October in Kindergarten

October is my favorite month of the year!  I love pumpkins, fall colors, and Halloween.  I just celebrated my 11th wedding anniversary with my sweet husband.  We had a beautiful fall wedding during one of the most lovely times of year here in my little part of the world.

So, it's one of my favorite times of year in the classroom too!  This is a sweet Fall on the Farm bulletin board from last year...

It was done slowly over time during our farm unit.  The trees were done collaboratively using corks and tempera paint.  I drew the trunks ahead of time using pastels.  The kids painted the leaves and apples using the corks in small groups.

Fire Prevention Month is also super cool.  My kids love seeing firefighters get into their full gear.  They especially love the "Darth Vader" breathing of the oxygen tank.  It's cool to see the fire engine too.   We are sending kind thoughts to all the firefighters and those affected by the wildfires in California right now.  Keep reading to find a firefighter FREEBIE later in this post.

In my classroom we always learn about pumpkins and use Halloween themed materials to practice important literacy and math concepts being taught.  Learning is more FUN that way.  So I am super excited to show you a special new product I made...

This is the beginning letter sound match activity from my Kindergarten Centers for October.
I adore the watercolor graphics.  It's great literacy practice during anytime in October.  They are perfect for Halloween too.

These pumpkin letter cards are also super sweet watercolor graphics!  You can use them for letter sound practice.  Pulling them out of a plastic pumpkin like this is so fun.  We say the poem I heard from Miss Kindergarten to practice letter sounds...  "Pumpkin, Pumpkin, nice and round, grab a pumpkin, say the sound."  It's great practice AND formative assessment.  You can also use these cards to match uppercase and lowercase...

This activity also comes with a recording sheet for kids to practice writing the matching letter.  My kiddos NEED the handwriting practice... so it's a great activity.  It's split into two sheets, so you can do this as two separate activities on two different days.  It's a better plan to do it in two days for our little learners in kindergarten.

 I also adore these eyeball jars that we are using for number sense activities.  My kids just learned number words by making this Counting Bears Number Book.

So we will be using those eyeball jar numbers to practice number words, counting strategies, number order, and more.  The number cards and number word cards both work with this sweet activity too...

These cute candy corn numbers can be used in many of the same ways.  They also have star ten frames to match.  All these number activities will help make my hands-on lessons with my math curriculum much more fun.  All these number activities come with recording sheets so students can review and extend concepts with pencil and paper.  They make great homework for October as well.

I love to begin my number activities by having kids work collaboratively to put the numerals in order.  We do it forwards and backwards.  Then they can match the counting cards and other representations of the number to the numerals.

We are also working on decomposing numbers as we work on counting strategies and number order.   It sets students up for success with understanding addition and subtraction later in the year.  This mat is a fun way to decompose numbers.  Using candy corns for math manipulatives in October is a must.  Here you can see 6 decomposed as 4+2  and 3+3.

 You could also use little mini erasers, bears, or cubes from your classroom as well.   These simple mats will work with ANY counter manipulative. These decomposing numbers mats are in my Kindergarten Centers for October as well.

The understanding that larger numbers can be made with combinations of smaller numbers is a hugely important concept in kindergarten math.  So we practice this A LOT during the year.  These are a couple of other ways we practice...

This set of Roll, Count, Build Number Sense Activities has a mat for every month of the school year and some extras too.  It also has mats for both two dice and three.  This is a great way to differentiate and is actually great practice for first grade too.  It comes with recording sheets to write number sentences as well.

You can use the dice mats with dominoes too.  We LOVE dominoes in our classroom.  They are the original number bonds and help kids learn soooooo much about numbers.  So, I love this sweet little math product.  You can grab it right here: Number Sense Activities - Roll, Count, Build all year long!

This Roll, Count, Color All year long! is another way to practice these same concepts.  They also make easy homework for parents at home.  This set of recording sheets for dice also have images for the entire year.  They are made to use with one, two, or three dice.

You can grab these pages right here: Roll, Count, Color All year long!

Back to the October center activities...

This is another activity to practice decomposing numbers.  My students are going to pretend to be wizards or mad scientists making potions...

This fun math activity has pictures of fun potion bottles in different number combinations.  Here you can see 7 decomposed as 5+2, 3+4, and 1+6.  Students can make Potions with any combination that matches the total number (7).

There are cards included to record the number relationship like this or with full number sentences.  It has fun recording sheets too!

Here are some other fun activities in this set:

Practice for rhyming... this includes other materials and gives ideas for lots of ways to use these cards.

OK...  this is turning into the blog post that will never end.   This Kindergarten Centers for October set also includes activities to practice hearing and counting syllables and color words too.  It is going to help make my October fun for the kids and easy for me... now that all the cards are printed and laminated, Ha ha!

Thank you so much for reading this post.  I hope some of these activities gave you ideas for your kindergarten classroom in October.  If you want these activities for your classroom, you can find them right here: Kindergarten Centers for October.

I promised you a Fire Prevention freebie...

It's a labeling activity just perfect for little students who are learning to stretch words and listen for sounds to write them.  It only has five words, so it's not overwhelming for kiddos just starting to write.  I did this as a guided activity where we worked collaboratively to stretch and listen and I modeled the writing.  Don't you love the rainbow jacket in this one?

