Fraction Manipulatives and Personal Space :)

Do your kids ever fuss about a classmate being in their personal space?  

Of course not!  That never happens with OUR kids.  ;)

Well, I busted out the painters tape and solved that issue really quick.

We've been exploring with fraction circles and all I was hearing was...

"He took mine!"

"You're in my space!"

"Move!"

Now everyone has their own area and the pieces don't mysteriously end up in someone else's space.

Now that the fussing issue was solved, we could get down to business.

We haven't started our fractions unit yet (it starts next week), but they were making so many fabulous connections as they were exploring with the manipulatives.  They realized they were making equivalent fractions.  They also noticed that as the denominator got bigger, the piece actually got smaller.

They thought I was a complete whack-a-doo taking all these pictures and making a huge deal about their discoveries.  They'll understand more over the next couple of weeks as we get into the fractions unit.

Do you use manipulatives?  Which ones are your favorite?

New Center Signs (Freebie) and Center Organization!

Have you ever decided that things just weren't looking right and you needed a face lift?!  Not for you, silly!  Your centers!!!  That was me last week with my Reading and Math centers.

I didn't like the way they were written on the board.  It looked sloppy and the kids had difficult keeping track of it at times.  So I created some new labels and bought some baskets.

The red stars next to the centers mean that center has a paper to be turned in.  We've been using this system and the kids are doing SO much better at keeping track of where they should be.  Not to mention this way looks a gazillion times cleaner and classier than my previous method.  But hey, you live and you learn.  :)

Click the picture below to snag your own copy of the center signs.  Thanks to Fancy Dog and KPM Doodles for the frames and chevron!

Black History Month Pack - UDPATED!

While we're all getting geared up for the busy yet short month of February, I was updating one of my largest packs:

I went back and added info pages for each person.  I also added answer keys for the fact webs and the timelines.  And I must say, I spent the majority of my weekend and Monday night working on this thing.  And it wasn't spent adding the new stuff.  :(  It was all spent converting the file over from Word to PPT.

***If you have previously purchased this product, please go back in and download the updated version (on your purchases page).  There's no charge for that and it's totally worth getting the latest version!!!***

So if you want the secret of the century:

CREATE ACTIVITIES IN PPT, NOT WORD!

I wish I would've known this a year ago.  :)

Valentine's Goodie Bag-Gift Tags!

I've been working on SO many different projects lately, but this one is my favorite!!!  I love getting to use all of my cutesy clip art!

These goodie bag-gift tags can be the perfect addition to your Valentine's gift!

I can't decide which one (or ones) I'm going to use!  I'm going to choose one for my gifts to my students and then let them choose which one they'll use for their parent gifts.  

Click the image above to check them out at my TpT store.

What are your plans for Valentine's gifts?

"I did my GOODEST, Mrs. Richliew!"

Have your kids ever said that to you?!  Well, not the Mrs. Richliew part.  :)

One of our 3rd grade standards is comparative and superlative adjectives.  It has always driven me nuts that kids (and even some adults) don't use the correct adjectives when speaking and writing.

I created this center to help my kids get extra practice with this skill.

Here's a pic of the center last week:

I included a tricky one for the last adjective.  He he!

For the word "good," some of the students thought I messed up and forgot to include the matches.  I assured them they were there.  "No, Mrs. Richliew.  You don't have "gooder" and "goodest" in the bag.

After assuring them a second time, I stepped away but stayed close enough to hear their conversation.  Oh, how funny!  That "ah ha!" moment came sooner than later.  

"OH!!!  It's "better" and "best!"

Gotta love those moments!  There's also an assessment included in the download.  I can't wait to give it next week.  After our discussions and center practice, they should do quite well!

What are some of the goofy things your kids have said?!

Friday Night Chick Chat

Happy Friday!  We made it!

Tonight I'm meeting up for dinner with a great friend and then going to "Chick Chat" at her church.  It's a great session that I always get lots of great advice from.  It's also great to hang out with other women!

Here's a link to it:

Do you participate in anything like this?
It's so therapeutic!

What are your plans tonight?!
Either way, I hope it's a relaxing night for you!

Greg Tang Math Conference!

First of all, I am SO sorry for not posting to the blog in a while.  I went to Asheville for a girls weekend trip and then had Math endorsement class last night.  I missed y'all!

Second, I'm super excited about tomorrow!  Myself and two other colleagues are going to a math conference tomorrow!!!

I'm excited to have the opportunity to hang out with my colleagues and learn some awesome things to take back to my grade level and kiddos!

Do you ever go to math conferences or classes like this?!

What are the topics?  How far away are they?

Woohoo!!! 100th Day Pics!!!

The 100th day of school never gets old to me!

We had a fiesta to celebrate!

The kids had a blast!  The activities were perfect for our curriculum and the kids loved them.

When is your 100th day?!

What do you have planned?!

