The Polar Express is Coming...

Am I the only one that wishes it were coming sooner?

Thought process=if we watch Polar Express then it is the last day before break then break.is.finally.here. My kiddos might be a little stir crazy - so we are just going with the flow in Ketchen's Kindergarten. Ha.

We have an awesome Auditorium where we watch The Polar Express every year on the big screen on the last day of school before break. The kiddos earn pennies (our reward system for this lovely month - can you tell that today may have been a little bit rough?) and must have 20 pennies to buy a ticket to the movie.

We give tickets for following directions, being kind, walking nicely (What? I'm not allowed to bounce down the hallway?), etc. We (enter Scrooge) also take away in the event that not so great choices are being made...

Here is how I'm keeping track this year - the "Pennies for Polar Express" chart. Each child starts with 10 pennies - and I adjust the total throughout the day. I added the number line at the bottom right - and it has helped my kiddos to see how many more they need to get to 20.

Kiddos with more than 20 get a front row seat - whoohoo!

After the movie is over, we come back to the room and have hot chocolate and candy canes. One of my favorite days (not just because it is the last day...)!

Yeah for Giveaways!

Check out "A Cupcake for the Teacher" -- she's having a giveaway!!! To one of my (and I'm guessing your) favorite stores: Target! Enter quick - the contest ends December 14th.

December Math Journals

I have to brag on one of my kiddos! Today was just another regular math journal day. We are "math talking" and finding important vocabulary and questions in our math journals.

I give them 4 "red light" minutes (which is supposed to be silent but really is more like a loud whisper during this lovely month...haha) to complete their journal page.

I looked around and was so excited to see this:

We haven't talked much about addition - and he just wrote it down - no problem. Yeah for math journals!!!

Whoohoo! I know this is super late - but they are here for next year if you want them!

December Math Journals

December Math Stations

My kiddos are really into math stations - which is awesome. Creating and coming up the stations is not really how I want to spend my Sunday definitely challenging.

I love everything available on the blogosphere - so it's just a matter of being resourceful and creative and then putting the time in. I want the stations to be exciting - so that they continue asking (on an hourly basis haha), "Mrs. Ketchen, are we going to do our math tubs today?".

I hang this document underneath my math stations board - to help keep me on track mostly. I like how Mrs. Wills puts the source into her plans - so I added that to my document.

I have 12 stations - 6 of them are number sense based, and the other 6 incorporate geometry, algebra (patterning), reading (math books) and the computer (various games/software).

My kiddos work in partners and it really is neat to watch them work together and encourage each other to "talk math".

For December, I used resources from
Confessions of a Homeschooler
  and

PreKinders (both fabulous sites!).
I also used some from my Gingerbread Packet and (insert drum roll...) made some new stations.




Grab your free probably gonna be crazy big to download but I hope you'll still grab them activities here:

Race to Trace - Christmas Tree Style 

You'll need to program a dice with the numbers 11-16 for this game.

 Find the Gingerbread 

Gingerbread Patterns 

Enjoy!!! Love hearing from you. :)

Teen Numbers Practice - Gingerbread Style!

Ahhh, one of my favorite topics to teach - mostly because I get to hear so many new number names - including but not limited to:

1-teen
forty-teen
12-teen
11-teen
one-two-teen
thirteen-teen-teen

I guess I'll be happy that they at least have the teen part down!! If anyone has any great ideas, please share. My kiddos always seem to struggle with this set of numbers.

I did pin a few ideas:


Anchor Chart


Teen Number Twister

Since it is Gingerbread Week, I made a Teen Numbers review game. I told the kiddos about it today - and they seemed excited! Hopefully it helps with my gray hair stemming from their number recognition. :)

Enjoy. As always, if you use this game, I'd love to hear about it or see pictures!

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