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When I think of the beginning of Kindergarten and especially the beginning of Math in Kindergarten, I think of Mouse Count. If you use Investigations I bet you are thinking the same thing too. I found some cute cat toys at Dollar Tree and snatched them up to put in my love of all loves... my counting jar. I have loved to count things since I was in Kindergarten. Which brings me to my next point, the now famous penny stamps. I have had so many emails about what I call a penny stamp. Basically a penny stamp is a small craft foam shape stuck on the top a a bottle top. Since you can get a bag of foam shapes at Dollar Tree with over one hundred pieces in it you can make 100 stamps. I call them penny stamps because they cost about a penny to make and I just love them! Which brings me to the last point. If you have the book and read it, have your mice and count them, use your stamps and make a mouse penny stamp then you gotta go the extra mile and record what is inside of that counting jar, right? Yep, so I made a handy recording page and you can get it right here at TpT for free!

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If you were at the Number Corner training and remember the I Can, can... I have found the sticks used in the can again at Dollar Tree. When I was shopping I heard that more school supplies are being shipped with different items. So, just when you think this back to school shopping is over, you realize it just keeps going and going.

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Just found these number magnets, letter magnets, shape magnets and alphabet magnets at Dollar Tree!

 
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I just opened my fabulous decorative headers from Artskills that I got at Target. And just let me tell you my surprise... Not only did it come with numbers which I could see from the package but it came with colors and shapes. The most amazing part... it has a rhombus and a trapezoid! Seriously? Is this the only bulletin board set that actually has the correct names for shapes? I love this! I just can barely contain myself right now! And this is just another reason why you should join the Artskills giveaway on the posts below because I know you are going to want this and use this AND you have to take pictures and join the Artskills bulletin board contest... details coming soon! Can't wait to see what everyone creates!  

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So I have a little obsession with dice. I'm ok. I just love them. And this picture is just my new stash of dice. I was at a math conference last week and I had to get some dice I have always wanted. I am super excited that I now have dice that go up to 20! And I am totally intrigued by the dice with the crown on them to the left! I have no idea what the crown is for but I am sure we can come up with something, right? Considering this is just a small sample of my dice, I had to start thinking of a way to organize my dice. I have been looking for a dice jar but I didn't want the kids to be spending time digging through a jar to get the dice they need. What I am hoping for is that my children will be able to pick the proper dice they need for the particular task and find it quickly.

I found this craft organizer at Hobby Lobby for $8 but I had a coupon so it was 40% off! All my new dice fit and so do the small dice containers. This is perfect for self serve dice!

I have to give credit where credit is due... My husband saw these at Dollar Tree and suggested I use them for dice. They came in a six pack! It is perfect for a single die. When you turn it upside down you can see and read the die perfectly!

And this is what it looks like inside all organized and happy...

Just for fun I have added a dice freebie to use when I am teaching the kids how to self serve dice, what dice to use and how to put things back. I have made a Roll and Record page so the children can practice, getting a die, experimenting and becoming familiar with different dice and recording what they have rolled. Please feel free to get your free copy and if you have time please leave feedback. The I Love Dice Roll and Record game is only available at my TpT store for a limited time!

So if you are interested in more dice fun... Roll the Dice is back and ready for Fall! This download is available from TpT and it comes with 3 levels of play and a total of 9 game boards that include apples, pumpkins and forest themed boards! Get em while they are hot!

I have teamed up with Empowering Little Learners for more dice fun and I hope you hop over and find more dice ideas!

 

We really don't want the dice fun to end because we are having so much fun! What do you do with dice? How do you store your dice? What are your favorite games with dice? What creative ways do you use dice in your classroom? Come on friends, don't leave us hanging... join in the fun and submit your ideas to the It's Getting Dicey Linky Party!

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In honor of the 100th Day celebration at TBA, I am having a sale at my TpT store! While you are shopping, pick up your free copy of our fun 100th Day Snack Recipe and 100th Day Mini poster! Please leave some feedback!

I love the 100th day of school! I love all of the books we read and we have had so much fun making 100 Day Trail Mix and counting out everything with a 100's chart. The kid's really enjoy making 100 day glasses to wear. Each year this fun event usually sneaks up on me and I find myself scrambling to figure out how I am going to participate. I always say I am going to make something and wear it on that day but I never have done it. This is why I am so super excited about my Target CrAzY HaT! I got this on a super special bargain and bought 13 of my closest teacher friends one too! I am going to decorate it with 10 groups of 10 different things. And I was actually so darn excited about it I had to share!

Oh, but better yet, a teacher friend just told me she got me the 100th Day Counting Tree Bulletin Board set by Artskills! She found it at Target for $2.50! And the CrAzY HaT... Just .25 cents from Target!

