If you’re in the middle of planning new getting to know you activities for back to school, try this one! Whether you’re an adult or a kid, making new friends can be an exciting and somewhat nerve-wracking task! As a millennial, I grew up making friendship bracelets or going to Claire’s in the mall to buy necklaces where I had half and my friend had the other half. Honestly, things haven’t changed much because now we’re all Swifties making friendship bracelets.  In today’s post, I’m sharing a fun and creative way to build friendships: make getting to know you friendship bracelets th ..read more

Are you looking for quick, easy, and free solar eclipse classroom activities for the 2024 Great American Total Solar Eclipse? Look no further! 7 Solar Eclipse Classroom Activities Here in Indiana, we’re in the path of totality, so many schools are not in session or are having e-learning days. Today I’m sharing 7 free, no prep solar eclipse classroom activities you can send home with your students or use in the classroom! These are perfect for K-2 classrooms. This solar eclipse printable pack includes: K-W-L Chart Solar Eclipse Diagram Fast Facts Making Words Word Search Writi ..read more

Making slime in the classroom has always been one of my students’ favorite activities, especially at the end of the year. It doesn’t have to be as intimidating as you might initially think! If you’re hoping to find the easiest classroom slime recipe and integrate a little reading, writing, and science, then this post is for you! Read the Recipe for Making Slime for the Classroom Before you dive right into making slime in the classroom, set clear expectations by reading the recipe for how to make slime. Give all your students a copy of this kid-friendly recipe. This will help them know e ..read more

Measuring and comparing lengths can be so much fun to teach because there are so many hands-on way to practice! If you’re a 1st grade or 2nd grade teacher looking for ideas for the measuring and comparing lengths skill, this post is for you! And, if you’re working on estimating measurements, head over to this post for 10 measurement estimation ideas! 10 Comparing Lengths Activities for your Lesson Plans Measurement Stations: Set up different stations with objects of varying lengths (rulers, strings, pencils, books) and have kids compare and order them from shortest to longest or vice ve ..read more

As gloomy winter exits and spring arrives, what better way to celebrate the sunshine than with spring math games? It’s time to infuse some springtime excitement into your math centers! Today I’m sharing all about spring math games packed with 1st and 2nd grade math skills. The best part? They require zero prep, making it an absolute lifesaver for busy teachers like you! Spring Math Games for Addition and Subtraction Fly to the Birdhouse: In this math game, each student starts with 10 game pieces. Students roll and move around the game board, solve addition facts, and cover the sums. T ..read more

I love finding new place value games and activities because one of the most important math concepts in 1st and 2nd grade is place value! Students must have a strong understanding of place value to help them with subsequent math concepts. Here’s a round up of fun place value games, ideas, math centers, partner activities, and whole group activities you can add to your lesson plans! Place Value Games to Play With a Partner Place Value War: Using a deck of number cards, deal three cards to each player. Challenge them to build the biggest number possible. The highest number wins the round ..read more

I love celebrating the 100th day of school with fun math activities! Even if your students have celebrated in past years, you can find new ways to celebrate! Here are 10 engaging math activities for your 100th day of school celebrations: 10 Math Activities for the 100th Day of School 1. 100th Day Collections: You know that giant collection of mini erasers you have a million of? It’s time to pull them out for 100th day collections! Students can collect 100 items in groups of 10, 25, or 100.  2. Skip Counting Sparkle: This game is easy to play, but it’s also one of my favorite ..read more

Gingerbread classroom activities are so much fun during the month of December! There’s something festive about thematic gingerbread activities, so today I’m providing a list of 5 fun gingerbread activities you can enjoy with your students. 5 Gingerbread Classroom Activities 1. Gingerbread Math Games: These no prep games are so much fun to play! Whether you host a gingerbread day/week or not, students love these partner games. You can easily print these games to add to your December math tubs. 2. Gingerbread Sight Word Games: Make custom gingerbread sight word centers in a snap! T ..read more

Are you overwhelmed and frustrated by lengthy math assessments? It’s time to start using math exit tickets in your classroom! Math exit tickets are not just helpful, they are transformative tools to help you quickly check for understanding in the classroom. With so many demands placed on teachers and students, here are 8 reasons exit tickets are the perfect bite-sized assessments to add to your toolkit. 1. Time Efficiency: Math exit tickets will save you so much time when it comes to assessing. They are ready-to-go, printable, and easy to implement in your classroom. These short and swe ..read more

These free student math goal sheets are one of the simplest ways to help students, parents, and teachers track progress on important math skills. When working with early elementary students, especially those in K-3, it can be overwhelming to track every single math goal and skill. That’s why these math goal sheets are condensed to 9 of the most important math skills for kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade!   students can put a sticker next to what they’re working on and color it whent hey’ve mastered it 8 Ways to Implement Math Goal Sheets 1.) Student Data Tracki ..read more