**NEW Snowman Poke Subtraction Facts to 10

YAY!  Another new math game.  I know, I am obsessed with math games.  :)

This one is called Snowman Poke.  My students absolutely LOVE this game.  They play in partners or groups, taking turns drawing a card.  They solve the subtraction problem and on the snowman's belly are holes punched out where his buttons would be.  Each hole has a "difference" next to it.  Students will poke their pencil through the hole that they think is the right answer.  With the pencil still poked through, they flip the card over to check their answer.  I've circle the correct hole on the back.  If they got the right one, they keep the card.  If not, they add it back to the stack.  Fun huh?  Seriously this game never gets old to my kids.  Click on the picture below to see the game in my TpT store.

Free R.A.F.T. Graphic Organizer

Hey hey!  So this week in first grade we are writing friendly letters.  As part of our school's training in the 6+1 Traits of Writing, we are trying to help our kids focus on the Voice trait.  One great tip that I learned from another teacher who came to visit our school is the R.A.F.T. method.  It stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic.  This is great to use when you are trying to help your students change their perspective and become more creative in their writing.

So I decided to make this cute little graphic organizer to help my students plan out their ideas.  That way, when they go to actually write their letter, they can refer back to this worksheet for help.  It is available at my TpT store for FREE!  Just click the picture below to get it!

Our format will be a friendly letter but it is up to my students to decide who they want to be when they write their letter and who it will be addressed to.  It will be Christmas themed, so students may choose to be a reindeer, an elf, a toy, or even themselves. The possibilities are endless and this really gives the kids a chance to think outside of the box!  The topic is Christmas but within that broad spectrum they can steer the letter in any direction that they want to! I am really excited to see what my kids come up with!  I will post some of their work later this week when we are done! 

The Sweetest Students Ever!

I just had to write a quick post about how precious and sweet my students are!  I absolutely love when they bring in pictures and notes that they have made for me.  It is just so heart warming that they think about me even when they are at home or at after school programs.

Jenna wrote this one in her journal one day.  It says, "I LOVE my new teacher Mrs. Thompson.  In fact, I love Mrs. Thompson so much that I love first grade."  Hahaha how funny and sweet!

Then Andrew brought this picture to school one day.  It says "Mrs. Thompson is the best teacher in her classroom."  HA!  I'm glad that out of all of the teachers in MY classroom, I am the best one, hehehe!

They are just so precious and funny!  Things like this can really
 make my day and help to remind me why I am a teacher in the first place!  :)

**NEW Christmas Counting Set--Numbers 0 to 25

I made this Christmas themed math set for some kindergarten friends!  It focuses on counting and representing numbers 0 to 25.  It's on my TPT store for $3.00!  Please check it out!  And also let me know if you have any requests!  :)  Enjoy!

**NEW** Reindeer Race Subtraction Game

I wish you could hear the sound I am making right now!  It's something like a high-pitch squeal!  I am just SO very excited to be making games/activities for my TPT account!  I worked my fanny off ALL DAY LONG trying to make this game.  I struggled with print margins, file sizes, merging PDF files...but finally, finally, FINALLY...I GOT IT!!!!  :)   Then I had it all ready to upload and then I realized that my first upload on TPT had to be free.  Bummer.  Not that I don't want to give away Free things, because I do!  But I had already put in all of the info for my other game...blah.  I hate having to start all the way over.  But it's worth it!

So I uploaded a one page sheet for FREE.  Unfortunately it is a little late because it is Thanksgiving themed.  But hey, there is always next year, right?  It is an Acrostic Poem using the word "Thanks".  My kids loved this.  After they fill out the poem, they get to color and decorate the border.  It is definitely cute enough to hang up!  Click here to get it!

The game that I uploaded is called "Reindeer Race Subtraction".  It focuses on subtraction to 20.  My first graders and I will continue to focus on this skill all the way until Christmas break.  By that time, I am sure they will be subtracting experts!  And this is just a fun and cute way for them to practice since we are quickly approaching Christmas!  Everything is more fun with some reindeer or elves involved, haha!  I will upload some pictures soon of my classroom with all of our Christmas decor.  But until then, please go on over to my TPT store and check out this game!  Whether you are focusing on subtraction right now or not, it always makes a great review game!

Confession: I Am Addicted to Blogs!

I never thought I would be the type of person to spend so much time looking at blogs online...but it is truly addicting!  I love seeing what other teachers are doing in their classrooms.  I have gotten so many new ideas for activities in my classroom and I thought...why not share some of my own ideas?  So here we are!

I am a first grade teacher to 19 lovely boys and girls.  I really look forward to sharing our classroom with you!  I plan on trying to do at least one post a week (that may change, for better or worse...haha).  I also am really excited because I am going to start designing some cute printable games/activities!!!  Some will be free and others will be available on TeachersPayTeachers.com.  I will give you my TPT info when it is ready!  :)