"I will not go to Lakeshore today... I will not...". This is the typical internal monologue I have with myself driving past the Lakeshore Learning store after work each day as I try to resist the temptation of purchasing yet another learning game or other materials. Few people truly understand the financial and personal sacrifices teachers make every day to ensure that their students have the materials they need to succeed. Even fewer understand the toll this can take on a educator. Because of this, I wanted to share some fun little activities I've made in my classroom from materials you can find in your classroom... for FREE!
I presented these games at the Atlantic City Kindergarten Convention (SDE) today and couldn't wait to share it with all of you! Enjoy!
This is one of my favorite math activities because it can be used for almost every standard. Simply glue 5 different shapes inside of a use cupcake tin, number the shapes, and throw in a pom pom. Students shake the tin and graph the shape or number the pom pom lands on. Students can also build a cube tower to represent the number they landed on. Possibilities are endless! (recording sheet pictured is in my Math Centers BUNDLE).
You can purchase cupcake tins on Amazon, or reuse one from a classroom birthday!
Fact fluency is a big part of my math program. Thats why I like to ALWAYS have hands-on activities for my students to practice this skill. In this activity, I use coffee stirrers (try Wawa or any coffee shop), tape, and Pony beads. Simply make different sets of beads and place them in a bucket with recording sheets. Students move the beads across the straw to decompose numbers (Recording sheet pictured is in my Math Centers Bundle).
Purchase straws HERE.
Purchase beads HERE.
This activity teachers numbers 1-100 and can also help familiarize students with a 100's chart. Simply decorate paper plates and have students spin the spinner twice to make numbers to 100. Students trace they number as the spin it (Recording sheet pictured is in my Math Centers Bundle).
