Jack O’Lantern Addition/Subtraction Sorting

I bought these darling little jack o’lanterns at Wal-Mart YEARS ago when I first started teaching Kindergarten. I used to have the kids do a little one-to-one correspondence activity with them. Since my 1st graders are knee deep in addition & subtraction right now, I knew these little guys would come in handy for the perfect sorting activity!

I wrote a different number on each jack o’lantern {6-18}. Then I took popsicle sticks and wrote a different math fact on each….about 6 facts for each number…4 addition problems and 2 subtraction problems {subtraction is still pretty new to us}.

The kids sort the math facts into the corresponding jack o’lanterns and when they’re finished, they can record their sorts onto a little pumpkin! I die cut several little pumpkins and set these out in their math tub as well…they write a number on the stem and all the corresponding math facts in inside!

I also gave the kids some seasonal counters to use to help them solve the trickier addition/subtraction problems. We’re really working hard to remember to “count on”, so they’re mostly using the counters for the subtraction facts. {I got the little counters from the Dollar Tree!!}

If you have any other ideas for these little jack o’lanterns, let me know!!!

Candy Corn Math

This week I set out a little candy corn math activity for my kids to use in their stations. Because I have such a sweet tooth, I ate the whole bag of candy corn, so the kids had to settle on the laminated cardstock version instead ;)

Each candy corn is programmed with either an addition or subtraction problem. I cut off the bottom {yellow} portion of the candy corn and left the rest intact. The kids have to match the bottom {sum/difference} to the top {number sentence}. We’ve been working on vertical addition & subtraction, so this is a perfect reinforcement of this concept! The kids love it! They just wish it was the real deal :)

Seasonal Behavior Management

I saw this darling idea in one of the recent editions of The Mailbox Magazine and I loved it so much that I had to implement it into our classroom!! Draw a pumpkin vine and stems on a sentence strip. When your class goes above and beyond or does an awesome job working quietly, showing quality work, walking through the halls quietly, helping others, etc., use an orange bingo dotter to add a “pumpkin” to the vine. Once the vine is full of pumpkins, treat your class to something special! Our class is working towards a popsicle party!! We just started, but so far they’re doing great!