Five for Friday!

Just a warning, this Five for Friday has very little do to with school : )  I have been in summer mode now for about two weeks and in between time spent at my summer internship I have had a little fun!  I skipped last Friday so here are a few pictures from the last two weeks!

I spent a considerable amount of time debating which rug to buy at Target.  I ended up picking both.  The foil shaped rug is now under my coffee table and the brown rug is in front of the front door.  So far I am happy with my choice but it was not a quick decision!

Bowling!  I went bowling with some other fabulous 2nd grade teachers and their kiddos!  I may or may not have broken 100 but fun was still had by all. 

I also spent some time shopping for the 4th of July with this little one and her mom (who happens to be my best friend AND teach next door to me).  She does not like shopping, so we took some funny pictures instead. 

We had our summer school improvement team meeting this past week and I put together a teacher planner so I would be ready for all that was planned for next school year!  This planner is from April at A Modern Teacher and you can find it HERE.

And I have been working on updating each of my math mover games for 2nd grade, and adding answer keys.  These sets are already uploaded, I have a couple more to work on and then I plan on bundling them all together for the whole school year.  

Well that's what I have been up to so far, I hope everyone else is having a fun and relaxing summer!

Doodlebugs will be taking a break from Five for Friday in the month of July but I will still be here with a few things that I have been up to : )

Two more updates...

I know Halloween and Christmas are pretty far away but these 2nd grade aligned Math Mover games are now updated with new fonts and answer keys!! 

Updated Math Movers!

Some of my earlier packets need a little love this summer and I want to make sure everyone who has already purchased them knows to go back and download the updated pack for FREE through your purchases on TPT.  I try to click "update buyers" whenever I make corrections or update but I know those notifications may not always be seen. With that said, I have three more updates this evening!  I updated fonts, clip art and added answer keys to three Math Mover games, aligned to the 2nd grade CCSS. 

If you haven't heard of my Math Movers activities before, they are whole group math games/activities that are completed with a buddy.  Players complete 15 math questions with a buddy by moving around the room and I encourage math talks to solve the problems.  Each pair gets about 2-3 minutes per questions and then we go over them as a group when we're finished. Usually we don't go over the whole 15 in a row, but I chunk it over a few days. They are also really nice to complete when I have a substitute (we review when I return) or when we need to review some math skills before testing.  

 You can click on the pictures to check them out or if you already own then to download the new packet!

I still have a few more Math Movers to finish updating, hopefully by tomorrow night!

more math vocabulary...

Are you tired of vocabulary cards yet?  I am really trying to get a set together for each grade (K-2) and possibly 3rd for math, science and social studies. I have posted the science sets for K-2 and now math is complete as well!  In my classroom I am all about thoroughly teaching and displaying vocabulary words in each subject.  I have word walls and bulletin boards for math, science and ELA. I would have one for S.S. too but we departmentalize science and social studies.  I only teach science so I only have a science word wall. I also use the word cards for journals too. Sometimes I feel that learning the vocabulary is half the battle! 

Here are the pictures and links for the 1st and Kindergarten math vocabulary cards! Most have pictures, a few have definitions because the concept is difficult to explain with a picture. There are also a few cards that overlap in each grade (ex. ones, tens, etc.). Please note that these cards are not meant to sufficiently teach the concept, they are intended to facilitate instruction and help retention.  The picture or definition alone may not be enough to adequately teach the concept but they are a great way to help trigger retention when displayed and used on a consistent basis. You can click on the pictures below to check them out on TPT!

Math Vocabulary Cards

I have been doing some major work on my vocabulary card sets.  I am trying to give them all a cohesive look.  Now that I have a year of teaching the CCSS under my belt, I am reviewing all the vocabulary I taught last year and making a few changes as needed. Today I uploaded new and improved 2nd grade math vocabulary cards.  Most of these cards have pictures that accompany the words.  If you already own them be sure to go back to your purchases and download the new pack for FREE!  

I am still working on Kindergarten and 1st grade math cards and Kindergarten Social Studies cards, stay tuned!!

Science Vocabulary Cards

I gave my science vocabulary cards a little make-over today, the cards haven't changed (except for 1st grade, more cards were added!) but the covers and title pages were updated.  If you haven't checked out my science vocabulary cards you can click on the pictures below! Since science curriculums differ from state to state, you can see a list of the words included in the TPT description when you click on the picture. Some words from different grade levels may match the topics you teach in science.  

50+ Kindergarten word cards with pictures and definitions

100+ 1st Grade word cards, most have pictures and kid friendly-terms.

100+ 2nd Grade word cards, only words and definitions (no pictures).  I copied these onto colored card stock for the different areas of science (earth science, physical science, life science) and made a science word wall this year. 

And last but not least...the winner of Keyword Kids is...Ashley Giles!  My favorite book for back-to-school is Mean Jean the Recess Queen (although I do read and LOVE the other books mentioned too). Ashley, I didn't see your e-mail address so if you could send me an e-mail at deana.kahlenberg@gmail.com I'd be happy to send it over! 

