National Dice Day ~ December 4th

Today is National Dice Day! Dice are a part of many fun family games — including Monopoly, Boggle & Yahtzee. They are also a fun part of many educational math games. 

Dice found at Cantonment Clinch (1823-1834) in Pensacola, Florida

Dice have been around for a very long time! In Iran, archaeologists discovered the oldest known dice. They are over 5,000 years old! I couldn’t find a picture that I could post, but you can see a picture of the oldest dice here. The picture on the left shows dice that were likely used during the American Civil War. Historically, dice have been made from bone, wood, ivory & plastic. There are many more materials available today. A little trivia – –did you know that the dots on dice are called pips? This is also the word for the dots on dominoes. 

We have been taught that die is the singular form of dice. However, according to the Oxford dictionary, dice is now used for both singular and plural. I wish I would have know that at the beginning of my research for this post! While looking for graphics to use, I typed “dice” into the search field of a graphics site and when there weren’t any results (should I say – “no dice” LOL!) I quickly typed in die. Then, I started laughing thinking about the absurdity of finding a graphic for die on this cute graphics site that caters to scrapbookers– not to mention what will the site owner think when they look at the history of search terms. I’m pretty sure that I will be the only one who used that search term!

There are many great classroom resources that use dice. I’ve provided a little list here of some freebies. Read to the end of the post for a few ways to organize your dice collection!

CLASSROOM FREEBIES
1) Winter Dice Games by Teacher Treasure Hunter
2) Winter Color by Sum created by Teacher Tam
3) Polar Express Roll and Cover Games created by Mary Lirette
4) Roll a Snowman by the Tutu Teacher
5) Roll it! Make it! Expand it! worksheet by Rebecca Anderton – Teaching First
6) Roll a Tree a Christmas worksheet for adding 3 digits by Fun in First
7) Save the Snowman a winter game by Heather’s Heart
8) Anna, Elsa & Sven dice game for number recognition by the Activity Mom

Here are some great ideas to keep your dice organized:
*Put dice in magnetic containers that are put on a hanging cookie sheet (cutesified!)
*Plastic craft boxes with multiple compartments
*Plastic bin storage made for organization nails and other hardware (repurposed!)

Keep the dice QUIET with these ideas:
*Dice in a water bottle
*Glue felt or foam to the bottom of a container

Happy dice day! Now, go “shake” things up in your math lesson today!

1 day only SALE! 40% off all Bundles!

Today only! All Bundles are 40% off!! 

Healthy Habits Bundle: $16  $9.50

Huge QR Bundle:  $30  $18

Mega Language Arts  Bundle: $10.99  $6.50

I have…Who has…Game Bundle: $12  $7

Animal Research Bundle: $20  $12

Literacy Poem Bundle: $12  $7

Patriotic Bundle: $18  $10.50

Short Vowel Bundle: $10  $6

Addition Mega Bundle: $10.99  $6.50

Happy Shopping Day! Enjoy the bargains!! 

Giveaway & National Wiggle Your Toes Day

“What a wonderful beautiful thing, to wiggle your toes.” ~ Dalton Trumbo
August 6th is National Wiggle Your Toes Day! Here are some tips that you can use to spoil yourself & some ways to share this day with your students.

I couldn’t find any information about how or why this unofficial day was started. I know as a teacher it’s a good reminder that the summer is almost over! 😦 This is the time to get in your last few mid-week days of sunshine, steal away to a nearby beach or just go to the park with your family. Of course, flip flops or bare feet are a necessity on this day!

To get this day started, you’ll need a great pedicure. I like that this pedicure from Ella Pretty Blog is thorough and has lots of products featured that you might like to try. However, one Sephora scrub that is featured is $20. Multiply that cost by all the different products you could use on one pedicure and this turns into an expensive DIY project!  I like this pedicure mixture from While He Was Watching ESPN because it has simple, inexpensive ingredients that you can pick up at Wal-Mart.

If you are in the classroom already, here are some ideas that you can share with your kiddos:
1) Read Dr. Seuss’ Foot Book – click on the picture above to find it on Amazon
2) Make a Flip Flop Puppet
3) Listen to the Foot Book Song
4) Enter to win my new Flip Flop Facts game
It also includes a mini poster and a worksheet. I love using the idea of “flip-flopping” the addends to help kids understand the commutative property of addition. It’s fun and easily for them to visualize.

**Leave a comment with your first day of school. I’ll randomly choose 5 winners from those who leave a comment. Leave your email also so I can email you if you win. I’ll choose the winners next Sunday – August 10th. Thanks for visiting my blog!**

I’m definitely going to update my pedicure today and spend some time in my well-worn Teva flip flops! How will you “celebrate”?

Math Madness @ Teaching Momster: MONEY

Krista at Teaching Momster is hosting a linky with tips for teaching money. I’m excited to see the responses! I teach 1st grade. Common Core has listed coins in 2nd grade with nothing noted in kindergarten or 1st grade. I can’t imagine waiting until 2nd grade to introduce coins! Our kindergarten students learn so much about coins. They forget some during summer break, but with some practice they are able to do very well with coins.

So, here are some tips:
* Have them label the coins on worksheets
I always have them write beneath the coins the cumulative value as if they were counting the coins to me and saying the total. This way, if there is a mistake, I can see what coins they need to practice.
*Give them practice with mixed coins
Our curriculum (Saxon) puts the coins in nice rows for them with all of the same coins together. They even put them in order according to value. Of course, in real life you will just get a pile of coins jumbled together that you need to count.
*Award coins for chores
When my boys were younger, they could earn coins for chores. We might assign a certain value for each clothing item folded or an amount for a completed chore. We kept a container of coins for them to get their earnings. 🙂 They quickly became coin counting experts! They sometimes even became experts on IOU’s & lending (without interest!) when the coin container was empty!

I asked for some tips on Facebook and here are a few:
*Sarah posted: I am a believer in using real money for the students to understand the concept and draw on real life. It’s easier for them to see and touch the money to retain the values better!!   
Excellent tip, Sarah!
*Jen wrote: I have a classroom store where they earn money for doing work and good behavior then they get to purchase things like little toys, pencils, etc. 
This is similar to my idea for chores. I haven’t been willing to put the time into a classroom store yet, but I am certain it would be a very valuable teaching tool – not to mention a behavior motivator! 🙂
*Brittany wrote: We also do a little “shopping” day where they get to practice counting money and pay for pretend items.

*Ofelia wrote: I love reading children’s literature on money. 

Don’t forget to check out even more teaching tips at Teaching Momster! My facebook giveaway and Spring Sale-a-bration is continuing for the rest of the week.