Math Stations/Menu

Sometimes the lightbulb goes off and an idea pops into my head. I have been really focusing on using Daily 5 in reading and love the fact that the kids have a choice as to what they do each day. Well today it occurred to me, after my good friend Anne sent me a Word Work menu she created, why not try that for math too?

SO....I pulled out my math resources, games, manipulatives and got to work. Then I tweaked the menu she had sent me to match the math stations the kids could work on.

Here is what the menu looks like:

When I introduced it today my kids were SO excited! I organized everything into bins and labeled them for easy access & clean-up. I can't wait to post my new pictures. I love all the inspiration from Pinterest from all the amazing teachers out there!

xoxo, Courtney

Daily 5, Whole Brain Teaching, Guided Math...oh my!

It is a new year, at a new school, and I am trying out a lot of NEW things! This year I really wanted to work on making sure I was purposeful in my instruction in all areas. I started Daily 5 last year and I loved it! Here are some **new** things I am working on implementing in my classroom:

Whole Brain Teaching and it has been very cool. (www.wholebrainteaching.com) The kids have been very receptive to it. I like how I have to think about chunking information into smaller, kid friendly, pieces and then giving them the time to share their ideas with their classmates.

Math Notebooks: I have also worked on changing the way I use/the kids use their math journals. I always just used it to take notes and do warm-ups, but it wasn't really a functional tool. So after doing some research I came across the Math Notebooks on http://frogsandcupcakes.blogspot.com/2011/08/math-notebooks.html  (who doesn't love Pinterest!!!) and I started them with the kids today. I think these are really going to be a great tool and something the kids will be able to utilize all year. Now time to create all the resources for inside!

Thoughtful Logs: Another great Pinterest find! These will work as our reading journals and will be a place for the kids to save all of their important information regarding all aspects of reading. For more information see: http://lifein4b.blogspot.com/p/thoughtful-logs.html

I think the first few weeks of school are going to be a whirlwind of getting routines set, but it will be worth it in the end (I hope!!).