Math Projects for Monday Made It

Hey Yall!  I'm linking up with Tara again for my absolute favorite day of the week:  Monday Made It!  This week I decided to showcase a few of my summer projects that focus on math!

First off, I could not get enough of these amazing dice shakers from Primary Inspired.  I ran out immediately after seeing them and had to make them for myself . I swung by Dollar Tree to get some glitter, dice, glue, gems.  Then I ran to Wegmans to purchase some tiny water bottles.  For some reason, they kind of remind me of mini rocket ships.  Weird!

Any who, I pulled off the labels.  Luckily, they didn't leave any sticky residue.  I popped in 2 dice and sprinkled in a little glitter.  Then I decided to glue the top back on so my little friends can't open them and accidentaly pour the water out during centers....not that they would ever do that, right?

I glued a gem to the top and drew on a couple of simple doodles with the glitter glue.  They came out pretty cute.  I can't wait to use them during math centers for some quiet dice rolling action.  You can check out one of the games that we use dice for right here.

Next, I had to create something robot-ish for my classroom.  Working number sense activities into my daily routine is a must for next year.  My kiddos are also going to need lots of chances to practice their math facts.  So, I devised a game:  Robot Swat.

I found these adorable fly swatters at Dollar Tree.  (They have others that come in shapes like butterflies and flowers.)  I printed off some robot clipart, laminated it, and glued a copy to each side.  I used a hot glue gun so it would stick strong and fast.  Here are pictures of my first two.  However, I ended up making four.

Then I created, cut out, and laminated gears with numbers and operation signs.  I also created some cards with math facts and guess my operation problems.  My thought is that students will get a fly swatter, when they see the problem card they will race to see who can swat the correct gear first.  Whoever swats the correct gear first, wins, and gets to play again.  The other 3 students must pass on their robot (fly) swatters to new students to play.  Here's a pic of my playing against my husband with just the number gears.

I envision my students playing this during morning meeting or as a math warm-up.  They will be gathered around in a circle, with the gears spread out in the middle.  I will select 2-4 students to play at a time.  After students learn how to play I might even make this one of our math centers.

Want a copy of my robot swat game?  You can download it here at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  For today only, all my math materials are 20% off.  Stock up now for back to school!

Check out all the other cool projects on Tara's site for Monday Made It!

Robots in the Mail and Win a Free iPad

Today I received 2 fun packages in the mail!
  
The first one was from Carson Dellosa.  I love how they use recycled wrapping paper for packaging.  Such a great, eco-friendly idea!  I ordered robot accents, bulletin board sets, name tags, stickers, notepads, and more!

The second package was from Trend Enterprises.  I ordered name plates, gear accents and trimmers for my bulletin boards.  I also got some adorable monkey stickers (just because).

 
Both Trend and Carson Dellosa's robot/gear stuff match pretty nicely.  They both have a black background and bright, fun colors.  I highly recommend checking them out if you are going with a robot theme this school year!
 
Of course, I had to hurry and laminate everything.  I can't wait to start decorating my classroom.  Check back soon for some of my classroom pics.  I still have a long way to go before my classroom looks perfect for the first day of school, but I will be sharing a few things soon!
 
Oh, and before I go.  Do you want to win a free iPad?  Check out Teacher Center Resources for their super cool iPad contest.  I would love to win one of these!
 

...and my back to school theme is....

Drum roll please.  My back to school theme is....

ROBOTS

I found the cutest robots on Caron-Dellosa's website that persuaded me to go with this theme.  I needed something I'd never done before and robots will fit in perfect because one of our first science units in the fall is simple machines (with wheels, screws, gears, etc...)

I know, I know...major contrast from my cute garden blog design.  But definitely showcasing another side of my personality seeing as I come from a family of gear heads.

My classroom bins and containers are all red, blue, and green (primary colors) so I needed something to fit in with those, as I do not want to have to purchase them all over again.  My walls are also going to be painted some time over the summer, or winter (whenever our maintenance crew gets a chance).  2 will stay beige and 2 will become blue.  The robot design should still coincide with my color combinations.

So, now that school is finally out, I decided to join in with Tara, from 4th Grade Frolics, for Monday Made it!  This week, to coincide with my robot theme, I made some robot art for my classroom walls.

I gathered canvas (on sale - 50% off), paint, glitter paint, paint brushes, wiggly eyes, and star confetti from A.C. Moore.  I gathered some nuts, bolts, screws, and other miscellaneous items from Lowes.  When I got home, I spread out all my materials.

I was inspired by some artwork I found posted on Pinterest by Krissy Venosdale.  I decided to model my project after her robot design.

I started out by making some templates on Microsoft Office (squares, rectangles, letters) because my hands shake too much to draw free-hand.  I cut out the templates, traced them onto the canvas. determined what color I wanted where, and began to paint.

After the paint dried, I outlined each object and letter with glitter paint, glued on the miscellaneous items along with the confetti stars, and shazam....robot art complete.  What do you think?
   

I also found some really cute robot printables from Krissy Venosdale.  Click here to download them for yourself!  She has them posted for free!
   

Join in with Tara for Monday Made it!

Stop back soon for more Robot related art and school supplies that I find along the way.  It'll be a few weeks before I can get back into my classroom again.  But, once I start setting up, I'll take lots of pictures to share!