Happy Halloween Weekend Sale + Five For Friday

 Say it ain't so! The last day of October is already here. I just can't believe it! We have been very busy in second grade this week. We finished up our district assessments and we even were able to squeeze in some Halloween fun!

We completed a little zombie graphing from my sweet friend Haley over at My Silly Firsties. The kids went cray-cray for this one. You can grab Haley's Zombie Data for your files by clicking on the link above. It's a must have!

We are having a huge Halloween bash at my house tonight. Our neighborhood goes all out for Halloween. So, we invited our nearest and dearest who don't live in our 'hood to come experience Halloween with us. I made these bad boys for dessert. Now, I know I am no Martha Stewart, but I think these will do just fine!


I have FINALLY completed my FOURTH grade math interactive notebook!!! Can I get a "YEAH, BABY?!"  This has been a long time coming. It is my largest notebook yet... maybe that is why it took SO long to complete. It covers all the CCSS math standards for fourth grade and includes: sample pictures of every page, notebook cover, strand covers and tabs etc. It is over 170 pages of math goodness. Be sure to check it out and grab it while it is on sale!


I have had these number cards up in my classroom all year, but never got around to posting them in my store. I love these cards because they are so versatile. My students refer to them constantly for skills such as how to write number words, odd and even, patterning, skip counting and more. I wanted the number cards to be ink friendly, as well as, cute. I made them with a chalkboard background and a white background. Both Ten Frame Number Card versions are available in the one packet. 

AND... I saved the BEST for last! I wanted to welcome in November with open arms...so, my entire TpT store is 20% off this weekend! You can grab all the goodies you have been wanting at a discount this weekend! 

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!


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Make sure to link up with Doodle BugsTeaching and share your week with us!

May the Force Be With You: Math Facts Fluency

Math facts fluency is one of the most dreaded things to teach for many teachers. I, however, love it in my classroom! But most importantly, my kids LOVE it! They look forward to their math facts test each week. They "remind" me every Thursday that it is math fact test time! If we run out of time on Thursday, there is a TON of moaning and groaning. I make it a point to not skip math facts tests!

The class goal is for each student to pass their leveled math test each week. They need to complete 50 problems in 3 minutes. This is a suggested time, but works best for most of my students. There are also 15 and 25 question pages to use as practice or as an assessment.

We keep a class chart to show progress towards mastery. Each time a student passes a test, they get a sticker next to their name. 
I also use individual student charts and keep them in a binder to track student progress. These are great for student conferences. It is a clear visual to show how many weeks a student is on each level or how quickly they are moving through the levels.

 To help with organization of the leveled tests, I pre-copy a class set of each level of the 50 question math tests so they are at my finger tips ready to go each week. I also have color coded sheet of flash cards for my kiddos copied. After they pass a level, I give them a new set of cards to cut out and put on a ring to keep at their desk to study throughout the week. 



After the students take their tests and they are corrected, they go home with one of these awards. If they pass their test they get a slip that congratulates them and tells them which level to study for the following week. If they don't pass, I give them the slip encouraging them to continue practicing for the same test next week. 


I have never seen students so excited to work on learning their math facts. It's a win-win for everyone! 

This packet is available for addition and subtraction AND multiplication and division.


If you would like to win a copy of one of these packets, leave a comment below with your email address and I will choose a winner before I go to bed tonight. 
Congrats Sheri Ryan! Check your inbox for an email from me! 
 May the Force Be With You...

Five for Friday Fun!

So many exciting things have been going on this week!

We reviewed place value concepts and odd and even with this little activity. The kids loved it and  even got to eat a few candy corns during it!

We reviewed some of our long vowel spelling patterns with these awesome interactive notebook pages from my sweet friend Angela at Hippo Hooray in Second Grade. We added them to our language notebook for easy reference.

These cutie pies are practicing their word problem skills while using Aimee from Primarily Speaking's Super Solver Word Problem packet. We are in the middle of district assessments and these cards were great to get the kids up and moving, all while reviewing much needed skills.


Do your kids struggle memorizing their math skills? One way I practice these skills is with weekly math timed tests. My kids LOVE Thursdays when we take our tests! They literally squeal with excitement! Unbelievable! This little kiddo is hard at work to finish 50 problems in 3 minutes with no mistakes! They love being Jedi Knights and can't wait to see if they "pass" to the next level each time! It makes me smile every time!

Have you heard the news? Primary Powers collaborative blog launched this week! To celebrate, we are hosting an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G giveaway with over $300 in gift cards and prizes. Make sure to head over and check it out! While you are there, meet all the "SUPERHEROES" and grab a few freebies!


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Make sure to link up with Doodle BugsTeaching and share your week with us!

My Favorite Day of the Week...Friday!

We have been busy, busy, busy in second grade! I can't believe we are almost halfway through October!! Where has the time gone!

This week we worked with prefixes. The kids loved some of the bubblicious centers I set up for them to use. We also made flap books and sorted words with different prefixes.


This next activity blew my kids away! I read them the story Frankie Stein. Then, we completed Reagan's Fraken Authors flap book! The kids loved it!  The next thing I knew, this adorable bulletin board was created to show off their work! "Frankly" I am so proud of them!

We also introduced/reviewed odd and even this week. It always surprises me how some kids get this concept right away and others.... well others just need LOTS of practice! I introduced Odd Todd and Even Steven, which they were THRILLED to meet. I even heard two of my kiddos pretending to be them the next day as they walked into class. HILARIOUS! They counted candy corn with partners and decided if their number was odd or even and explained why. They also made sort books and continued to show off their even and odd knowledge.



Although I am slightly in awe of how fast October is flying by, I just can't wait for the 15th to arrive! I am joining up with some of my SUPER blogging friends to bring you Primary Powers. Make sure to like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram (user name: primary powers) so you don't miss out on any of our exciting news! You will be WOWed! 


There is only a short time left to enter the Fall Favorites Giveaway that my sweet friend Aimee from Primarily Speaking and I are hosting with a ton of our blogging friends! Make sure to enter today, so you don't miss out on free money to Starbucks (hello pumpkin spiced latte) and some incredible resources! Click HERE to enter! 

Make sure to head on over to Doodle Bugs Teaching and link up your week!


Currently

I can't believe it is finally here....October! The start of my favorite season....FALL! Cool weather, crisp mornings, scarves and boots here I come!!!!


The kids are in bed and the hubs and I are catching up with Top Chef DUELS. Love me a little Curtis! 

Fall. is. my. favorite. season of all! I am so excited that the weather will soon be getting cooler. It means I get to do a wardrobe switch. Jeans, boots and scarves here I come!

October is just plain long. There are no holidays to break up the month. I have parent conferences, district assessments, prep for report cards...aahhhh! Thanksgiving break cannot come soon enough after all that!

I hope to start decorating for Halloween this weekend! The hubs is not a fan of decorations of any kind. I have negotiated, over the years, for certain times of the year to be void of decorating complaints from him. October 1st-31st is my time to go all out for Halloween. I need to get crackin'!

I am not sure why, but I have the hardest time making an appointment to get my hair done. Every time I think about it, something comes up or I say "next weekend". Well, next weekend it is ! I have to get it done!

TRICK: Use paint sticks for students to hold their book spot in your classroom library. It helps keep your library organized and books in the right place. I give each student a class number so I can use the sticks over and over each year and they can easily keep track of where their books belong.


Head on over and visit Farley and link up and share what you are up to currently!