Free Keys to Math

Math Fact Solutions: Here is a simple solution to help your students with math facts, multiplication, addition, subtraction, and other subjects. I hope you enjoy my free keys to math. They are a great math class solution and can be used as an alternative to math flash cards.

•Print the keys on the next page on cardstock paper.

•Use a hole puncher to punch a hole in the key.

•Place a page reinforcement around the circle (optional).

•Cut as many key notches as you would like.

•Add a key ring, and you will have your Keys to Math set.

A Flash Card Alternative

On one side of the key, write a problem. Then write the solution on the back of the key. You can use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and many other types of problems. In fact, your Keys to Math will work for other subjects too. For example, you can write a contraction on one side of the key and a two words that make up the contraction on the other side. When you use these with students, experiment with using different colors of paper for different problems. For example, all addition problems using 3s may be on blue paper and problems with 4s may be on red paper. You can also group like problems on different key rings. Please leave a comment to let me know how you used your Keys to Math. 

An easy way to reinforce math facts

Click {HERE} to download your free copy.

Thanks!

Robin @ Sweet Tea Classroom

This post is also featured on Second Grade Math Maniac {Here}.

Teachers Pay Teachers Memorial Day Sale 20% Off

It's Top Teachers' Memorial Day SALEabration time! I'm having a 20% off Memorial Day Sale at my Teachers Pay Teachers store {HERE}and no promo code is needed. Please come by to check out my patriotic items, glyphs, and craftivities that will be on sale on May 27th and May 28th. Please visit the Top Teachers below who will be joining me too.

Kid's Co-op Linky Fun: May 24th-May 31st

One of the joys or being a mom and a teacher is watching my little one grow and learn each day. While he's just beginning to say words, I've enjoyed every day as he adds new words to his vocabulary. Yesterday, my heart melted (well, the teacher part of it did) when he said his latest word. ..."School." He held out his small toy and smiled. He wanted to play, but used the word school. I had to smile. School should be like play!

Please add your kid friendly ideas and links below. I so love to see what you're up to each week. It's like being a part of a big family. Next week I hope to feature a few of your ideas here on my blog! I'll be looking for ways to teach through play.

Please add our Kid's Co-op button to your post of blog when you link up. Thanks!

Here's the code:

<a href="http://www.facebook.com/WelcomeToTheKidsCoop"><img src="http://letslassothemoon.com/images/badge_coop_play.jpg" alt="The Weekly Kid's Co-op" width="200" height="200" /></a>

Robin @ Sweet Tea Classroom

Parts of a Plant Glyph

I just love it when learning can be fun! Check out what these kindergartners created when they were studying the parts of a plant.

 

These aren't just your regular plants. They are parts of a plant sunflower glyphs. Glyphs are visual ways to represent data. 

These kiddos created the sunflowers in a way to share information with their classmates. For example, if you look at the middle of each sunflower, you will see five of six seeds for these glyphs. Each seed represents one year in age. The numbers or petals on the sunflowers, leaves, roots, and stems all represent data too. 

They also learned about the parts of a plant while they displayed the data. Learning should be fun!! 

{This idea if from my Part of a Plant Sunflower Glyph HERE}

Take care and please follow my blog by e-mail.

Robin @ Sweet Tea Classroom

Life Cycle of Butterfly Glyph Giveaway

Hi, Everyone. I'm giving away one copy of one of my best selling items. My Life Cycle of a Butterfly Glyph includes my Colorful Shapes Caterpillar Glyph and my Colorful Shapes Butterfly Glyph. I've added extra patterns to complete the life cycle. This set is a wonderful way to teach across the curriculum. Your students will learn about shapes, symmetry, graphing, science, writing, and more. Click the image below to enter.

Robin @ Sweet Tea ClassroomPlease follow by e-mail to learn about more giveaways.

American Symbols for Kids Craftivities

Yeah! I've been busy working on a new teacher-created resource to help you integrate fun, writing, and social studies. I've created three writing prompt craftivities that you can use along with your social studies lessons when you teach your kids about American symbols such as the American flag, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Rushmore. This is a fun way to teach American symbols for kids! Click {HERE}

American Flag Craft

Mount Rushmore Writing Prompt

American Symbol Statue of Liberty 

The entire packet is over 80 pages and includes tons of prompts that you can use to add a bit of creative writing, use in place of a report on an American symbol, for a literacy center prompt, or as a simple writing prompt. I've even added Flag Day writing prompts, Memorial day prompts, Presidents Day prompts, Interdependence Day writing prompts, and even Veterans day writing prompts. It's at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Hurry on over there. Like most of my new items, I post it for a reduced price when I first publish it. Be sure to follow my blog by e-mail to keep updated on future new items and sales. Thanks for your support!!

Robin @ Sweet Tea Classroom

Early Writing Techniques: Kid's Co-op Linky May 10th

Hello, All!  Thanks joining me and welcome to the Kid's Co-op Link up for the week of May 10th where I'm featuring early writing and writing techniques. This is the place for you to link up your kid-related posts and check out tons of fun ideas too. Each week I'll be featuring my favorite ideas here too. I'm a teacher, so I'm always on the lookout for some sweet teaching goodies that would work in the classroom. Next week, I'll feature ideas about animals--hopefully jungle animals and habitats!

This week, I'm featuring posts that help parents and teachers encourage children to write. Even before a child picks up that first pencil there are pre-writing techniques to jump start the process.

{I've been busy adding tons of writing prompt craftivities to my list of teacher created resources, so be sure to check them out {HERE}. I think adding a craft to a writing assignment is a super way to get students interested in writing,  and it's a wonderful way to publish student work.}

I'm featuring three bloggers who linked up to the Kid's Co-op last week. I chose these three because each one shared a technique that I think could also encourage young writers.

Be sure to visit these great blogs.

Visit Making Boys Men to learn about this little, fun creation. I see it as a super way to encourage fine motor skills--just what young writers need.

Then at, Reading Confetti you'll find ideas for starting writing the best way I know of---making letter recognition a part of play. This post should make all teachers smile!!

Finally, at Growing a Jeweled Rose, you'll find a super way to jump start the writing process. If you ask me, paint brushes should be our first pencils and canvases our first paper!

Check out my Cursive Writing technique too.

Just add your link below and if you link up, add this Kid's Co-op badge to your site to show your support. I'll be looking for more classroom inspiration next week and I hope to feature you. Thanks! Remember that I'm on the lookout for some wild animal fun next week.




 
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Enjoy and thanks for joining the "school" at Sweet Tea Classroom!

Integrate Fun: Cursive Writing and Art

In my last post, I shared how to introduce cursive writing. This post adds another technique you can use to prepare your kiddos for cursive writing. I love to integrate fun and this post adds even more fun to cursive writing. We integrated art and cursive and got some super results.

To get started writing in cursive, we wrote some cursive loopy letters (b, k, h, e, l, q, p , j, f) and the kiddos used markers to color in the loops. Some letters have loops that go up, some go down, and some have both.

This was good, easy fun.  Since we're working with loopy letters first, I asked the kiddos to use different colored markers and make a series of the cursive letter l across a sheet of plain white paper. Then I asked them to create more lines of loop styles across the page. We used the loopy letters in the works bike, hello, quiz, and fish as guides. Check out our work. Pretty fun, right?

cursive writing art

Remember that we're making art, not writing cursive letters, so the experience is fun. The results are super and worthy of displaying. I've found that the skinny Crayola markers work well for this too.

Next we tied in a concept that I wrote about in the last post. The letters in cursive words are connected. We got our yarn out again and matched it up with our loopy art to demonstrate how all these cursive writing loops were connected.

Cursive writing with children doesn't have to be a challenge. It can be a work of art! Please follow my blog by e-mail to catch the next post in this cursive writing series. Hint--it's about cursive, art, and .....fun!

TeachersPayTeachers Promo Code: May 6-8, 2012

Hello, Everyone! I'm a TpT Seller and I'm having a {BIG SALE} on my teacher-created materials. I'm offering 20% off all of my items {even the $1.50 deals}.  Plus, TpT has a new promo code that's good from May 6- May 8, 2012. When you check out, enter the TpT promo code TAD12 to get a total of 28% off of my items. (This post seems to be getting hits today 8/11. The Teachers Pay Teachers code for August 12 and 13, 2012 is BTS12)

I think one of the best deals is my Jungle Animals {Zoo Animals} Writing Prompt Craftivities. This is a bundle set of eight of my zoo animal writing prompts. Each set sells for $1.50, and the bundle is only $6.00. With the sale, the entire bundle is only $4.32!! You can use these anytime throughout the year, make them part of your literacy centers, tie them in with a zoo field trip, or even use them for bulletin boards.

Jungle Animals Writing Activities

Check out my other items here:

Going Buggy: Kid's Co-op Linky

Hello, All!  Thanks joining me and welcome to the Kid's Co-op Link up for the week of May 3rd where I'm going buggy. This is the place for you to link up your kid-related posts and check out tons of fun ideas too. Each week I'll be featuring my favorite ideas here too. I'm a teacher, so I'm always on the lookout for some sweet teaching goodies that would work in the classroom. Next week, I'll feature ideas to encourage writing.

This week, I'm going buggy and featuring posts that help children learn about insects and insect life cycles. Be sure to check out my last post on ladybug learning in the classroom {HERE}. I've also created two insect life cycle units for classroom or homeschool use too. Click {HERE} to read about my life cycle of a butterfly unit and click {HERE} to read about my life cycle of a ladybug unit.

I'm featuring three bloggers who linked up to the Kid's Co-op last week. I chose these three because each one shared a creative way to teach students about insects and integrate FUN!

Be sure to visit these great blogs.

Visit Moon Sprig to learn how to create this cute little life cycle of the butterfly.

Then at, Think Magnet you'll find ideas for creating caterpillar art for early childhood kiddos.

Finally, at Z is for Zel, you'll find these cute coffee filter butterflies. This is a super butterfly craft for kids.

Just add your link below and if you link up, add this Kid's Co-op badge to your site to show your support. I'll be looking for more classroom inspiration next week and I hope to feature you. Thanks! Remember that I'm on the lookout for writing ideas next week--even early writing skills for kids.





 
<center><a href="http://sweetteaclassroom.com/"></font></p><p><font color="#808080" face="'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/FkLk8.jpg" title="Hosted by imgur.com" alt="" /></a> </font></p><p><font color="#808080" face="'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></center>

Enjoy and thanks for joining the "school" at Sweet Tea Classroom!