I’m Goin’ To Chicago…Who’s Comin’ With Me?! {& Some Math Tub Fun}

I got a little email from SDE back in December asking if I’d be interested in presenting at The Extraordinary Educators Conference this summer.  Ummm.  Let’s see.  My first thought was, “ohmiword…bless their hearts.  They emailed the wrong person.”  Second thought…after realizing it was, indeed, addressed to me…was “ohmiword.  Why would they POSSIBLY think I have anything to offer?!?!?”  I had a range of other thoughts as well, but for brevity’s sake, I won’t share those with you ;) HA! 

Seriously though.  Oh.MY.WORD.  For real?!?!  To be sitting in the same ballpark as some of these extraordinarily awesome educators is such a GIANT honor!!!  Just look who else will be presenting!!!! 

I am freakin’ out like nobody’s business, but super excited at the same time!  My presentation will be 75 minutes chocked full of math fun and I hope to see you there!!!  So mark your calendars…July 21-24…Chicago {what?! what?!} and check out all the deets on the SDE website!

Speaking of math, one of my most frequently asked questions is “how do you manage your math tubs and rotations?!”  Here’s the condensed version…incase you’re interested :) 

First of all, let me just say that I LOVE math tubs.  I honestly can’t imagine doing math a different way.  Not to say that I think this is the “best” way by any stretch of the means, it’s just what works for me the best :) 

For us, we start our math block with a whole group activity.  The activity might be introducing a new concept, reinforcing something previously taught, hands-on games to reinforce various skills, review activities, or surveys & graphing!  I always start with the end in mind.  If you don’t have a set curriculum to follow, that’s the best advice I can give!  Always start with the end in mind!  Honestly, my love of teaching math didn’t really set in ‘til I started teaching 1st grade.  I.fell.in.love.  BIG love.  Now math in Kindergarten makes SO much more sense to me…or at least, I feel like I have a better understanding of what I need to do to get them where they need to be. 

Moving on…

After our whole group math activity…which could last anywhere from 15-30 minutes…depending on the activity…we start our math tubs.  Here’s our rotation board…

As you can see…SUPER simple.  We don’t need anything crazy confusing these sweet babies!  HA!  I’m in the frog pod on my campus, so I went with a little frog icon for my tub labels.  The labels also coordinate with my table numbers.  5 days, 5 tables, 5 tubs.  My math tubs are housed in my math shelf and stay there until I take them out right before it’s tub time...then I move them to their matching table. The numbered circles are the “dessert” tub activities that each group can do when they’re finished with their “main course” ;)  I found that this was easier for my sweeties this year than just opening up a smorgasbord of activities from which they can choose!  We’ll talk more about desserts in just a sec. 

Each math tub contains a different activity that reinforces a previously taught concept.  I don’t ever put in something they’ve never seen!!  My math tubs spiral key concepts and skills throughout the year so the kids are constantly getting opportunities for independent practice and reinforcement.  Here’s a little sample of what they look like on the inside…

activities from:  my Valentine math packet, Deanna’s Valentine Unit, & Kathleen’s Valentine unit

I got the tubs at the $1 spot at Target {they were really $2.50 though ;)}  I absolutely LOVE this particular size container.  They’re pretty durable and sturdy, too.  The tiny little tubs inside are from the Dollar Tree.  I like to include a small tub inside each big tub to hold all my manipulatives and activity pieces {so they don’t get lost in the shuffle}.  As I said previously, all of my math tub activities reinforce previously taught concepts and skills. By this point in the year, they (should) know EXACTLY what to do when they’re working independently!  My kids are grouped heterogeneously, so we have all different skill levels working together.  It’s really neat to hear them “teach” each other when they’re working solo!! 

I like to include enough “pieces” in each tub for each kiddo to use.  Yes…this means a bit of preparation on your part, but trust me when I say that the juice is worth the squeeze!  The kids only visit ONE tub a day.  I *personally* feel like this gives the kids a chance to really focus on the skill/concept at hand and allows them to spend time practicing and completing the activity without feeling rushed.  By Friday, each kiddo has visited each tub. 

What I love about having all of my kids working in tubs at one time is the flexibility it gives me to make observations, assess, and work with kiddos one-on-one who need to be challenged or who are experiencing trouble mastering skills. 

Since I can’t be with each group at once, I typically include an assessment sheet with each activity.  I look over all of their work each day, so if I see that one of my friends had a tough time with a particular activity, I can pull him/her aside the next day and work on that activity with them alone. 

Math tubs last anywhere from 20-30 minutes.  Some of my friends might finish their activity earlier than that, so they know to visit their assigned dessert {number} tub when they’re finished with their main course.  I found these little tubs at Ikea several years ago and LOVE them. 

I change out the activities in my dessert tubs every week…just like I do with my math tubs.  This particular week pictured above contained lots of dice games from Deedee Wills math packets and these PRECIOUS Roll & Cover activities from Andrea Mason.  Y’all…my kids are OBSESSED with these dice games!  Seriously…they’re requested ALL the time!!!  When I replace these dice games with something different, my kids are *slightly* disappointed!  HA!!!  I include all sorts of activities…sorting, patterning, sequencing, addition, etc…this week just happened to be lots of dice games!!!  Hey…as long as they’re doing quality work that reinforces skills they need to master, then I’m all for it!!! 

Whew!  That was a mouthful!  And I’m sure there’s SOMETHING I’m forgetting!  If you’re more of a visual learner like me, I hope to see you in Chicago in July!  I hope this kind of explains how we roll in math.  If you want to read how I did math tubs in first grade, check it out HERE.

Have a great night, friends!!!  In the meantime, I have a date with Uncle Si.  Time for the new season of DUCK DYNASTY!!! 

Happy, happy, happy!!!!!!!