Spill the Beans

Want to play Spill the Beans? This is a very popular game in my classroom! I know it will also become a favorite in yours! 

Here are the directions and everything you need to get started. As shown, by the picture below, you need to purchase some red/white bean counters. These can be found at Amazon and come in a bag of 200.

 Use a sharpie marker to write the letters of the alphabet on the white side of the beans. I used the scrabble game as my guide. 

Here is how many beans you need for each letter. 

A=18, B=4, C=4, D=8, E=24, F=4, G=6, H=4, I=18, J=2, K=2, L=8, M=4, N=12, O=16, P=4, Q=2, R=12, S=8, T=12, U=8, V=4, W=4, X=2, Y=4, Z=2  

(You will have a few beans left over to replace any beans that get lost.)

Download the freebie by clicking here or on the picture below.

  The freebie cover comes in a color and a black and white version. Laminate the version of your choice and cut out. Wrap it around a half-size Pringles can and secure with tape. 
(Just a note: Dawn Dish Soap cleans the inside of the Pringles can very well!)

The freebie comes with a recording sheet for your students.

This game can be played with two or more students. Students get a small pile of beans. The children manipulate the beans to create words and record them on their recording sheets. The child who creates the most words wins. For a math center, buy a second set of beans and write math problems on each one.

What I love about this game is that every grade level can play it! Kindergarteners can work on simple word families while older students can create more complex words. Math can be simple addition or complex multiplication. 

I hope you and your students enjoy this game!

Today was the 100th Day of School

Today was the 100th day of school. It is my all-time favorite day of the school year! To say I am exhausted would be an understatement! The kids wore me out and I didn't even get to do everything that I had planned for today. I overplanned...I always overplan. Here are a ton of pictures from today. The kids loved it!

It has been a yearly tradition to have my class create '100th Day' t-shirts. This was my 15th year.

 This year I made a cookie snack for my kids. I had half of these kids in kindergarten and wanted to give them a different snack than the one I made before. They loved it! 
Look for the snack tags here.

 Here are the '100th Day' bookmarks I made for them.

 The Hershey Kiss Game is a popular favorite! Take 100 Hershey Kisses and number them 1-100. I place them all around the classroom when my kids are out of the room at PE class.  When they come back they find the Kisses! The rule is that they can only touch one at a time. They have to put the Hershey Kiss on the 100's chart before they go and find another Kiss.

 The kids loved cutting out their ice cream and counting by 10's. They came out so cute! 
If you would like to see the product this came from click here.

 My early finishers worked on assorted activity sheets while they waited. Check them out here.

 One of the highlights of the day was the number chain that is included in my 100th Day Product. I decided to print on bright colored paper and let the children choose. I really love how they came out! 

 Roll to 100 Game

Play with 2-3 players and a 100s chart for each player. Use 1 die for a slow game or 2 dice for a quicker game. Roll the dice and fill in the amount of numbers rolled. The first person to reach 100 first wins. I also have a version of the game where the numbers are already there and the children color as they go.

 Here are the 100 chart puzzles. I printed assorted puzzles from 1-1,000 and then cut them out for each child. My higher level students received a more difficult puzzle while my strugglers received an easier one.

 Last, but not least, our 100th day projects!

Now do you see why I am exhausted? But I loved it! :o)