Math Tic Tac Toe Games

Back in January when I was stuck inside for 4 days because of ice and snow, I churned out a new project that I was pretty excited about!  I recently got them printed, laminated, and introduced them to my students and they LOVE them!  What I love about them is that they cover most all of my 2nd grade standards for math and the kids are practicing the skills while playing a fun game that they like playing anyway!

Throughout the post, you’ll find Amazon Affiliate links, which means Amazon tosses a few nickels my way if you purchase something through that link, at no extra cost to you, that help keep my corner of cyber-space running!

Most days during my math block, I have math centers and use my monthly math centers that have a spiral review of skills.  Now that we are nearing the end of 3rd Quarter, my kiddos have perfected the math center routine and some have started breezing through their math center activity.  Well...I don't want them just sitting and waiting to come to Math with Teacher and they don't need more screen time - so they can quietly play Tic Tac Toe with a friend.  

Each Tic Tac Toe board contains directions at the top so they can grab any of the boards, a set of X and O cards, find a spot to play, and get started!  I think my favorite thing about these games is that I was able to include most all of my 2nd Grade CCSS as well as a handful of 1st Grade CCSS so my firstie friends could use this game in their classrooms as well.

A couple Fridays ago we had an Early Release, and a little extra time after creating our Valentine bags, so I introduced the new game.  I was so scared they wouldn't want to play because they had to do math - but as kiddos finished their bags, they rushed to find a partner and get to playing.

I keep the X and O cards in snack-sized Ziplock bags to be easy cleanup and storage.

These boys picked one of the harder games for their first Tic Tac Toe game - but I know they can handle the challenge!  They are adding 3 and 4 2-digit numbers - so they needed scrap paper to solve their problems.  In the game set, I have "work pages" included that you can copy for your students to use to show their work, but I always have a basket of scrap paper and that worked just as good!

Lots of gaming (and math discussions) going on!

Before a student can place their X or O on the square they have chosen, their partner has to agree to their answer.  So my boys above who were adding 3 & 4 2-digit numbers, both boys were solving them problems so they could check their partner's work!  I definitely believe that when playing games, in particular educational games, there doesn't need to be "down time" for one or more of the players - they both need to be working their brains the entire time.  So having both players agree on the answers is the way to remedy that problem of down time.

When it came time to prep these games, I was so ever thankful for my HP Instant Ink subscription...

because I wanted to print the games in full color!!  With HP Instant Ink, I didn't worry about how much color it would take because I pay each month based on how many pages I print and they send me more ink when I need it.  It's the most economical way to print and super easy!  You can sign up here for a free month!

I did print on cardstock for durability and laminated the games as well so they'd last me many years. 

            

If you don't want the full color games or don't have easy access to a color printer and color ink, I've got you covered!  I made a black/white version as well.  Now, some of the boards that include full color clipart, such as some of the geometry and money games will only contain the full color clipart.  But, they look great printed in Black/White on color cardstock!

My favorite colored cardstock!

You can find these games in my TPT store!
Math Tic Tac Toe Games

Happy Hump Day y'all!

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Flexible Seating - Managing Student "Stuff"!

Before I started flexible seating, all of my students had chair pockets that they kept their COLLEGE notebook, binders, bags of books, etc in.  So when I went to flexible seating and went to only having 4 normal chairs in my room - I had to rack my brain as to where I was going to keep all their stuff!

I know many other teachers have expressed the same concerns, so I hope this will provide you some ideas as to how you could streamline and utilize some shelves and things you may already have (or could purchase somewhat cheaply) to help your students.

Now, I am a VERY organizer person and I believe in teaching my students to be organized as well.  This is a life skill that isn't in Common Core, but I know that if they are going to be successful after they leave my classroom, they need to be able to keep track of their belongings in a somewhat neat fashion.

I do have a large cubby unit, 

that my students keep their bookbags, jackets, and lunch boxes in.  Each of the sections is shared between 2 students.  It isn't always the neatest looking thing during the day - but it fits their stuff!

In our classroom, we do community supplies.  Each table has a spinner caddy that holds pencils, scissors, crayons, and markers.  The cups are on the caddy with magnets so they can easily be taken off and moved around the table if needed (or cleaned!).  This is so much easier than each student having their own box of supplies - especially since I don't have individual student desks. 

