Spooky Shake-Up!

One of our math tub choices this past week was a game called "Spooky Shake-Up"! This game is very easy to make, and another fun way to practice addition facts! I grabbed an egg carton, then put numbers on round stickers to stick into the bottom of each "egg cup". I found cute Halloween themed erasers in the dollar bins at Target, and I used two different ones for this game. The kids close the carton, shake it, then open to see where the two erasers have landed. They add the two numbers together, then they pass it to a partner so they can have a turn! The neat thing about this game is you can change the numbers easily, so you can make it as easy or advanced as you'd like!

Boo-Mallow Bar Graphs

Graphing and food are always a good idea. You learn, and you get to have a little treat too! I found little "trick-or-treat sized" packages of Boo-Mallows (Halloween shaped marshmallows) that were perfect for this activity! The kids first sorted the shapes and placed them on their graphs. After they figured out how many they had of each shape, they removed the Boo-Mallows and colored in the correct number of spaces on the graph. To extend the learning, I had the kids write the total number of Boo-Mallows they had along with the shapes that appeared the most and least on their graphs.

Download the Boo-Mallow Bar Graph!

Bowling for Facts!

Today during math stations, the kids went bowling for addition facts...without the real pins and bowling balls, but still pretty fun! This is a partner game, and each player gets a bowling mat and a handful of colorful chips (I call them mini bowling balls). The players take turns rolling 2 dice, then adding the sums of the numbers rolled. When one of the players rolls a number found on one of their pins, they "knock over" that pin with a chip. The first player to have all pins knocked over wins the game!

If you'd like a copy of this game, there is a precious, new and improved version uploaded to Teachers pay Teachers for $1.00!  It includes directions and 10 game mats--perfect for math stations!!!

Lid Sorting Math-tivity

Speaking of water bottle caps (see previous post) I also have a very large collection of lids! I love putting everyday items into some sort of creative use in my classroom. You know how sometimes kids like the box better than than actual gift? All it takes is some imagination-- and that's what makes those everyday items new and exciting! Who knew lids could be exciting?! I use the lids for math sorting activities, based on a lesson from the Investigations hands-on math series. Parents, if you have any cool and different lids at home, please send them! The kids love to sort the lids!

Some of the sorting possibilities:

metal, plastic
round, square
holes, no holes
snap caps, solid lids
writing, no writing
sorting by color or size...

Ice Cream Lid Example:


Metal Lid Example: