“May the 4th Be With You!” Activity

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Squarehead Teachers

Calling all geeks! It’s May 4th, so you’ve probably already bid your friends farewell by saying “May the fourth be with you!” I probably should celebrate (or at least acknowledge) May 4th at school. I know this next idea is a little late…hindsight is 20/20. I’ll have to do this next year. (Ta-da! Now I’m prepped a year ahead!)

I just saw this free coloring page over at Homeschool Encouragement and thought of a math connection!

Print one of these for each student. Then make up a key that might look something like this (choose your own colors if you want):

circles = red
trapezoids = green
rectangles = blue
squares = yellow
everything else = orange

This way, you’re practicing shapes while you celebrate May the Fourth! If you’re looking to be more interactive, consider having your students create the image above with tangrams.

Here are some other Star Wars themed coloring pages for you to be creative with!

But no matter what you do, may the fourth be with you! 🙂

Before, Between, After – Numbers Worksheet

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Squarehead Teachers

Counting and number sequences can be tough for kids, but knowing numbers backwards and forwards is what allows them to do more complex number tasks. I saw this idea of “before, between and after” and thought it was valuable. So, here’s my take on that concept. This would be great for kindergarten or first grade, depending on your students.

Before between after - numbers STICKER

Kids must write in the numbers so that the sequence is complete. Click here for the free printable PDF: Before Between After – Numbers

Shape Fractions (Introduction to Fractions)

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Squarehead Teachers

$Shape fractions STICKER$

There are tons of ways to introduce fractions. But no matter how you do it, you need to help students understand that you’re looking at part of a whole. Here’s a page I’ve used with my class (focusing on the numerator). I do this type of activity before I ask kids to draw both parts (numerator and denominator). Hope you’re having a fabulous school year!

Click here for the free printable PDF: Shape Fractions

Pi Day Activities!

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Squarehead Teachers

Be sure to check out my book giveaway happening this week (ends March 14, 2015)!

As Pi Day (3/14) approaches, you may be wondering, how can I celebrate this goofy holiday with as little preparation as possible. Well the answer is simple: borrow a genius idea from another teacher! Here are some ideas to get you started:

Zero Effort Ideas: Pi Day jokes. Just say ’em! (make sure they’re not above your students’ heads!)

Little Effort:

Make a pie (or buy moon pies) and serve them to your class! (check your school’s policy on bring in food)
Read Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi. (click here for printables to go along with the book)

Some More Effort:

Do art based on the numerals on Pi (source)
Find a fun printable (source)
Or do one of these Pi Day activities (source)

But whatever you do, have a happy Pi Day!

Graphing Balloons (K-2)

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Squarehead Teachers

Balloons 1 preview I have an exciting announcement to make! I’ve been going nuts trying to keep it secret! I’ve been asked to blog over at the fabulous teacher site, We Are Teachers! They’ve got tons of good information for teachers and getting a hang of the teacher lifestyle. I’m still getting used to the differences between blogging platforms, but I’ve already learned a ton! My first post over there was a two page graphing activity for lower grades. It’d be perfect for K-2, depending on the students.

Click here to check out my post and get the free printable!

Winter Shape Fractions (Beginning Fractions)

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Squarehead Teachers

$Winter picture fractions STICKER$

Ready to introduce fractions to your class? Then you’ll need lots of practice identifying the parts of a fraction (numerator and denominator). Well,then consider this freebie! This page asks students to shade in the numerator of the collection. Simple, I know, but it’s a building block in the process of being able to illustrate a complete fraction. Enjoy!

Click here for the free printable PDF: Winter Picture Fractions

Giveaway Ends Tonight!

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Last call for entries to the Roylco Straws & Connectors Set giveaway! Ends tonight at midnight (PST), so hop on over to the giveaway post to enter! Merry Christmas!

Giveaway! Roylco Straws & Connectors Set

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

**This Giveaway has ended. Check back for more giveaway fun!**

As promised, I have a fun treat for you! Another giveaway! I’m pleased to partner with Roylco, creators of all things fun and educational for your classroom! So here’s the part you’re waiting for… what can you win!? Drum roll please!

What: This Straws & Connectors set has a whopping 705 pieces (over triple what we played with) and retails for $60, available for purchase here. It’s recommended for ages 4-5+, which I think is appropriate.

How to Enter: Super easy! Here are the steps:

Hop on over to the Roylco Blog. (Click here)
Poke around and check out their craft ideas. (There’s so much fun stuff over there, I know!)
Come back here to this blog and write me a comment telling me what Roylco craft you liked. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page to type your comment. If you’re not a WordPress member, please leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win! That’s it!

This giveaway ends 1 week from now, at midnight (PST) on Tuesday, December 16, 2014. **This giveaway has ended. Check back for more giveaway fun!**

What I think about the Roylco Straws & Connectors set: Way fun!! We played with the 230-piece set. It was a great amount for two of us to use. When I opened the box, it looked like this:

It wasn’t hard to separate the connectors. Once we pulled them all apart, here’s what we had to play (and learn) with:

At first, we didn’t use the directions, but we soon peeked at them to see hot to make more complex connections. The directions were fairly simple, easy to read, and gave us some good inspiration. Here are some of the creations we came up with (notice they get cooler as we continued to play with them):

The straws are roughly 9 inches long. They’re not very hard to connect, but they’ve got enough squeeze between the straw and connector that they stay connected pretty well. This was our favorite creation: a 30 inch tall “castle” with corners and arches!

What can you learn: First of all, these are just plain fun. So no matter what kids learn, they’ll have a good time. Here are some ideas for incorporating learning into this activity:

Identifying vertices and edges in 3D shapes
Structural aspects of various shapes (Which shapes are strongest?)
Spacial intelligence (How many cubes made up this castle? How many cylinders?)
Volume! (What’s the volume of the cube? Of the castle?)
Recreating historical buildings out
Creating chemical compounds (H20, etc)
And the list goes on!

**This giveaway has ended. Check back for more giveaway fun!**

How to Post a Comment:

A few readers have told me they struggled with finding the place to write a comment. There are a few ways readers will get to this page, so here’s how to post a comment (depending on how you got to this post).

If there are multiple posts on this page (you’re on the Squarehead Teachers home page or a search results page):

If you clicked on this post (and it’s the only one on the page), then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page:

The Fine Print: Participation is optional. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase is necessary to participate. Only one entry per person. Available to US and Canada participants only. There will be one winner. Winner will be randomly selected. I will email the winner between Wednesday, Dec. 17-Thursday, Dec. 18. The winner will have 24 hours to respond and provide me with shipping information so I can mail them their prize! If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, the winner forfeits the prize and another winner will randomly be selected (in which case the new winner will be notified and the same terms apply). The winner will be announced on this blog once eligibility has been confirmed. I cannot guarantee the winner will receive their prize before Christmas, but I’ll try my best! This giveaway is sponsored by Squarehead Teachers and Roylco, and is not affiliated with WordPress or any other sponsor. If you have additional questions, please contact me! Good luck!