Blog - Sum Math Fun

An Effortless Student Birthday Management System

We all know that as a teacher, keeping track of student birthdays can be a daunting task, added to all the other classroom happenings. But remembering students’ birthdays can help every student feel seen, valued, and cared for. Your classroom may be the only place where many students get to celebrate their birthdays. Sam, one of my second-grade students, was quiet and often chose to be alone. But that changed after we celebrated her birthday. Sam’s Birthday It was Sam’s birthday, and as she entered the classroom, her eyes brightened as she saw her desk. It was decorated… Read More

Get Class Ready: 10 Must-Have Back to School Supplies for Every Teacher

Are you heading back to school soon? Or maybe you are just starting your teaching career and are a first-year teacher. In either case, you will want to check out this list of essential classroom supplies for teachers. It is the stuff you need to make it through the year happy, healthy, and prepared. I was in the classroom for over 20 years, and I have used and bought so many different items for myself and the classroom that I’m sure that when it comes to essential classroom supplies, I have to be an expert on what works and what… Read More

From Chaos to Order: Classroom Organization Supplies You Need for Packing Up

It was the end of May of my first year of teaching. The end of the year. I had made it through my first year. 🎉 Then, I heard another first grade teacher talking in the teacher’s lounge. She was expressing concern over where she was going to put everything she had to pack up. I quickly understood that I was supposed to “put away” everything. Wait! What!?? I thought I would have the same classroom forever and could just leave things as they were when I left each year. Newbie! Of course, this was not the case. And I… Read More

Partner Games Without a Partner – A Game Time Solution

Have you tried having students play Left Hand against Right Hand? This is a very effective way to allow students to play partner games by themselves. It can also help to reduce screentime and give children a way to engage themselves. It is especially useful during the pandemic as well as when students finish assignments early. You don’t need to give up having students play partner games. This strategy works for Kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third, fourth – any grade level. It works at school and at home. Any game meant to be played with another person can be… Read More

2 Easy Steps to a 100% No-Prep Math Time-Filler

This is a rich and easy math time-filler or math warm-up. I love having this in my teacher’s idea bag and ready to use at any time. There is absolutely no prep needed. But, to make it even easier for you, I created cute free structured printables and Google Slides that you can grab at the bottom of this post. 🤓 You can use this fun math activity as a math time-filler or a math warm-up activity. It can be used over and over again in a variety of ways and can even be differentiated to meet the needs of… Read More

{FREE} Fall Number Bond Worksheets – Cut & Glue

Do your Kindergarten or 1st grade students need practice with number bonds? Number bonds give a solid understanding of how numbers can be combined (composed) and split (decomposed). Addition and subtraction become more understandable once children understand the relationship between numbers. Familiarity with number bonds is very helpful in this understanding. With preschoolers and those entering kindergarten, we work with number bonds to 5 first and then number bonds to 10. As students progress, the number bonds learned in the early grades help with the addition of multi-digit numbers as well as subtraction of more complex numbers and estimations. Using… Read More

{Free} Multi-Digit Multiplication Worksheets

Would you like free multi-digit multiplication worksheets for your 3rd, 4th, or 5th graders? Do they miss steps as they solve problems and lack confidence and understanding? Sometimes we forget that not only do the Littles like to cut and glue but so do our big kids. To give my students extra practice with multi-digit multiplication, I created these cut and glue worksheets. And, they love them. They want more. I think your students will, too! After teaching students with hands-on base ten blocks and visuals ( the CPA model of concrete to pictorial to abstract), they needed lots of… Read More

3 Steps to Become a Passionate Teacher

Are you a passionate math teacher – science, reading, writing teacher? Or is there some content you teach just because it’s part of the elementary curriculum? I get it! I was right there with you. You can’t be an expert at everything. You can’t be passionate about all subjects. Can you? GROWING UP As a very young child, I loved messing around with words. They were fun. I frequently created similes. Of course, I was much too young to know they were similes. I grew up in north Louisiana. It was always hot and humid. So, I would say… Read More