Here's what the page looks like blank:

There are two pages included with boy and girl firefighters.  It's in my TpT store. You can grab it right here:   FREEBIE-Label the Firefighter


I hope you have an amazing October with your class!  Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Happy teaching!

Will you be my VALENTINE?

Valentine's Day is a fun, exciting, and sweet holiday in the classroom!  I have some ideas and a FREEBIE to help you have a great day with your kiddos.  This Love Bug bag is a quick easy project that kids can do independently.  I used Ellison die cuts in heart and circle shapes in lots of different colors.  Kids glued them onto the bag and added details with googly eyes, oil pastels, and stickers.  I buy these bags each year at my local craft store.  I consider them an investment for a smooth day at school.  They are big enough, sturdy enough, and EASY!  If it saves me time, it is usually worth the money. 

We are working on number bonds in the classroom.  When you do math on or around Valentine's Day, make it fun!  I used more heart die cuts and some washi tape to make some number bond mats for hands-on problem solving.  We used fun heart erasers too.  Here are a few ideas of ways to use them.

We are learning to use number bonds for the first time.  It is a great graphic organizer for numbers and math.  Above is how we used them with objects only to show the two parts making the whole number and visa versa.

This is a another way to use number bonds to compose/decompose numbers.

After kids have enough hands on experience with the concept, they can transfer this knowledge to the abstract using only numerals to show the relationship.  Using number bonds helps give a strong visual reference for the number concepts students are learning.   With young students, it is crucial to have the hands on along with the abstract.  Don't skip the manipulatives!  Some kids really need them to "get it".

Here are my kids using the heart number bonds to decompose 7 hands on and the partner is writing it with numerals on a dry erase number bond.  They make it one way and then trade jobs to make it another.  Kids keep switching until they have done it all 4 ways.  Yay!

Are you working on number bonds in your classroom?  You might want to check out this product - It's my Memorable Math Number Bonds, Addition, Subtraction. It's an absolute life saver in my classroom.  I made it to help my students with these big concepts and I hope it helps your students too.  Here's a peek:

This also helps make Valentine week go smoothly.  It's my Print and Go! Valentines pack.
Here's a peek:

Great books are a must have in the classroom.  These books all have affiliate links to Amazon so you can grab them for your classroom too.  Here are some of my favorites for Valentine's Day:

This book is so adorable!  My kids LOVE it and it has a sweet message about fitting in and the need to be loved unconditionally exactly how we are.

This is a fun sequel to Love Monster.  It is about being kind and generous to your friends and doing the right thing even when it's hard. 

This is a sweet story about a lovable dog who wants nothing more than to be loved by the people in her life.  She makes mistakes, though... just like kindergarten kids, but her owners love her anyway.  A good story for kids who may make mistakes now and again.

This book also addresses the idea that love is big enough to forgive every day mistakes.  My kids love the dinosaur books.  This is a sweet one.

This is an oldie but goodie!  Such a sweet simple story about collecting hearts when they rained and using them to make valentines.  There are so many fun ways to extend this story and inspire kids for creative projects and imaginative writing.

Just one more thing...

I am PROUD to teach in a public school. My school is a model for how public education should look.  The community and the school work together to make our school great.  I feel well supported and have the tools I need in my classroom.  Teachers work hard to do great things in the classroom, and parents work hard to raise money for the extra programs we want to provide to our students.

The image and hashtag above were going around on social media the day Betsy DeVos was approved as Secretary of Education.  You can see my post here on Instagram.  Many teachers were sad and frustrated by this choice.  I believe the secretary of Ed. should want to work within the system to improve it, not undermine it.  DeVos is not a supporter of public education.  She is one of a small group in our country who support ideas that would minimize public education.  This is a VERY dangerous proposition.  Just think about it...  who would benefit from an uneducated electorate?

There is a reason that most folks in our country value a free education for all children.  We need educated independent thinkers to question authority and hold those in power accountable for their actions.  Our country was founded on these values and I will speak out to preserve free education for all.

I know that many public schools are in desperate need of repair and reform.  The larger social issues that impact education are complex and will require hard work and creative solutions to overcome.  Teachers are an amazing, resilient, and talented group of professionals.  I have HOPE that we can work together  to improve public education for the future of our children and our country.

Oh my goodness!  I just had to get that out there and even though I don't want my blog or business to be political...  I just can't sit by and say nothing.  This is the one place I have a voice and an audience, so THANK YOU for reading my little rant. 

Ok, you came here to grab a freebie...
The truth is I am all about spreading the LOVE.  I hope you will be my valentine even when I feel the need to speak MY truth.  I also hope this helps you spread the LOVE in your classroom.  Just click on the image or link below to go grab your freebie:

 FREEBIE! Valentine I love you to Pieces

This is a simple printable and it makes a great independent art project for your kiddos.  The week before Valentines day, we had an emergency school closure due to a storm, and I had half my class out absent on another day.  So, I needed something quick and easy for family valentine cards!  I printed these on card stock.  Kids wrote a message to families on the back and then glued ripped construction paper inside the heart to decorate.  This idea is not new... just my take on it. 

The freebie also has two cute valentines you can use to give to your students.  Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy teaching!