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Available here at TpT and YES the tricky triangle is there and better than ever! If you lost your tricky triangle, you will be contacted with special instructions to wrangle your triangle!

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Available at TpT! My head is really still spinning with all the possibilities! Math will be so much fun this year!

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Who in their right mind would not want to learn counting strategies with these little smile faces? I can't wait to put these magnetic smiles on my whiteboard and get ready to model some counting strategy fun! I guess I need to admit it, but Dollar Tree is kind of getting to me!

 
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What's In The Counting Jar available at TpT.

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Ok Kinder friends, my head is spinning with excitement. I just finished these 1-20 Counting Books. And as I was getting them ready to go in the back to school box, I realized the possibilities are endless. For one download of three dollars, let me tell you what you can make but you might want to grab some lemonade because this might take a while...

1. A super cute counting book to 5

2. A super cute counting book to 10, 15 and 20

3. Copy on colored cardstock for versions of all the above

4. Mix up the numbers and make a mixed up number book

5. A backwards counting book

6. Copy on paper to use with stamps, stickers, markers, dot paint

7. Laminate and use for playdough mats

8. Laminate and use with theme manipulatives
(did you notice I lost my last fish on #12... perfect opportunity to remind ourselves of counting strategies and counting strategies are a completely different post because I LOVE talking counting strategies)

All of the possibilities for three dollars available at my Teachers pay Teachers store! And while you are there make sure you grab your free copies of the popular Roll the Dice.

Saw these bags at Target and couldn't resist. The One Fish, Two Fish just kinda got the Kindergarten girl inside of me! Have fun with this make and take! I was able to print and prepare lots of versions of this download in a small amount of time. So, that's preparing for math in a snap, so how bout that?

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Alright Kinder friends, what can we do with these fabulous finds? I found these for a dollar each at Dollar General and I bought them because I had seen a post several months ago about some similar ones. Can you imagine the fun we could have with these and Math games? It kind of reminds me of a game show button because it lights up when touched! who wouldn't want to smack down on these little buttons? So, that's a math tip in a smack, so how bout that?

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Here is a fun crafty math idea that I love! I saw this a long time ago and loved it. The version I saw was made from a cookie sheet and colored tape to make a demonstration ten frame. I don't know about you but this time around I just had to kick it up a notch!  So what you see here is a cookie sheet and ribbon plus some fantastic glitter bugs found at Dollar Tree. You usually use this cookie sheet ten frame for demonstrating and reviewing so you will need to make sure the items you use are magnetic. And if the objects are not magnetic, just hot glue some small round magnets on what you want to use! And if by chance your glitter bugs don't come with enough glitter on them, get some glitter spray and go to town! So, that's a crafty math tip in a snap, so how bout that?

PS. Get in on that giveaway below!

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This is my new favorite Math book. Actually, this has been a favorite for a while, I just have not actually done anything with it yet. I brought the book home for the summer to try and figure out how I am going to use this book to tie art appreciation and Math together. I am still in the brainstorming phase... I am going to a Math workshop and Greg Tang will be there so maybe I will get some ideas from Greg Tang himself! If you have used this book before, shoot me an email and let me know what you did!

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I have had sooooooooo much fun with the My favorite Things Linky Party that I just had to share this. Each week I go to love2learn2day and join the Math Monday Blog Hop! I have had so much fun thinking about what I will post each week! I have also walked away with some great ideas! 

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In your life you need lots and lots of friends. In my life, thank goodness, I have friends I refer to as fabulous Math friends. I attended a training hosted by my Math friends earlier this year and was reminded about the role of reflection in the lesson cycle and particularly the Math Workshop. By remembering to include this as a regular part of my workshops, I was able to use it to facilitate meaningful discussions and as part of my lesson close...so many times this part of the lesson is forgotten. I was surprised to learn that many children willingly participated in discussing what they could do better and these discussions helped other children learn different ways of solving problems and it gave a great platform for using content related vocabulary.

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Never been a gamblin girl but I sure have an unexplainable love for dice. I love big dice, little dice, colored dice, double dice and any other type there is. I use a lot of dice with the Investigations curriculum so dice in my room are always in use. My children have always loved dice and dice games too and it just might be because dice can sometimes be noisy, bouncy, funny and lively depending on who is playing the game. I have to admit, I have gotten carried away in the heat of a real good Kindergarten dice game as well. Who can really blame me? Dice can be just so much fun. But if you are looking for a way to tame those lively and bouncy dice I have the trick for you! 

Run to your local Dollar Tree and grab your teeny tiny dice containers! Let your kids shake the heck out of the dice in the container and when the dice stops moving that is the dice roll! No more fun little dice bouncing or flying across the table or classroom...darn! Now that's a teeny tiny math tip in a snap, so how bout that?

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