Pirate Party

My daughter had been dying for a Pirate themed birthday party for her 6th Birthday, and quite frankly, I was dying to throw her one.  I have a fond memory of being just about her age and going on a treasure hunt with the neighborhood kids that was organized by my father.  He got a bit more creative than I did and actually buried the treasure, and I will never forget how excited we all were as we were digging it up. 

My daughter's party was very inexpensive to put together although I did take quite a bit of time.  Unfortunately I was not able to find many tips and hints online for a Pirate Birthday Party with a treasure hunt so it was a lot of just figuring stuff out.  Most of materials that I used I already had at home, and we had the party mid-afternoon so there was no need to feed the children anything more than cupcakes and juice boxes. 

My daughter had 27 first graders (I know....don't say it!).  So there needed to be some preplanning, structure and organization.  Thankfully a few of my friends (teachers of course-who are very used to this) and family members really helped out!  As the children came in someone took their coats and gifts and moved them to the family room, while the children split between the dining room and living room.  In the dining room the children were dressed up with a pirate bandanna on their heads and a pirate eyepatch, and then given a pirate bag to use to collect their loot.  The bandanna, eye patch, bag and loot they collected went home with them as their goody bags.  The bags, patches and bandannas totaled less than $3.00 per child.  The kids then moved on to the living room where they had a pirate mustache and some scars added.



Post Treasure-Hunt picture. 

Once the children had arrived we played a game called "Cannonball Pop."  This got a bit tricky because it was extremely windy outside so we had to play in the kitchen (I figured the carpets in the living room and family room might make it tricky to pop the ballons).  I don't really advise this as an indoor game, but they did just fine. The children were split into two teams and each team received a laundry basket of black balloons (cannonballs).  The kids raced in relay form, grabbing balloons from the basket and trying to pop them by sitting on them.  Within some balloons I had put little pieces of colored paper- blue in some and orange in others.  This helped add a little more excitement to the game.  The last balloon was planted for my daughter to pop and in that one was a pirate letter explaining the rules of the upcoming treasure hunt.  The kids did a great job listening as I read the rules to them.  They each got in line with either their blue paper or orange paper and got to pick out of one of the orange or blue prize bins depending on their paper(I had two buckets filled with small prizes-many of which were left over from unused goody bags from my kids' earlier Birthday Parties, or a mishmosh of prizes that I gather to give to my students at school).  Point being- there was little to no cost involved here.  I actually had all the black balloons as well because we tend not to use them when we get a bag of colored balloons. 
Once the rules of the treasure hunt had been read the kids stayed in their two groups and each left with an adult and their first clue.  They ran throughout the neighborhood (with permission from the neighbors of course) into neighbors yards and throughout our yards following clues to try to find the treasure.  Because there were so many kids I actually had two treasure chests and placed them on opposite sides of the yard.  The tricky part of running two treasure hunts was making sure that one group did not get the other group's clues.  Feel free to ask if you're intrested to know how!

The kids ran like fools, followed the clues and finally found the treasure chests.  They were required to bring them back to the deck to be sure that all treasure was split equally.  I had filled the treasure chests with 1,000 dollar bars, $100 bill pencils (also great to have for prizes as a math teacher), $100 bill notepads, some gold coins that I got in the dollar bins at Target, and beaded necklaces that I had a TON of from a friend who had been to Mardi Gras. 

The kids ate cupcakes on the deck (with 27 kids it's tricky to have them all inside for treats) and then headed inside and sat beautifully while watching my daughter open her gifts.  (It may have helped that I was tossing treats and prizes to good listeners)The party ran from 1:00-3:00 and we truly finished opening the last gift and had children put their coats on at 3:00 as parents began arriving to pick up.  Price Chopper made the cupcake cake which I thought came out really great.  Although we don't have one near us I order and then have my parents bring down the cake when they come since Price Chopper always does such a great job!


Yep-These are really cupcakes!!



Invitations:  To make the invitations I used left over resume paper that has been sitting around for years and burned the edges.  I rolled the invitations and wrapped them with a small piece of raffia for delivery. 

Clues:  I used the same paper as I did for the invitations and again burnt the edges.  Note- I found it easiest to pinpoint places in the neighborhood/yard before beginning and then trying to write clues to match. 

I had a great deal of fun putting this party together.  A few things that I would change for next time come to mind, but over all it was a successful party!

