All About Insects

   Is it finally starting to get warmer in your backyard? Springtime in Colorado is a bit like riding a roller coaster. We enjoy highs of 70 degrees and then the next day it can snow and be in the 30's. As much as I love Colorado these spring ups and downs really play with your allergies. Plus its time for the Bug Man to come out and spray for those pesky creatures that start to come out of the woodwork! Ewww bugs...just in time to begin learning about insects in the classroom!

   Over the next couple of weeks my intervention kiddos will be working on everything BUGS! I love learning abut insects, just not cohabiting with them. I just finished my newest iPad QR Code Listening Center Books that we will be utilizing during center time. Click on the image below to download from my store.

   We will also be using my Ant Informational Writing unit as well. You can click on the image below to download from my store too.

    And I am finishing up my newest unit Squirmy Wormy:Digging Deeper to Make Ten. I'm hoping to have it finished and posted by the weekend as I'm needing it for my kinder kiddos next week so we can "buggy out" our number sense! Here's a sneak peek....

Hunt for the Gold and St. Patrick's Day Sale

   Last week with my kinder intervention kiddos we were all about number sense, composing, and decomposing numbers. We practiced making five with bingo daubers and making ten using gold beads on a pipe cleaner bracelet. Because I only have my kiddos for one week at a time I wanted them to be able to practice their skills with a St. Patrick's Day twist. Utilizing number bonds and some gold pots my kiddos were ready to search and hunt for all the gold coins they could find.

  

 I started by recycling some small black pots that I had in my Halloween centers and taped shamrocks to the front with numbers 1-9 on them. Inside of each pot I placed gold coins to match the number on the shamrocks and then hid them around our classroom. 

   Each kiddo got a clipboard and a recording sheet. On the sheet were numbered pots of gold to match the pots around the room. Kiddos had to go search for a pot, match the number on the shamrock to the pot on their recording sheet and then create a number bond. Kiddos were encouraged to use the gold coins in the pots to help create their number bonds. Before kiddos could move to the next pot they had to raise their hand and explain their thinking. They received a gold bingo dauber stamp on their recording page and could then go find their next pot. 

   This kiddo was so exact at every pot making sure he had two piles of coins in an exact line! 

That number one is so tricky to create a bond for.

   I hope you have some great activities planned for St. Patrick's Day this week. All of my March activities are on sale the next two days in my store if you are looking for additional materials to add to your collection. Click on the images to be taken to the discounted product. 

Fluency Games Galore

   While working with my intervention kiddos I am always looking for interactive ways to build their fluency of sight words and tone and expression. My kiddos have loved using my One Smart Cookie {Fluency Phrases for the First 100 Fry Words} but are now ready for more of a challenge. I am getting ready to introduce two more sets of games for my kiddos to use Catch Those Bugs! {Fluency Phrases for the Second 100 Fry Words} and Bowling for Fluency {Fluency Phrases for the Third 100 Words}. Both these packs offer three interactive games as well as ten fluency pages and trackers that can be used to create a notebook or placed into a fluency center. Here is a peek at Catch Those Bugs!

  There are ideas of how to organize your games included. I print, laminate, and place all my pieces into large envelopes with the game header glued to the front of each envelope. Then I laminate the outside of the envelope to keep from wear and tear.  

   Here is Spraying for Bugs! Kiddos can use a clear plastic spinner or a paperclip to spin and grab a bug that corresponds to the color on the spinner. Kiddos will read the phrase on each of the bugs. This game can be played with or without a timer.

   In Bug Collecting kiddos will read as quickly as they can the phrases on each of the bugs. This game can be played with a partner and students can place bugs in the "correct" jar or "try again" jar on various fluency mats included. This can also be played with or without a timer to fit the needs of your students. 

   In SWAT! A Memory Game kiddos will use two sets of bugs and flip over playing the traditional Memory game, but must read the phrases on both bugs flipped over. You can add plastic fly swatters for kiddos to use to "swat" the two cards they want to flip over or I have included two swatters that can be printed and laminated. 

   If your kiddos are ready for more of a challenge I just finished  Bowling for Fluency utilizing the third 100 Fry words. Again three interactive games are included with ten fluency pages and trackers to create or add to your exciting fluency notebooks or centers. Here is quick preview. 

   I have bundled all three Fry Fluency sets together. You save over $3 than if you purchase the sets separate. Click on the image below to begin your kiddos fluency adventure!