Motivation Monday: A Mother's Love

My mom is an amazing person.  

Strong, caring, loving. 

She bought my kids tons of cute little things:  fun hair accessories for the girls, toy cars for the boys, and awesome notepads for everyone!  My kids were SO happy (and slightly shocked) to get all of these gifts.  They couldn't believe that someone who didn't even know them cared that much about them.

Love.  That's what that is.  It was a great lesson in caring, thoughtfulness, and selflessness.

To show their appreciation, they made my mom this poster.

I love my mom and can't express my gratitude for her.

Mom, if you read this...

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!!!

MLK Pennant Banner FREEBIE!

Are you ready for MLK Day?!  Here's a great book to share:

I have some of these already (Harriet Tubman and Abraham Lincoln) 

and they're perfect for the kids!

I also created this pennant banner!
I'm going to display it as we celebrate the life and work on MLK!

 Click any of the pictures to download!

Enjoy!

MLK, Jr. Resources!!!

Need resources for MLK, Jr.?!

Denise at Sunny Days is having her weekly Show and Tell and it's all about MLK, Jr.

I linked up one of my old posts that has some fun freebies for your kids to do after discussing MLK, Jr.

There are so many great resources linked up!

Enjoy!!!

100th Day of School FUN and FREEBIES!

Our 100th day of school will happen on January 16th.

My kids and I are so excited!  The kids look for any reason to have a celebration (and I don't blame them).  So I had sketched out several activities, but couldn't decide on a theme.

After much thought and tons of great advice from everyone on the FB page...

I created all the three themes!

Each pack is exactly the same minus the graphics.  I wanted y'all to be able to choose the one you liked the best and be able to throw your own 100th day celebration!

There are three math activities and three literacy activities included in each pack.  Click the pictures to check out all the details.

They are each individually listed in my TpT and TN stores.

100th Day Barnyard Bash - TpT   TN

100th Day Beach Blowout - TpT   TN

100th Day Fiesta - TpT   TN

I'm going to use the Fiesta version and incorporate some yummy snacks!
I've also created chevron pennant banners for each theme!
Click the pics below to download.

What are your 100th day plans?!

TN's Tablet Giveaway!!!

Could you use a tablet?

A FREE tablet I should say!

I sure could.  I'd slip that bad boy in my purse and have so many exciting things to do in the car on trips or while waiting at the doctor's office.

Teacher's Notebook just started this giveaway yesterday and it ends Jan. 31st.  You can enter your name once each day until the end of the giveaway.

Good luck!

Anchor Chart Notebook FREEBIE!

I'm SO glad I spent the time to make these anchor charts!!!  I put the notebook together Wednesday night and showed it to the kids Thursday!

They are in LOVE!

Here are some pics of the setup:

I printed each section on a different color paper.

I put them back-to-back in sheet protectors (so it wouldn't be too thick).

I also labeled each section.

Here's a side view of the colors and tabs.

And of course Maggie had to get in on the action!

And if you like the cover of the anchor chart, you can snag it for free!

Just click the picture below.  :)

Thanks for KPM Doodles for such adorable clip art!!!

Here's a link to the anchor chart set in case you missed it the first time around.  :)

New Year's Math Centers!

I don't know about you, but I'm so excited for the possibilities that 2013 holds!  I'm excited for where it takes me both professionally and personally.  I'm also excited for where it takes my students!

I had a work day today (like many of you) and was planning for the next couple of weeks.  The kids come back tomorrow and I want to be WELL prepared!  

To get ready for math centers, I printed and laminated these New Year's math centers.

They will be perfect for getting the back in the groove of things.  They will also serve as a great review in case they "forgot" anything over the winter break.

Click any of the pictures to check out the centers in more detail at the 3rd Grade Gridiron Teaching Resource Store.

*Make sure you're signed up for the newsletter because there may or may not be an exclusive coupon in there.  ;o)

They're also listed in my TpT and TN stores.

I added this post to Denise's New Year's Linky Party!
Stop by and check out the other activities and ideas!

When do you and your students start back?

Happy New Year's!!!

Happy 2013!!!  I hope everyone had a fun-filled, safe New Year's Eve!

We'll all be headed back to school in the next few days.  As adults, we usually make resolutions.  Now, keeping them is a different story.  :)  But how about your students?  I wonder if they're setting goals and making resolutions?  Do they even know what resolutions are?

When I go back to school, I'm going to share this book with my students:

I want to make sure that my students understand what resolutions are and why people make them.  Then we're going to brainstorm different goals and resolutions they can have.

For instance, reading two chapter books each week or reaching a certain goal on one of our educational computer programs at school.

Finally, the students will complete the following goal setting activity:

The pack also includes a bulletin board/display idea:

Click on any of the four pics to check out the pack in more detail.
It's also listed in my TpT and TN stores.

And be sure to stop by Denise's blog at Sunny Days to check out more New Year's activities and ideas!