Manic Monday Round 2

Well it's Monday again (or Sunday night) so I guess it is time for another freebie. Once again I am linking up with Classroom Freebies for the Manic Monday at Classroom Freebies link-up.

So my freebie today was created as I was thinking of a fun way to practice place value. I think place value is one of those basics in math that really has to be understood in order to move onto higher order concepts, but I didn't want it to get boring. So what's more fun than adding a little mystery? So my Place Value Mystery Number Cards were born.

My first set (found {HERE}) included only 3- & 4-digit numbers, but I now have sets for 2-digit numbers (found {HERE}) and 5-, 6-, & 7-digit numbers (found {HERE}).

Let me know if you enjoy the freebies, and make sure to link-up with Classroom Freebies if you have fun freebies to share!

Hall Pass Linky

Well I had planned to join this linky a few days ago and now am finally able to join up. I am linking up with Reagan over at Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits (how's that for alliteration) for her Hall Pass link-up.

So without further ado, I will begin:

P is for Product - Well I noticed that some of the other bloggers that already linked up have the same thinking as me. I always finish a product and it is my absolute favorite . . . until I start the next one that is. So I guess at the moment my favorite product is actually an old product that I recently completely updated and re-did - my St. Patrick's Day Pot o' Gold Unit that I blogged about {HERE}.

A is for Area - So since I don't show pictures from the classroom I will just talk about my favorite area in the classroom. I love a good classroom library. Enough said.

S is for Signal - Well usually I use a clapping pattern to get attention but frankly, I'm getting bored of it and am always on the lookout for new attention getting ideas, so I am excited to read through all the other link-ups to hopefully find some new ideas to incorporate into the classroom. To be honest, I've heard of a bunch of other great signal ideas, I just have to take the time to add them into the daily routine, rather than just fall back on the old faithful clapping.

S is for Sanity - Hmmm. This one I really had to think about and I'm not sure I like my answer. I think something that keeps me sane is quiet. So anytime where I get a few quiet minutes to gather my thoughts and prepare me for the next activity is key for my sanity. Quiet doesn't necessarily mean absolute silence, just a bit more of a controlled chaos.

Well there are the answers for my HALL Pass, I'm excited to go read everyone else's answers. 

St. Patrick's Day . . . and all things green

Well this may be a little early but I think I'll talk about St. Patrick's Day. This has been on my mind because I have spent awhile updating my St. Patrick's Day unit and my updating I mean completely redoing. I don't think there was anything from the old packet that is still in the new one, and I couldn't be happier.

I've said it before and I will say it again and again. I love the fun and excitement that holidays bring into the classroom and even more than that, I like to take curriculum and make it more fun by adding the holiday element.

My St. Patrick's Day Pot o' Gold unit does have some fun activities,

but, I've also tried to incorporate some curriculum:

I'm so excited about my new (old/revised) unit and I hope students are too! Click {HERE} if you'd like to check it out. 

I had other pictures I wanted to post from the unit, but I have no idea to rotate pictures in blogger and I guess I'm too lazy to google it right now. Maybe I'll have figured it out by my next post.

To finish off, I think I'll add some more St. Patrick's Day stuff by including a few pins:

Via A Night Owl

 100 St. Patrick's Ideas - I will have to look through these soon.

Via Patties Classroom

Such a good idea for primary students.

Via Lil' Luna

I think I'll stop there. Something sweet on a holiday is practically a necessity!

Circles & Book Bin Labels

So the other day I was helping another teacher cut out book bin labels. CIRCLE book bins labels. Two sets of CIRCLE book bin labels. As my hand was cramping and I was realizing that I need to work on my cutting abilities, a fantastic thought struck me. A Circle Paper Cutter! As soon as the thought entered my head, it was quickly followed by three options:

A) It is a ludicrous idea - A circle paper cutter?! That is a crazy idea.
B) It has already been invented and every crafter knows about it.
C) It hasn't been invented, it is a fantastic idea and I will become a billionaire by inventing it!

So obviously I had to find out which of the three it was so I turned to trusty old Google to see what I could find.

Via Amazon

Umm, yeah. So apparently it is a thing. I guess I won't become a billionaire by inventing the first circle paper cutter. I don't know if I just live in a hole or it's because I am not an avid crafter, but I have never before heard of a circle paper cutter. Is it worth it? Would love to hear from anyone who has tried/owns one.

Getting Back to Basics & a FREEBIE!

Well that certainly was a long hiatus from blogging, but now I'm back . . . well we'll see for how long.

I wasn't completely idle during the last few (was it two?) months. I finally completed some units I have been working on for far too long.

First up, Daily Math Bundle packs:

I have been working on these for far too long, but I am so glad I finally have the full year finished. I don't know about you but I feel like having a daily review of basic math concepts is essential for some students. I'm so happy with these packs because I have sprialled them so that they start with a review of the previous grades standards and slowly introduce the grade level standards throughout the year.

I've also added the first in a series of 2nd Grade Daily Math (any bets on how long it will take me to complete the bundle pack?):

I am working on Daily Language reviews but that is definitely a work in progress.

These units all follow along the same theme - practicing and reviewing the basics. That is what my Daily Math works on and that is also what I plan to do with my Daily Language - because students need to be able to write with proper capitalization, punctuation, and grammar.

Now for the freebie. How many times have you been trucking along in math class and ask a student to read/write/expand a number and are blown away that they don't know how to do it? I know sometimes this happens to me, and I feel awful that I have been lacking in teaching some of the basics. My Write it Out freebie will hopefully give students practice writing numbers and give teachers a quick assessment.

Click HERE to get this on TPT and non-TPT users click HERE.

I am so excited to link up with Classroom Freebies for the link-up "Manic Monday at Classroom Freebies." Make sure to go check out the link-up to find other fantastic freebies.

Let me know if you enjoy the freebie, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my weekend!