Most recently we added this clear file boxes from The Container Store to each table.  When the students come in in the morning, part of their morning routine is to get their green & purple work folder and put in this box.  These folders are awesome because I took 2 folders and made it so they now have 4 pockets instead of just two!  They told me a few weeks ago they would like to have their folders at the table with them each day, so I happily obliged!

Since my students choose a new "home base" table each day, their folders couldn't stay only at their tables day after day.  So they are kept in these Ikea Trofast frame & buckets at the end of the day.  

The groups are organized by their classroom number, which is in alphabetical order.  Each green drawer is for 5-6 students to store their folders.

Also in these frames are bigger buckets for their bags of books.  Each students has 1 gallon sized bag to store their books they are reading in.  The frame/bucket on the left are for my students numbers 1-11 and the one on the right is for students numbers 12-22 - folders and books. 

I love how these drawers can easily slide off the tracks and back on - making it easy for them to pull out those heavy book drawers, dig around to find theirs and then put it back.

These frames are not super cheap, but it's Ikea so they are not overly expensive either.  When I first started planning my Ikea trip (since currently our closest one is 3 hours away), I wanted each student to have their own drawer (like the green ones) above, but I just didn't have the room in my classroom to make that happen.

Our students have home-school binders that we call COLLEGE binders.  Children Organizing, Learning, and Leading Everyday for a Great Education.  When my students had chair pockets, they kept them at their seats, but with flexible seating - that went away.  I cleared off a shelf on this black bookshelf and all the binders fit there.  

Each morning when my kiddos unpack they put their binder on the shelf.  If I need to put something in it - I can easily do that with them all in one place.  At the end of the day when we clean up to pack up, they all grab their binders and go to their seat.

Our Ready Common Core books are also store on the shelf below.

The last area of "student stuff" that I have is another Ikea Trofast frame for our different journals we use.  Each morning the Morning Work Journals bucket goes on the counter for students to grab their journal.  Then we have our Rooted in Reading Journals and Spelling Notebooks (for homework).

From time to time I do miss my chair pockets, as with those, my students had pretty much everything they needed right where they were.  However, I'm loving not having to wash those things every track-out and not having to get my mom to mend the holes!  It doesn't take me long to pass out notebooks when needed, and sometimes I have students pass them out which they LOVE to do!

If you have already implemented flexible seating in your room, I hope this might have helped you come up with an idea for how to store all your student's things.  If you have not, but have been wanting to - I hope I've inspired you that it can be done, you just have to get a little creative!

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Do you LOVETpT?

Hiya friends!!
A quick post this Monday morning to brighten your day - because guess what?!?!  There's going to be a site-wide TPT sale starting tomorrow!!

You can save up to 28% off in my TPT store and many others by using code LOVETpT when you check out.  Don't get caught up in the excitement and miss the extra discount by using the sale code - trust me, I've done it!

28% off - that's weird - I know what your thinking!  My entire store will be 20% off.  Then TPT offers an additional 10% off the sale amount using the sale code - so it comes to a total discount of 28%.

How can you save even more money???

Today - while you are waiting for the sale, go check your My Purchases page and leave feedback for any products you have purchased and not left feedback on.  Leaving feedback on paid products will earn you feedback credits.  

Then, when you are checking out, use some or all of those credits to save even more money.  20 TPT credits equal $1 - so if you haven't left feedback in a while - RUN, don't walk, to leave feedback and rack up your credits.

Buy a lot of products on Day 1 of the sale and then come back for a 2nd dose on Day 2?  Leave feedback and save more money!

Now, isn't your Monday a little brighter?

A TPT sale has a way of doing that to people!

Happy Monday and Happy Shopping (and saving!)!!

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February Thoughts on Thursday - Things Teachers Love!

It's February y'all and LOVE is in the air - so let's talk about things teachers love!

I'm linking up with my friends over at Pelican's & Pipsqueaks and Tech & Teachability to share 5 things this teacher loves.

Can I get an amen?!?!  Target is just about a must for everybody - I love my weekly trips to Target on Saturdays.  It's probably a good thing there isn't a Target between my school and my house (just Walmart - boo!) so that it isn't as convenient for me to stop after school.  But I guarantee you there isn't a Saturday that goes by that I'm not at Target wandering around the Dollar Spot and the up and down all the glorious aisles!  When we had a snow storm hit last month and I couldn't get out of my house from Saturday through Tuesday - I was miserable because I missed my Target trip!

