Summer Read the Room FREEBIE!

I cannot adequately put into words how much I love a read/work the room activity. First, the kids LOVE it. They get to move around the room and they love looking for the cards. I try to hide them a little bit for fun. Second, once the kids get the routine down, this center runs itself. My rules are that they don't talk to each other and they don't ask me to tell them where the cards are. Just keep looking. Also, they need to follow the regular rules of the classroom like using walking feet. Side note: I think it's been about 2 weeks since I had to remind anyone to use walking feet. Beautiful feeling.

I've created a summer-themed read the room activity for you to use with your students! Print out the cards, laminate, cut and hang around the room. Have your kiddos put an answer page on a clipboard and off they go! There are 2 answer pages, so you can have them start on different pages.

Click on the picture below to download this freebie from my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

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Sweet Summer Games

Oh, sweet sweet summer. I LOVE using summer-themed resources in my classroom. I really really do. Beach, pools, sunglasses, floats, picnics, bbq, and ice cream! Those are all beautiful things.

To celebrate the onset of summer,  I have created sweet-treat card games to help your students practice math and literacy skills, while still having fun!

Do your students love the game Memory as much as mine? Lay all the cards on a table face-down. Students take turns flipping over two cards at a time to try to make a match. Whoever gets the most pairs wins!

 

In this  game, students match picture cards with their beginning sound. Lay all cards face-down on the table. Students take turns flipping over two cards at a time. The player that has the most pairs wins!

 

Help students master ten-frames with this Memory game! Numbers to twenty are included to allow students to gain fluency with double ten-frames and teen numbers.

What doesn't fit in with sweet summer treats?! Hot cocoa! This game is based on one of my favorite classic games, "Old Maid." The object of the game is to get the most pairs. One card does not have a  partner, so the player who ends up with that card will lose the game. Students will match the cards according to rhyme.

Click on the picture below to see this product in my Teachers Pay Teachers store! 

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Father's Day

Father's Day is just around the corner! Note to self: still need to figure out what to get for mine. Help your students celebrate their dads with this Father's Day mini unit! I've included games, writing, and literacy activities themed around dads.

Take a look inside the mini unit:

 

Students put cards with pictures of dad's favorite things into alphabetical order. They then write them down on their paper.

Laminate these pages of CVC cards so that students can use a dry-erase marker to write letters in the sound boxes. Students will write the sounds they hear when they say the name of the picture on each log. They will then record the words on the record sheet.

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Five Below and Target Dollar Spot

Yesterday I went to Five Below for the very first time! A store recently opened in my town and I have been so excited to go see what they have to offer. I have to say I definitely had more restraint than I normally would at The Dollar Tree (for better or worse), but they did have some cute things.

I got these ice cubes that are perfect for the summer! There were 3 different sets: regular cubes, fruit, and flowers. I got all 3 of course.

I have lots of ideas for these babies. They would be great math manipulatives, although note there are only 16. Also, they could put used as phonemic awareness manipulatives. I'm excited to see how much use I get out of these cubes!

I went to Target to get a new shower curtain liner and I only got about 6 extra things, so I think I showed quite a bit of restraint.

 

 I love those little pails and I see them all the time in the Dollar Spot. They are so useful in the classroom! I've used them to hold supplies and I love using them as a way to organize centers. It doesn't hurt that they are adorable too!

I also love these mini erasers. There are 60 in each bag and they are perfect math manipulatives. Target carries new bags of erasers for different holidays and seasons. I like to pick them up when I can. They are great for counting, sorting, and patterning. 

Check back for a follow-up post detailing how I put these goodies into action!  

 

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Behavior Management Games

                      

So, you and your class of littles just arrived in the auditorium for pictures. They've mostly kept bows in their hair and dirt off their clothes. You're asked to wait just a few minutes for the classes in front of you to finish with their portraits. And... a few minutes turns into 20. God bless you if your class is able to sit quietly on the ground and wait. I've never had that class, but fingers crossed! Or not, because those would be robot children. In these moments, I find it immensely helpful to have an arsenal of behavior games to keep your students occupied.  In this post, I'm going to share some of my favorite behavior management games with you.

Magic Turtle

This is really a game of poses and it works best when students are at their tables/desks. I ask them to do a variety of poses and end with "Magic Turtle," which is really just them putting their head on the desk for a few seconds. It's a great way to get the whole class quiet and listening without asking them 28 times to please "Be quiet and listen!" Before I tell them to get into "Magic Turtle," I tell them to do other poses like jazz hands, shark, and smile. You can add as many poses as you want. Just make sure your students know that they are silent poses. 

King and Queen

I have to give my teacher bestie, Stefanie, the credit for this one. I usually use this during hallway time/bathroom breaks. Everyday I pick a King and Queen of Quiet. I use a ticket system in my room as a behavior incentive, so the King and Queen each get a ticket, but I also let the King and Queen pick a Prince and Princess later in the day, which is a big motivator for them (King picks Princess, Queen picks Prince). 

Quiet Mouse Still Mouse

This is a great game when you are in the hallway or during wait times. I may have used this game to quiet our entire Kindergarten student population during a field trip. So while the kids are quiet you say... "Quiet mouse, still mouse, quiet as can be (clap twice). Quiet mouse, still mouse one, two, freeze (clap once)!" The kids freeze and you pick the quietest mouse. I usually make them wait a minute before I pick the quietest student. I then let the student I pick lead the chant and pick the next student and the game repeats.     

Mystery Walker

Before we leave the classroom to go somewhere, I often pick a "Mystery Walker." I tell my students that I'm going to watch this person all the way to our destination and if this person stays quiet, I will tell the kids who I picked. Sometimes, if my class gets noisy during this game, I tell them that the Mystery Walker talked and now I need to pick a new one (never telling them who the original was). Iff you feel like you've been overlooking a student or that a student needs some encouragement, this is a great time to keep an eye on them and reward them for being quiet.  

Statue

During this game, students have to act like the statue of something the teacher calls out (lion, bear, cat, dog, football player, teacher, baby etc). There are 2 options I've used with this game: the students stay quiet the whole time, or they get a couple of seconds to make the sounds the statue would make but need to be quiet when I say, "STATUE!"

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