Coin Cones!

It's all about the money, money, money!

That's what we've been singing all week in first grade!

It has been all about the money!

Hammering home coin identification is a tough one.

With money it seems like kids either get it or they don't.

Fingers crossed more get it, than don't!

I wonder if because we use debit cards so much more now 

and kids have less exposure to money at home. 

Just my two cents- no pun intended.

Driving to school this morning, 

which is my favorite thinking spot, 

I was thinking about ice cream!

I was also thinking about how my kiddos
needed a Fun Friday craft activity
as well as some additional money practice.

Then this deliciousness was born!

The set up is easy peasy.

Copy scoop template onto a variety of colored paper.

You need 4 scoops per student.

Copy cone template onto brown.

Copy table of coins onto regular printer paper.

********

Then away the kids go!

Here are the directions I gave.

1. Color all the coins the correct color 

on the sprinkles sheet. 

Sidebar- we call them jimmies here in Massachusetts.

2. Color the rest of the boxes multicolor to resemble sprinkles.

3. Cut out 4 colorful scoops.

4. Cut out 1 cone.

5. Glue scoops on cone.

5. Cut out sprinkles sheet.

6. Glue matching sprinkles onto each scoop.

On the first scoop they had to put the word "penny", 

the pictures of the penny coins, 

the word "one cent" and the symbol for "1 cent".

Then repeat for the nickel, dime and quarter 

down the scoops on the cone. 

I then had them check with me 

before they glued any sprinkles down 

to see that they had everything where it was supposed to be.

 I love when an assessment can be fun and 

makes a cute decoration too!

Such a job perk!

Grab your templates to do this project with your class {here}!

Be sure to visit me at A Burst of First
for more tips, tricks and ideas!

The Easter Egg: A Mentor Text and a FREE Bunny Craftivity

Hi friends, it's Amber from School Is a Happy Place.  I'd like to share one of my favorite Easter themed mentor texts, The Easter Egg by Jan Brett.  (If you do not have this book, you have to check it out.  It is wonderful).

It is about a young bunny, Hoppi, who is trying to create his first Easter egg to give to the Easter Rabbit.  He sees all of the other bunnies working on their eggs and he can't decide what kind of egg to create.  As the story continues, Hoppi chooses to help another forest friend instead of completing his Easter egg artwork.  Hoppi's selflessness is eventually rewarded in the end.
The message in this book is so special and the artwork is tremendous.  The Easter Egg is exactly what you would expect from Brett.

The Easter Egg can be used for many classroom activities: comprehension, retelling, context clues, inferencing.  It inspired us to create out own Hoppi artwork that will be brightening up our classroom for the next few weeks.
Like Hoppi, students decorated their most beautiful egg.  They made patterns, illustrations, team logos, and more.  After they made their eggs, they put together a simple bunny pattern. Our bunnies are brown to look like Hoppi.  (maybe should have went with gray...oh well)

The buns also look adorable in the traditional white.  You can even use up some scrapbook paper leftovers decorating the egg.

If you would like a FREE copy of this bunny pattern, click on the picture below.  It's a very simple project that is perfect for spring in your classroom.  It's always so fun to see how students' personalities shine through in projects like this one.

Thank you so much for stopping by.
Happy Easter!

Let the Good Times Roll: Mardi Gras in the Classroom (Including Two Freebies)

Hi all.
It's Amber from School Is a Happy Place.
I've spent the past few days mentally going over all the special days coming up in February.  There's Valentine Day, Groundhog Day, African American History Month, Presidents' Day, Dental Health Month, and the Super Bowl.  This year Mardi Gras even falls in February.  So many opportunities to do something a little out of the ordinary in your classroom.

This year Mardi Gras will be on Tuesday, February 17th.  While I do not live in an area that has big Mardi Gras celebrations, I think it's really important for my young learners to be exposed to all sorts of traditions and holidays.
In my class, we'll have a King's Cake and read some books about Mardi Gras.  We'll also make our Mardi Gras Kids for display in the hall outside our class.