Next up, my Erin Condren Lesson Planner.  This is a major MUST in my teacher-world!  I take it with me to every meeting at school so any notes are here too.  I'm just a tad OCD so each week I type my lesson plans into a template and glue in, but a pretty planner just makes me happy which makes writing lesson plans a little easier!  Save $10 on your first order!

Now, every teacher needs a good cup and my Ozark Trail definitely gets some frequent flyer miles!  I have a large cup for my water and a smaller one for my morning coffee!  Staying hydrated is important and I definitely have to have my drink cold - and this does the trick!  Put ice in it in the morning and I still have ice when I get home - score!!

I use my Mr. Sketch markers for EVERYTHING - anchor charts, grading papers, notes to myself, etc - you name it!  They smell so yummy and last too!  I usually buy a set of chisel tip and thin tip at BJ's for less than $10 - and I have sets at home and school.  Like I said - I use them ALOT so I have them everywhere!

Last up, my Vera Bradley backpack!  This is the Campus Backpack style and in one of my favorite patterns - Midnight with Mickey (Disney nerd here!)  I love the pockets on the sides for my laptop charging cords and the zipper pockets on the front fit all the little things - pens, markers, etc.  It definitely saves my left shoulder from all the weight I used to put on it lugging my tote bag to and from school everyday.  This helps to distribute the weight and it much easier to carry and gives me a little more freedom with my arms - which means some days I end up carrying more in one trip (I like to try and be Rachael Ray and only make one trip)!

What are some the things you love?

An InLinkz Link-up

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Prepping & Organizing Math Centers

Hi friends! This is my first full week back to school and it is already the L-O-N-G-E-S-T week ever!!  I wanted to pop over tonight and share some ideas for how to easily prep and organize math centers.
Often times teachers get so overwhelmed by prepping math centers and they just decide to not do them at all.  Now, I will preface this with I do not use all the cute Target Dollar Spot buckets and erasers for my math centers - my kids would ruin them and it saves me some money!  My 2nd graders are just as happy with task cards and some black & white clipart they can color when they have finished all their math!
So, I am on year 3 of using math math center cards - so once I got those prepped the first year - it makes it super easy for me to pull them out of the closet and they are ready.  How can you easily get task cards prepped?  Print them and laminate - and then - have a parent volunteer cut them out!!  I think I had parents cut out almost all of my math center cards for the first year - and they were more than happy to help.  So, if you have parents who want to help and can cut straight lines - let them help make your life easier!
I prep my math center copies a month at a time.  If you caught My Plan Box post from a couple weeks ago, I use file folders to sort my copies by weeks for the quarter.  I keep all of my original copies and my answer keys in a 3-ring binder.  Each month's answer keys and copies have their own sheet protector, so I can easily pull out what I need to copy.

So this week when I went to make my weekly copies, I found my February set of centers I had filed earlier in the quarter.  I prep my centers the week prior to the new month, paperclip them, and store in a box in my classroom closet.

By the way, I LOVE these clear paper baskets from The Container Store!  I set them out with papers for my kiddos to pick up each morning to take home and they are perfect for hauling back my weekly copies from the copier!

I store my math centers in plastic ziplock bags - gallon sized and freezer size.

Each set of task cards is stored in a quart-sized and I use address labels to label the bag with the title of the center and I've also included the CCSS standard on the label, just for reference.  All of the quart-sized bags go in a gallon bag and I store the gallon bag in my monthly storage boxes.

Each Friday as I am prepping my Mon-Fri boxes for the next week, I pull out math centers - both activity sheets and task card bags for the next week and file in the box.  Then, when it's math time, my centers are ready to give directions and let them at 'em!

Now, we all have kiddos who don't use their time wisely, or take a little longer to get their work done.  I have a metal wall organizer that hangs right next to our "math center table".  When the kiddos clean up from math centers, they put the task cards in the bottom bucket.  That way, when my friends have time to go back and finish their math center(s), they know where to go to find the task cards.  Every couple weeks, I'll clean this bucket out so there is room for more bags of cards.

So, my quick and easy steps for prepping and organizing math centers:

1.  Print and laminate center cards.  Have a super helpful parent cut out the task cards for you.

2.  Copy activity sheets once a month (or once a week if that works for you) so they are ready when it's time for math.

3.  Store your math centers cards in ziplock bags (clear and easy to see).

4.  Find a place to store task cards after math centers for friends to easily grab and finish at a later date.

Want easy to prep math centers that are meaningful and fun?!?!

Check out my math centers in my TPT store!

