Math + Games -- Dice

Besides number cards, dice are a must have in a math classroom! You can use these "random number generators" (I had a professor who called them that!) in limitless ways. Check out some of these sites for suggestions:

• spaghettiboxkids.com
• teacher.scholastic.com
• activityvillage.co.uk
• proteacher.org

Monday Math + GIVEAWAY!!

Growing up, the focal point of our Thanksgiving decorations was mom's cornucopia. I was fascinated by all the different fabric foods and how they were arranged--especially the mushrooms. I hate mushrooms now, so I'm not sure about the attraction, but I loved to sneak and play with them. :)

Those fabulous 70's prints are as much a part of my Thanksgiving memories as turkey and pumpkin pie!

When I was trying to come up with a design for a Thanksgiving card game, the brightly patterned mushrooms and all their stuffed friends kept coming back to me. Which is how I ended up with this:
It's part of an addition came called Harvest Bounty. Players practice adding numbers--with a Thanksgiving twist!

 

This game is geared toward 6 to 9-year-olds, but by using fewer cards, younger learners could easily play.

Now onto the good stuff...

If you would like to win the Harvest Bounty game PLUS TWO MORE games of your choice, bee bop on over to our Etsy shop and peek around. To be entered in the contest, please leave a comment on this post telling us which two games you would like to own. Contest closes Thursday, November 11 at 10:00 PM MST. We'll announce the winner on Friday.

For 5 extra entries into the contest, do any or all of the following and leave a comment for each:
- subscribe to our blog
- follow us on google friend connect (bottom left of page)
- post about our contest on your blog
- "like" us on facebook
- mention us on facebook
- follow us on twitter and tweet about the giveaway  (include link so we can follow you!)

Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

If you just can't wait until Friday to own your own Harvest Bounty game, starting today it's available for purchase in our Etsy shop.

All games are sent via email. After downloading and printing the file, it's quick and easy to prepare games for use. You may print as many sets as your family or class requires, but please don’t make copies to share with others. Laminating your games will help them last longer.

Halloween Week: The Games

We thought it might be helpful to show you some of the items in the shop and let you know how you can use them at school or at home while you celebrate Halloween.

Yesterday we already told you about Costume Party Bingo. It's simple so your kids won't have to spend a lot of time learning directions and rules but still fun for all. We love the cute little costumes.

You'll find those same little costume people on Costume Closet. It's a card game that can be played two ways. The first way is to print out two sets and play it like memory. Again, that's an easy game for young learners who just want to play! For a child who is ready for something a bit more advanced the game includes directions for an attribute sorting card game.The object of the game is to group 3+ groups of cards together with a like attribute such as "Wearing Hats" (like in the photo above.) The winner is the first to discard all of their cards.

Brand new in the shop is the game Witches Spell. It's a darling competitive spelling game. Players seek to add frog cards to their brew by correctly spelling short vowel words, all the while dodging poison apples! We think you're going to LOVE this one!

Ghosts in the Cemetery is a board game about those tricky hard and soft c/g sounds. Players race to cover three spaces on their board (tic-tac-toe style) with words that have the same sound, such as century, cemetery, and central which all have the soft c sound. The spinner adds action to the game with "put one ghost back" and "go again" spaces. This one is really fun!

We've also got two math fact board games. These are great because they are adaptable to your child's needs. They can be played with addition, subtraction, or even multiplication! Players roll a dice to move. They then use that number and the number on the space they make an addition, subtraction, or multiplication problem. If their answer is correct they stay where they are, if it's wrong they move back to their previous space. Trick or Treat uses single digit numbers and Spook Alley uses double digit numbers.

We are usually able to e-mail you the files within a few hours of ordering and definitely within 24 hours so you've still got plenty of time to use these before Halloween. Get playing some fun games!

Halloween Week: Classroom Halloween Parties

In my experience, the key to having a successful party, or at least one that you doesn't give you a headache, with 20+ children is to minimize waiting around time. Games like "pin the scar on the monster" are fun, but only one child can play at a time. That leaves 19 others quickly bored. Setting up stations keeps everyone smiling.

In my class we have about an hour for our Halloween party. I plan on doing five 10-minute rotations. I could run most of it by myself, but I'm lucky this year that I have several parent helpers. Things run best when I can put a parent at each station. Then I can supervise.
Here is what my party will look like this year.

Station 1: Costume Party Bingo. I limit the sweets, since I figure they'll be getting enough sugar trick-or-treating. The only candy I give them is for the bingo game. 10 minutes is plenty long for bingo. I also leave a short picture book here. If the children get tired of the game, the mom can read to them for the last few minutes.

Station 2: Joke Book. I got this idea from another teacher. I give the kids a construction paper cover cut to look like a pumpkin and several pumpkin shaped pages. On each page is the first part of a joke (What did the mother broom say to her baby?). On the board I write all the answers. They write the correct answer for each riddle and then illustrate it. They don't finish in 10 minutes, but it's nice to have a project to finish up at the end of the day after the costume parade. DLTK has several Halloween riddles and coloring pages already done.

Station 3: Roll-a-monster. The children each need a roll-a-monster page, a blank paper, and a number cube. The first roll determines the shape of the body. If they roll a 4 they look at the shape in the 4th box, etc. They love this! Download the roll-a-monster page.

Station 4: Easy Halloween craft. I was lucky enough to find pencil topper craft kits on sale at the craft store recently. Quick and painless, please! Kaboose.com has loads of easy Halloween craft ideas.

Station 5: Flannel board story. I have the flannel board ghosts for this story that my mom used back when we were little. The ghosts are made from felt: white on one side fused with a colored piece on the back. The faces are all drawn on with Sharpie. As the ghosts eat the forbidden food, you flip the ghost from the white side to the color. Afterward, I'm going to give each child a white paper lunch sack. They can color it to look like a ghost from the story by leaving one side white and coloring the other.

Other Ideas

One Charming Party had a week full of darling class party ideas. You could of course use these in lots of ways, not just for a class party. These are a few of our favorite ideas. (Photo from One Charming Party.)

Science Experiment: The Amazing Un-poppable Balloon.

Game: Costume Party Dress Up

Craft: Ghost Pops

Treat: Owl Cupcakes

We hope you've found some great ideas for your classroom party! Don't forget you can pick up Costume Party Bingo, and lots of other fun Halloween Games, over in the shop!

Freebie Valentine Game: Heart to Heart

Better late than never right? I put together a darling color matching game for the little valentines in your life. Download the game right here. Happy Valentines Day!

Hearts for Haiti

We donated a brand new alphabet game to Hearts for Haiti. All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders! (The description on etsy looks a little sparse, but it’s just like our other games!)