You are welcome to a FREE copy of this craftivity.  Just click on the picture above.

I use Mardi Gras Kids as a spelling art project.  But, the pattern also includes a writing sheet for students to write about if they were "King for a Day."

For math we'll work on my Mardi Gras Math Mini Book.  This mini book is a collection of Mardi Gras themed word problems focusing on double digit subtraction, patterns, time to the half hour, place value, and more.

For your own FREE copy, click on the picture below.

There are many more ways to learn and celebrate Mardi Gras with your students.  Integrating traditions and holidays, like Mardi Gras, into your curriculum is a wonderful way to get your students excited, engaged, and informed.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy New Year Headbands!

Happy New Year all you super teachers out there! 

Re-entry has been a little difficult this week, huh? 

I know some of you lovelies out there had this week off as well.

 I hope you soaked up every last pajama wearing, 

binge tv watching moment of your vacation!

In order to ease the kids (and their poor teacher)
back into the reality of work and school we started off
our week with some big time fun!!
Of course there was learning, writing and math involved as well!
I'm sneaky like that {wink}.

We have this adorable front with 

this graphic that I am in love with by Educlips!

Another front shot because this girl did an amazing job!

Check out those outfits!

Then on each side of the hat we did a little writing about our resolutions.

One side we wrote about a home resolution and one side is a school resolution.

Depending on the age and level of your students 

you could have them draw instead of write their resolutions. 

On the back we have the numbers for the year!

On the template they are out of order 

so the student have to organize them correctly. 

Simply adhere all the pieces onto a piece of oaktag or a sentence strip.

 I had some old borders I used. 

And voila! You have a fun accessory to wear for the day.

I love primary grades because they are so easy to please!

Grab all the pieces for this project HERE!

I wish you all a wonderful and bright 2015!!

Maybe your resolution this year will be to read my blog A Burst of First!

hehehe....

A Delicious Freebie!

Hello Primary Peeps!

It's me...Deirdre from A Burst of First

Are your days merry and bright in your classroom right now?

Mine are....with a side of crazy too!!

I'm hoping to make your days a little easier with a freebie.

We haven't quite hit fact families in grade one yet this year.

But, it's coming and when we do it we do it 100 million ways!!

Wipe boards...worksheets...manipulatives...and more!

This isn't just a first grade skill either!

You "big kids" do it too.

One of my favorite ways to do most anything 

in grade one is with a quick and simple craft. 

This is simple and effective. 

It's perfect for the holiday season!

But, I enjoy milk and cookies anytime really =)

Click the cover to grab!

You may want to visit the blog for a 

few more holiday freebies here.

I'm all about giving in this holiday season!

Have a merry and bright holiday!

See you back here in 2015!

Let's Hear it for the Latke People!

Hi Everyone!

It’s Nicole, from Today, in Second Grade. How are our SUPER friends doing today?!?!  I’M so excited because the month of December is a ton of fun! We’ve had visits from an elf from the North Pole, we’ve received a package from Santa, and we are planning some fun activities for the last week of school. Some of these special activities include elf day, reindeer day, pajama day, and Hanukah day! 

To celebrate Hanukah with the kiddies, we plan to read some of our favorite stories: I have a Little Dreidel and Hershel and the Hanukah Goblins.

We also plan to create a Potato Latke Person! 

Guess what!!!! You can make Potato Latke People with your class too!!! 

Grab yourself a free copy of my Latke Person Craftivity HERE! 

Here are a few pictures from Hanukah’s past...

It’s a very simple craft, so I let my kiddies add their own personal touches.

Another fun twist to our Hanukah day... EATING Potato Latkes (YUMM). I think this might be my favorite part! 

So, grab yourself a copy of this freebie and make AND eat some potato latkes!

As we say here in Quebec... Bon Apetit!