Sterling's Snippets: Shaving Cream, Bubble Gum and Rainbows....Oh My!

Have you heard the news? Bubble Gum Math is a hit in 1st grade! I decided to try something new this year to improve the student's fact fluency. While the students have learned many strategies to add and subtract, they aren't yet speedy. Now I know, this isn't the most important thing, yet I also know that our teachers appreciate students knowing their math facts prior to 2nd grade. So that's how Bubble Gum Math came about! We spent a full week learning the rules and routines. I modeled the process and we hit a few bumps in the road as we practiced. This week has been our first full week of implementation. Students work with a partner to take their test. The partner times, supervises, and grades the test using an answer key. You may see some errors on the correcting, but I am working with them on how to fix the mistakes with a simple "ok." Independence is key as I am working with small groups on a math lesson during this time. After the test, the students graph their results on their individual graphs, and if they score twelve or more correct in one minute they earn a gumball sticker to add to their machine! On every third test passed they earn a penny for my real gumball machine and a piece of gum. When they have mastered all of their addition facts through twelve they will earn a larger gum prize and then they will begin the subtraction facts. Who would have thought one minute time tests could be so fun? If a student is stuck on a test, a set of flashcards for that specific test will be sent home to practice. Please watch for these and practice with your child if necessary.

We had fun with shaving cream this week too as we practiced words that end with /ng/ and /nk/. The students did a great job following the number one rule for shaving cream, only one hand in the cream!

The first graders were a little disappointed that the leprechauns didn't visit our classroom. My teacher heart sank a bit, but knew we had other fun in store! We made rainbow pots of gold earlier in the week that turned out darling! Today we made St. Patrick's Day Rainbow kabobs that we could eat, YUM! Even though the leprechaun didn't visit our room, we still had fun together!