Keyword Kids

Hi Friends!  I have been busy trying to work on my to-do list of different things I want to create this summer for the next school year.  I started with Behavior Bank and my next item on the list was Keyword Kids!  In 2nd grade we work with ALOT of math word problems, which I know is typical of every grade.  One of the strategies I teach are to look for math keywords that help give my kiddos an idea of the operation they MAY use when solving the problem.  I am sure to stress the MAY part because as we all know there are exceptions to every rule.  

To help my kiddos learn and understand math keywords I put together this new pack, Keyword Kids! In 2nd grade we only work with addition and subtraction but this pack also has resources for multiplication and division too. You can click on either picture to check it out on TPT!

Want to win a FREE copy??  The next item on my to-do list is all about back-to-school books.  The first person to correctly name my FAVORITE back-to-school book will win a FREE copy!  (Be sure to leave your e-mail in your comment)

Behavior Bank

UPDATE: The winner of a FREE copy of Behavior Bank is Rose from Teacher and Lifelong Learner!  Congratulations, an e-mail is coming your way!

Looking for a new approach to classroom management?  I have been using what I call the "Behavior Bank" for five years now.  I started it when I taught first graders and now use in second grade too.  The general idea of the program is that students can earn coins for positive behavior and they can spend their coins on various rewards. It is a great way to practice positive behavior and counting coins.  It has truly helped my kiddos become great at counting coins and making change.  We all know how long it takes some kiddos to master the concept of coins and using this program for a whole year really helps! Here are a few pictures from my classroom. 

Each student gets a "bank" to keep their money in.  I bought these from the Dollar Tree.  They came in a 10 pack for $1.00.  I don't start with all four coins right away, we use pennies and nickels first and then ease into dimes and quarters.

This is the "big bank" where I keep my money that I have gathered from various math packs over the last few years.  When student banks get too full with pennies or nickels we trade in for dimes and nickels so that I don't run out of money.

Here is an old chart of the different goods and services they could buy with their money.  Most of them didn't require me to spend any of my own money which was great!  The biggest sellers typically are pick a class job and pick your own seat.  The treasure box/treat bucket was a close third.

So, I wanted to spruce up the system and make some cute posters to use for next year.  I put all the directions, posters, labels, behavior charts and parent notifications into a new pack, Behavior Bank!  If you think this system could work for you, click on either picture below to check it out on TPT!

Leave a comment (with your e-mail address) and I will pick one person to win a FREE copy by tomorrow night!  

Five for Saturday!

Another Friday has come and gone, this was my last week of school so as you can imagine it was super busy.  Just a warning, this week was not very "school related".  But here's a few pictures from my week!

I got a new crab for my Happy Everything plate from a sweet student!

My hydrangeas are STILL growing!!

I spent a little time swimming!  Look at that form : )

I don't know if I have ever mentioned it but Hubby and I are in the same graduate school program for speech and we had to make a campus visit on Friday.  The most exciting part of the day was turning in our applications for graduation!!  Even though we still have a mountain of work ahead of us it felt good to finally see the light at the end of our 4 year tunnel!

I asked my fellow 2nd grade teachers for their favorite back-to-school books to put a few things together this summer.  I can't decide if I should do a big back-to-school pack with lots of different books or a back-to-school companion pack for each book.  Thoughts??  

I'm linking up with Doodlebugs, head over and check out other teacher's Five for Friday's!! 

summertime.

Today is officially my first day of summer.  The blog will be a little quieter this summer, but I will try to keep everyone caught up with Five for Fridays.  I begin my full time internship starting on Monday for graduate school so that will take up a lot of my time  : ) But don't worry, I will definitely be creating and back in full force come August.  Happy Summer friends!

Behavior Management {FREEBIE}

I have been looking forward to next year already (even though tomorrow is the LAST day of school!) and I have been thinking about things I want to change/add.  One thing I want to "revamp" is my behavior system.  We use pretend money as part of our "Behavior Bank", which I LOVE and I have been working on turning it into some cool posters, charts and labels.  It is not only a great classroom management system but it helps turn my kiddos into coin counting gurus!

But... it's not ready just yet, it will be up soon (hopefully by the end of the week).  While I was working on that, I made some new behavior clip chart posters and an updated behavior chart for next year.  I have used something similar to a clip chart in the past but this one has more levels.  In honor of tomorrow being the LAST day of school, I just uploaded them to TPT for FREE!  You can click on either picture to download it for your classroom!

Five for Friday!

I know it's late but hubby took me out for a sweet dinner date to Outback after school since it is our LAST Friday of the year!  Without further ado, here are a few pictures from my week!

I finally gave my team their end-of year gift!  They came out super cute and they loved them!

My kiddo's end-of year presents are also DONE!  All they needed were tags and some ribbon!

We had awards on Thursday, Michelle Oake's Dollar Store Superlatives were a HUGE hit with both the kids and the parents!

We have been working our way down the Race into Summer countdown.  One day this week was an "art" day so we broke out the shaving cream and made some art on our desks! (Yes, they also got it all over their clothes, in their hair, on their faces...it was a mess, but oh so fun!)

I got an early end-of-year present today (we still have 1/2 a day on Monday).  The totally nerdy side of me is SO excited about this gift! I may or may not have stamped ALL my chapter books at school today.

And there ya' have it!  Another week in the books, only a 1/2 a day on Monday, a few teacher workdays and then sweet, sweet summertime!  Have an awesome weekend friends!