Batter's Up - Math Fact Baseball

There is nothing like the promise of Math Baseball on Friday to keep kids motivated throughout the week.  I've been playing Math Baseball with my students since I began teaching 13 years ago, but to be honest, I can not remember where/how I either came up with it, or learned about it.  I do know that there are many versions of Math Baseball, and that the version of the game I play with my students is new to them each year.  The rules have changed over the years and adapted to my needs, and the end result is that the kids love it.  I did a Google search for Math Baseball to see if this was an idea I had "borrowed" in order to give credit where credit was due, but I was not able to find anything.  SO- here is how we play.  This can be played with any grade, and all the kids love it. 

For starters, my rule is that you have to have handed in all of your homework for the week.  If you owe me any work you use that math period to complete it.  Unfortunately for you, your classmates are playing a fun game.  When the students know we are having "Friday Fun Day" (playing Math Baseball) they all tend to have their work in on time. 

• Split the class into two teams.  Depending on the range of abilities in the class I sometimes partner the students so they are always against the same person in order to keep the competition even.
• Designate three areas of the room as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd base. 
• Position yourself at the front of the room with the two teams lined up in front of you.
• Fire off a math fact and the students race to answer it.

One team is "in the field" and the other is "at bat."  If the student from the "in the field" team gets the answer first, then it is one out.  If the "at bat" student gets the answer first then they proceed (walking) to first base.  The game continues like this until there are three outs against one team.  Students stay in the same places, but anyone on base gets back in line and the roles switch.

• Have students mark their runs on the board as they come "home."
• The game can last for one period, or you can have a game that lasts the whole year.

This has become a huge motivator for students to learn their math facts.  You can use any operation, or even make it more challenging by asking process questions.  Make the more difficult questions a double, or even a triple.  If you have paired students you can differentiate by asking questions that challenge each set of students. 

One of the best adaptations I have made to this game over the years I have been playing it, is adding "fouls."  I do not allow any talking while someone is at bat, minor cheering for either team when the question is answered, and then students need to be silent again to hear the next fact that is being thrown out.  If students are talking and not listening they are not getting the full benefit of the game.  If students talk their team can get a "foul."  Fouls are marked on the board and can happen whether your team is at bat or in the field.  Once your team has four fouls you have an out.  Again, it does not matter if you are in the field our at bat.  If you are in the field, once you get to bat you are starting the inning with one out...maybe even two.  I have found that this keeps students listening to the other students' challenges and helps reinforce the facts.

Any questions, or if you need clarification on anything, don't hesitate to ask.  I have worked in two different districts and with both 5th and 6th grade students.  They all love this!!!  Batter's Up!!!!

A Touch of Easy - Premaking Lunches for the Week

I suppose "organization" can take on many different forms.  Organizing our spaces, our finances, our time....I'm sure the list goes on.  I love finding new little systems of organization.  If the organizing takes longer than the time it is saving me, then it probably isn't worth it in the end.  However- I have found a little something that truly makes life easier on quite a few levels. 

Mornings in our house can be a little crazy, as I'm sure they can be in many.  Lunches packed, backpacks packed, appropriate clothing for after school activities, my sneakers for walking at lunch, two adults off to work, one child onto the school bus and another to daycare.  The mere fact that everyone ends up where they are supposed to be, I sometimes find to be a miracle in and of itself. 

In order to make life just a tad bit simpler, I decided one weekend to make my daughter's lunches for the week and freeze them.   We "practiced" on the weekend.  I often "practice" new things.  I'm great at the second time around.  It's one of the greatest parts of being a teacher.  I always get to do it again, and do it better the next time.  Anyway-we practiced.  I made lunch, I froze it, I defrosted it, she ate it.  She knew no difference, it worked, and it has become my new Sunday activity.  I make five sandwiches, bag them, put them into a container, and freeze them. 

My daughter loves PB&J which are fabulously easy.  I spread half the peanut butter on each side of the bread and then put the jelly in the middle so that the bread does not get soggy.  I have also done ham with mustard adopting the same idea.  Ham on each side with the mustard in the middle. 

After making the sandwiches I bag them, put a drinking straw in the corner of the ziploc bag, zip it all the way to the straw, suck out the air and basically make an air tight container. 

I put them all in a container with five Gogurts and put them in the freezer.

I also pack all of the "sides" for the week.  This is extremely beneficial in helping me make my grocery list, and not waste food.  Sides and snacks are based on what is in the house and needs to go before it ends up rotting in the fridge or going stale in the pantry.  We have a terrible habit in our house of opening pretzels, Pirate Booty, Goldfish, whatever it may be when the box/bag enters the house from the store  without first finishing anything that was open from last week.  This way I package all of the sides/snacks for the week, clean up the pantry and the fridge and then can better assess what we need, or what the kids can dive into next. 