You can grab my math centers individually by month or bundled together August-December and January-May. Please note - these are not aligned to Engage NY.  I have used these for the past 2 school years with different curriculums.

Hang in there friends!  It's almost Friday - and the camel is out of the way now!!

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A Prepped Teacher = Happy Teacher

Happy new year friends! It's been a while since I posted...but the holidays happened!  Today, I stuck in the house...as it snowed yesterday and it's about 10 degrees outside - brrrrr cold!!  We started back to school Thursday and I'm already expecting our first snow day of the year tomorrow...if only we wouldn't have to make it up! Any who, I'm not too stressed about going back to school, whatever day it may be this week, because of this system to help me stay prepped and ready for this week and coming weeks.  It is not a fancy system, but I'm sure there are others who don't want to spend their weekends planning and then running to the copier Monday morning to be ready for when the kiddos walk through the door. If you followed me last year, I had a couple blog posts about staying organized and making copies in advance.  I myself stopped using that system this year and started this, more weekly, system that doesn't require me to spend big chunks of time at the copier making copies in bulk.

Now, I have to preface this with, I am not a procrastinator - I do like to plan in advance.  With some of our different curriculums and programs we use, it does make it kind of easy to plan in advance because I am following the lesson order.

So - let me introduce you to my "plan box".  I got this file box from The Container Store (I have several of them actually) and it's perfect because hanging file folders will hang inside.

Inside my plan box are hanging file folders and then a regular file folder for each week of the quarter. That way I can pull the file folder out when my team is planning or I am off to make copies and it has a spot to go back to when I'm done.

It's hard to take pictures and let you see things when it's full already!  BUT, each week's folder is labeled "Week 1", "Week 4" etc through "Week 10" as we have some quarters where we have 10 weeks, even if one week is only 2 days (like at Thanksgiving).

As I am making plans, whether the week before, or WEEKS before, I keep this nearby so I can plop things into the correct week.  For example, I know that Week 5 will be when I need my February math centers since the calendar will be flipping over to February, so back in December, I already plopped my February math centers into the Week 5 folder.  Then, when I pull that folder to make copies, those centers are already in there and I'll copy them when I make my copies for Week 5.

I also throw all my other copies for each week - like math problem sets, spelling lists, Rooted in Reading copies, etc.  Because we complete one unit a week with our spelling/phonics program, Letterland, I already have those originals filed for the entire quarter.  It maybe took me 2 minutes to do this one morning while my kiddos were getting unpacked - but saved me many minutes this nine weeks pulling what I need!

Here is Week 3's folder "unpacked":

Most everything I'll need for Week 3 was filed in this folder when I came back from winter break.  We will be celebrating 102nd Day in Week 4, but we'll send this reminder home the week prior - so into the Week 3 folder it went!

Rooted in Reading copies, Engage NY problem sets, and reading comprehension passages for Reading Workshop - ready to be copied!

Our Letterland copies.  I keep each unit's printables in one sheet protector together - then I just pull the sheet protector from the binder and file it in the correct week's folder.

Week Spelling Menu - we have 10 of these so this one for Week 3, will stay in this folder ALL YEAR!  Whether it's Week 3 of Quarter 1 or Quarter 4, I'll have it ready to copy in our HW packets.

Now, after I make my copies (usually on Tuesday or Wednesday) after my team has planned, I come back to my room and take 5 minutes to paper clip my copies and file them in my Next Week file box. In this box, I have a file folder for each day of the week, Mon-Fri.  And I don't think much about it again until Friday afternoon.

Friday afternoons I'm cleaning up the classroom for the weekend and getting prepped for Monday.  I pull my Next Week box off and then sort my papers into the Monday-Friday boxes pictured above.  All of my weekly copies are quickly filed and ready for the next week.

Since there are a couple things I make copies for a month at a time, like math centers, I store those in a bigger filing box in my closet.  A quick trip over to my closet to pull out how many math centers I need, get those filed, and I'm ready for the next week!

With this system, I'm not running around at the end of the week trying to make copies for the next week, and I'm hardly ever running to the copier the morning of to make copies for that day.  I used to do that, but it stressed me out!  And with our temperamental copier - I NEED to not rely on having it on a particular day!

So I hope you picked up an idea or a trick to help you stay a little ahead of the game for the rest of the school year.  If you can get yourself in a system, it'll become a habit and a good habit that helps you be a happy teacher is always a good thing!

Happy Sunday friends and if you are heading back to school this week - have a great first week back!

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