Fun Around the Classroom

Well, you've got to love Wisconsin weather. With wind chills of -30 to -40 tomorrow, schools around us have already started to cancel for tomorrow. If we get canceled, I guess that means some new classroom activities will be on the way soon! A few weeks ago, I posted about the Math Brain Busters cards that I created. The original set has one question from each 6th grade math Common Core Standard. Since then, I created a separate set that focuses entirely on Expressions & Equations! My goal is to have one set for each standard by the time spring rolls around.

With a cold day looming, I thought it would be a fun change of pace to blog about a few of the fun "extras" I have around my room. These are just some fun routines or classroom items I have found or begun using to liven up my classroom! As always, if you have some of your own, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section at the bottom!

At the end of each school year, our school does a "bump up day." On this day, students get bumped up to the next grade level, so that they can meet their future teachers and see their future classrooms. Every year, there are three things my future students never fail to notice or ask questions about. First off...the math clock! I got this one as a present and it has been great for the classroom. Unfortunately it doesn't work anymore (even when I do have batteries in it), but I just can't bring myself to take it down. It is always one of the first things students notice when they come in.

Second...the bobbleheads! This is my personal collection that I have accumulated over the years, racing sausages and all! Unfortunately, the hot dog has sustained a few injuries over the years and is down a leg and an arm! This year I was even lucky enough to have a thoughtful student bring one in as a present that he had gotten at a game. I'm hoping to get to enough games this summer so I have to start a second shelf!

The third thing students always notice is my dropped marker tally. I started this one a few years ago, when my students were giving me a hard time about how often I dropped my white board marker. We decided it would be fun to keep track of it throughout the year...and so we did! It's funny how into it the sixth graders get. They never fail to notice me being clumsy! I occasionally use the data in class, especially once we get to our statistics and probability unit at the end of the year.

Finally, the last thing I started doing every day is creating a creative chalkboard date on our classroom schedule. I can't take credit for this idea either - this one was thanks to a student my first year of teaching. It was such a creative idea I had to start putting it up there every day! The dates are fun to come up with and I often have students who want to create them. I do find it funny...it seems like every year there is a student who doesn't realize the date is written like that until over halfway through the year!

Hope you've enjoyed some of our sixth grade fun! Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!