The frozen gogurt goes with lunch and is defrosted by the time lunch rolls around.  In the meantime it helps to keep lunch chilled (as does the frozen sandwich) without having to use a freezer pack. 

This helps organize in a few ways-

1) Lunches are made

2) My six year old can assemble her own lunch box in the morning

3) I know that I have enough of everything to get through lunches for the week

4) It helps me to plan my grocery list

Simple, easy, fabulous!!!

Sometimes It's the Little Things - Great Math Websites

As a teacher, there are so many little things that thrill me.  The feeling you get when class is over and you know it was a perfect lesson, or as you're teaching you see light bulbs going off across the room and smiles spread across students' faces as they begin to truly "get it."  Or even better, when you ask a question and have every hand shoot into the air whether it's because your students are comfortable enough to take chances or confident enough to know they are correct.  There are so many thrills in the classroom each day but the majority of these thrills stem from the amount of preparation put into each lesson or thought put into the pacing of a unit to be sure that each student has the foundation they need in order to make the growth expected. 

Outside of the classroom, I get these same thrills when I find something that can help move my students to where I need them to be.  There are only so many hours in a day, and quite frankly, I only get my students for one 45 minute period per day.  Not a long time to teach a year's worth of 5th grade math!  I welcome any resources I can find to support my teaching and love to share what I find!! 

This year I began, upon the recommendation of a friend in another district, using the xtramath program.  This is a program that is set up to help students practice their basic facts.  I was able to register my whole class and I can track their progress from anywhere.  I highly recommend checking out this site whether because you are a teacher who needs your students to continue to build on their basic facts, or a parent who is looking for a good program for your own children.  Best part?  It's FREE!!!!!

Click here to try out xtramath!

Another great resource and fun place for kids to visit for TONS of math games is

Mr. Nussbaum's.  Mr. Nussbaum's site is not only great for math, but for all subject areas.  My kids love Place Value Pirates along with many other fantastic math games that build upon basic skills. 

Check it out!  Oh- and again...best part...it's FREE!!!!!

Train Party

PJ's Train Party! Choo-Choo!

Amazingly enough, my little man is turning three on Saturday.  We celebrated this past weekend.  Succumbing to his train obsession, we chose to have a train themed Birthday Party for him--trackless train and all.  From the moment the tractor trailer pulled up with the trackless train inside, PJ was enthralled.  He rode the train continuously checking out the view from each seat.  He was even able to play engineer, blow the whistle and toot the horn.  He loved it!!  Each of the children received a conductor hat to wear on the train and take home as a party favor along with a wooden train whistle. 

Thanks to The Trackless Train Association for helping us find a trackless train in our area.

We held his party at 1:30 and therefore served snacks throughout the afternoon.  We had fruit kabobs with nutella fruit dip, spinach dip, buffalo chicken dip, goat cheese log rolled in crushed walnuts and craisins-drizzled with balsamic dressing, chips, kid friendly veggies with dip and bags of popcorn.  On the sweet side we served Rice Krispie Treats, s'mores on a stick, licorice, chocolate dipped pretzels, and of course-cupcakes!!!

"Chew-Chew Station" and "Dessert Station"

"Drink Station"

With decorations from parties by hardie Printable Train Collection everything looked great and our guests had a fantastic time.

Train Party Printables

 

Two Alarm Fire
I would swear that from the moment he was born, PJ has loved anything that has wheels and the more noise it makes, the more appealing it is to him.  Trucks, tractors, trains, motorcyles, police cars, and firetrucks.  It only made sense to do a Firetruck Birthday Party for his 2nd Birthday!  Big, loud and red!  What could be better for a two year old? 

I first contacted our local fire department with the hope of making a donation to the department and having them bring a truck out to the house for an hour or so and let the children climb around on the truck.  Sort of like they would do when they head to a school or to a Touch a Truck event.  Unfortunately, being that we are a volunteer fire department, I was not able to make it work.  Thankfully there is a company in Connecticut from which we were able to hire a firetruck to come to the Birthday Party-and he was great!

Although PJ has a March Birthday - St. Pat's Day to be exact, the weather is pretty unpredictable.  It was in the 80's for his First Bday, yet for his Second we were lucky if it was 40.  The water in the firehose had actually frozen.  This would be a great summertime Birthday Party theme, as the children had the opportunity to shoot the firehose.  How fun would it be to do this in bathing suits in 80 degree weather?!  The owner of the truck was able to get some of the water running so at least the kids were able to shoot the water a bit.  The kids all piled into the firetruck with the Dads and the driver drove them around town.  PJ didn't want to get off!





Cupcake Firetruck Cake