Tuesday 19 June 2012

Mental Math - 356 Flash Cards Free!

FREEBIE!
356 Free Addition and Subtraction Flash Cards



I am feeling pretty generous and have created some Mental Mathematics flashcards for K-3 to assist with teaching mental strategies for addition and subtraction. 


Please click on the link below to download the Mental Mathematics cards - FREEBIE! 





How to use: 

My Year 1s complete the Mental Mathematics Challenge everyday.

Time:   15minutes 
Focus: Addition and Subtraction
Resources: Jessie's Resources Mental Math Cards laminated and cut. 

How:
Make a ladder - Each student has their name on a laminated card on a pin up board with velcro. All cards need to be visible and on top of each other. 
Selection: Select the bottom 2 students to go first. You hold up one problem in front of the 2 students. Whoever gets the answer correct first stays on to challenge the next person on the ladder and so on until there is a winner. 

This is a great way to monitor the progress of students and my kids get really into it! 

Hope you enjoy! 


Sunday 1 April 2012

Plastic Bottle Flowers





In class this week, we have been talking about Materials in Science. Namely we have been talking about Reducing, Reusing and Recycling materials. 


This week we made some plastic bottle flowers which are super easy to make and look absolutely fabulous (not that I'm biased). 




Basically to make these beautiful flowers you need: 

  • Plastic bottles - 1 bottle makes 2 flowers 
  • Paint or permanent markers 
  • Scissors 
  • Glitter glue or stickers for decoration. 

How to make the flowers: 
  1. Cut a plastic bottle in half.
    If you would like longer petals you might like to cut one side longer. 
  2. Cut down the plastic bottle, dividing the bottle into petals. 
  3. Push down the petals as far as they can go
    This will ensure the petals don't flick back up. 
  4. Shape the petals however you like
    You might want to slightly round the top to give it a curved shape. 
  5. Colour the petals in using paint or permanent marker
  6. Decorate using glitter glue or stickers. 




Saturday 25 February 2012

Mr. Cuddles

Hi everyone!


I apologize for not posting for a while - turns out first year teaching is a lot more work than I could possibly imagine! 


My stats indicate I am getting a lot of views on my blog but not many comments. Please if you would like to suggest anything or ask me any questions, please feel free to comment. I am more than happy to answer any questions!


I would like to take this opportunity to introduce, Mr. Cuddles! 



This is Mr. Cuddles taking a bath - he was VERY dirty

Almost forgot the shower cap!

Mr. Cuddles enjoying his bath

Mr. Cuddles drying off in style!
Mr. Cuddles brushing his teeth.


Everyday someone new gets to take home Mr. Cuddles for a fun evening packed full of excitement! I decided to take Mr. Cuddles home this weekend because he was getting a bit dirty! He spent the weekend with me and enjoying his bath. 

Mr. Cuddles goes home with a journal - students are invited to write a recount of their time spent with Mr. Cuddles and the wonderful and exciting things they got up to. Photos are also really great!!

The purpose of taking Mr. Cuddles home is to instill a love of writing in the students. It also allows students to write for a purpose and entertain their audience with fantastic recounts and pictures. Rather than... what I did on the weekend... zzzzzzzz.... 

The students in my class absolutely LOVE taking Mr. Cuddles home and it is a great incentive for good behaviour. Even the boys can't wait to take him home!


Unfortunately I cannot show student pictures due to Department regulations but I can tell you that Mr. Cuddles has been eating, sleeping, skate boarding, bike riding, playing dress ups, travelling around our lovely state and he even got to ride a sheep! 


Hopefully you too can start something like this up and get your students excited about writing. 

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Have you filled a bucket today?


Have you filled a bucket today?



A friend from school recently told me about a great little idea called "Bucket filling." 

The concept is a behaviour management strategy based around everyone having their own imaginary bucket. We can fill people's buckets up and make them feel good with compliments, actions, words etc. But, we can also dip from people's buckets by saying hurtful things or our actions.

We want to be BUCKET FILLERS not BUCKET DIPPERS.

The "Bucket filling" concept encourages students to think of others and zero in on how their actions can sometimes directly influence people's emotions in either a good or bad way. This therefore enables students to take accountability for their actions and words. 



This is an example of a bucket filling wall in a classroom made from envelopes. You can also use plastic cups and get the students to individually decorate the cups however they like.


Above is a copy of a blank bucket that student can decorate. Make sure students put their names on the envelopes/cards somewhere!



If students want to say something nice, they can fill out one of the sheets above and place it into the respective bucket.



We also read the book, "Have you filled a Bucket today?" by Carol Mc Cloud before creating our own buckets.

This is such a gorgeous idea! Thanks to my friend Di for this! 

One thing to keep in mind is some students may get left out, so keep a close eye on the buckets!

Hope you love this as much as me!

Jessie

 

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Pirates Bonanza


Looking for some FREE Pirate Themed resources?
Look no further.


I have been a busy little beaver making many different Pirate Themed Posters and resources to compliment a classroom.


I have included the following products on my store on Teachers Pay Teachers: 










Did I mention they are all FREE?

Clicking on any of the images above will take you directly to my shop on Teachers Pay Teachers or below.

TeachersPayTeachers  - Lesson Plans,Teaching Materials and Other Teacher-Created Resources





Wednesday 14 December 2011

Cute art ideas - enjoy!

















Organise me please!

Storing things in a spice rack!
 


Sticker storage on a paper towel rack!


Cute art display from old clip boards!


Labelled bullet clips... why did I not think of this!


Hope you like this :)

Sunday 4 December 2011

Mrs Wishy Washy & Wombat Stew

 Mrs. Wishy Washy

A childhood favourite of many, Mrs. Wishy Washy is a fantastic book for early readers. Have a look at the display below of activites done after reading Mrs. Wishy Washy. 




 



Click on the images below to expand & print. 



Wombat Stew

Ooey, Gooey Wombat Stew!
Students in the Year 1 classroom read the book, Wombat Stew and then created their own creepy crawlies to go into the pot. 







I bought the templates for these at an Art Store in Garden City. The animals come pre-cut and then students just need to stick on the features. All of the eyes, beaks etc are all sticky and just attach on. Also included is string and you can make these creepy crawlies climb.