Math Tubs: Tips and Organization

 Math tubs!  They are an AMAZING addition to my math routine this year.  They keep everything organized, easy to access, and the kiddos love them.  I had some friends ask me how I organized my math tubs so I snapped a few pictures today to show how we use them. 

First off, I have this awesome shelf my mom found for me a few years back.  It was my library but I changed it into my math tub area earlier this year. 

These are regular dish pans from Walmart (about $1.99 each) and I modge podged the numbers on the front.  The numbers don't MEAN anything, but they keep them on the right shelf and it keeps my OCD heart happy.

The tubs have all kinds of activities in them.  I use our Investigations games mostly but I also include materials that students can explore with too.   

 This little guy LOVES roll and record.  He seriously picks this tub every single day.  Guess what?  That's ok.  He rolls the dice in the bin (so they don't fly all over) and records on a dry erase pouch (no copies).  This is a busy kid and this keeps him completely engaged throughout the 10 to 15 minutes we have at math tubs.  I love that the most about this activity! It encourages counting, adding and graphing.  

This one is from the beginning of the year but it is still a favorite during math tub time.  This is simply some number cards they can practice counting and building on. They can also put them in order and count up and back.  Today this student took the 10 card and started building "up"...to count by 10's instead of 1's.  Wow!

If students aren't at the math tubs they are at the computers or iPads.  I've been using Splash Math during this time and it's been a big hit! 

Click on the pic to get to the site:

This program is great practice for all the common core standards in Kindergarten and it's FREE!  My kids really like using it and it's pretty easy for them to figure out.  On the plus side, you can send home their usernames and passwords and they can log in at home and practice.  I sent it home earlier this year, but now that we are using it regularly in the classroom I think it's time to remind parents about it. :)

 

And here are a few more fun shots from Math Workshop.  We are on Unit 4 of Guiding Kinders by Deanna Jump and Deedee Wills.  Such a happy time during the day. (Our new rug is not too shabby either!)

So math time looks like this for us: 

Fluency Practice

Whole Group Lesson

Partner Practice

Independent Practice (pages from Guiding Kinders) 

Math Tubs (kiddos go as they finish up the independent practice)

Journals

It's a jam packed hour of math (sometimes a bit less).  I feel like we are making so much progress!