]ath fact station.

We also took a Multiplication Scoot early in the week during [M]ath fact time that I turned into an assessment grade for multiplying larger numbers. Here's a preview of it:

My class (of 13 girls & only 2 boys) SQUEALED when they saw we were doing another scoot. The LOVE them! I just posted it in my TpT store if you could use one too!

Again, most of these pictures were taken during the past week when I began teaching the new unit. There is a lot going on during our hour (or so) of MATH groups... and I absolutely love it!

I hope all of this inspires you with some more ideas of how you can implement and integrate MATH stations with your kiddos across multiple units of study! Share some below if you already do this, or if it got your wheels turning! I'd love other input and ideas!!