2012 Year in Review...

It's so hard to believe that December 31 is here! This is a look back to some of my favorite moments of the year...

2012 started out fairly quiet as I prepared to say goodbye to my graduating AVID seniors after 3 years together. One of the highlights of early 2012 was going to the T3 conference in Chicago and chilling out with my bestie, @approx_normal, at the Statistics Symposium and both of us met up with @cannonsr for some authentic Chicago-style pizza.

Once I was home from Chicago, the school year ended well. We had a very mild winter, which meant we even got out of school with zero snow days! Then the craziness of summer started! The first trip of the summer was to Kansas City for the AP reading and I had the pleasure of meeting up with @mathheadinc and her husband. They were the ultimate KC tour guides, treating me to some traditional KC BBQ and showing me some of the MANY fountains of KC.

June was also the month that introduced me to Pinterest as a teaching tool and ultimately lead to the beginnings of #Made4Math Mondays. Thanks to @pamjwilson and her encouragement, #Made4Math became one of my most favorite events of 2012. It was simply amazing to watch the creativity being shared by math teachers over the past 6 months. It would be almost impossible to narrow down my favorite posts from the #Made4Math initiative, because every single post was amazing and sparked ideas that just kept growing!

Just a few weeks later, I was again at a workshop, but this time it was Twitter Math Camp in St Louis. I wrote about TMC12 here, but words cannot explain how amazing it was to be surrounded by 30+ of the most amazing math teachers out there. Memories such as @approx_normal running to find (and tackle) @samjshah or @jreulbach and @jamidanielle breaking out into song (on a regular basis) or @approx_normal standing on a trashcan to (almost) reach @mseiler's upraised hand or making origami stars at dinner with @rdkpickle or enjoying a quiet evening in the executive lounge with @gwaddellnvhs and @aanthonya. There are so many more memories, but I don't want to bore you! :) Needless to say, it was an awesome week with awesome friends and I can't wait to repeat it at TMC13!

During TMC12, @samjshah led a session on the math-twitter-blog-o-sphere, which resulted in a website to help math teachers new to our online math department, as well as a 4-week "New Bloggers Initiative". This program allowed new math bloggers a way to get their name out there as they answered new prompts each week. By the end, we had many new online colleagues in the blog-o-sphere.

Also during TMC12, I was introduced to Interactive Notebooks (by @mgolding) and Foldables (by @jreulbach). Both of these helped transform my classroom this fall and I am forever grateful to Megan and Julie for their guidance and encouragement. Several other people at TMC12 also helped my classroom, particularly those that shared during one of the "My Favorite..." sessions and the resultant #MyFavFriday blog posts. Thanks to all of you for having such an impact!

Honestly, after having a simply amazing summer, I was so excited for the new school year and ready to tackle the new challenges. The year has been more challenging than I expected, but even while feeling discouraged, there were still amazing things happening around me. This fall saw the introduction of #GlobalMath, an online professional development project headed up by @mgolding. Every Tuesday night, math teachers congregated to learn from their peers about a variety of topics. I wasn't able to participate as often as I would have liked, so I'm looking forward to increased participation in 2013.

As you can tell, 2012 really was an amazing year - and not just because the Mayan calendar ended! Can't wait to see what 2013 brings!!

(PS - I would have liked to share my favorite blog posts of the year, but I'm too afraid that I would leave someone out on accident! So, here's my compromise... if you want to know my favorite posts, go back and read all of the #Made4Math posts :) Those people are my teaching heroes! I appreciate that each of them took the time to share their thoughts, ideas, classroom tools and strategies. I know that *I* am a much better teacher this year because of #Made4Math participants!)

Made4Math - Week 24

Don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE

Here are today's submissions:

@tbanks1906 - What I have done the past few weeks

@misscalcul8 - City Design Project

Bree (@btwnthenumbers) - All The Things

Beth - mid-year reflection: student insight

Made4Math - Week 23

Don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE

Here are today's submissions:

Beth - Transformation in Context

@mathequalslove - Point-Slope Form Foldable

It's Friday!!! and a short apology... :)

Yay!!! Friday is finally here! I am SO ready for this weekend! I need time to sleep, catch up, and get my bearings again.

I feel horrible for not posting much lately, other than the #Made4Math and #MyFavFriday collections, but this school year has majorly kicked me in the tail. To add on to it over the holidays, my car had to go into the shop to have the fuel pump replaced (who would have thought that leaking fuel was a bad thing???) and my roof has to be replaced. Nothing like major expenses during the Christmas season! :) The car thing really irks me because if you search for my car model and fuel pump, you get page after page of "recall" notices... but not for my specific VIN, so GM won't cover the repair. *sigh* Thankfully, my stepmom was able to lend me her car for the week, so I've still been able to have transportation. *silver lining*

I have several posts for #Made4Math ready to write, but simply no time to write them. When the "Day in the Life" inititative was going on earlier this month, I tried for several days to track my activity, but every day by 9am, my list was already long and I got overwhelmed and gave up. This entire semester has been like that :( I am juggling as many balls as I can, but no matter what, something ends up dropping :(

But, even in the midst of craziness, good things are happening! I enjoyed spending time with my family and I am reminded on a daily basis of the blessings in my life.

All that to say... I'm so ready for life to settle down! :)

Happy Friday and happy weekend to all!

My Favorite Friday - Week 18

Don't forget to submit your post HERE

@_CindyWallace_ - Bloom's Taxonomy and Technology Guide

Made4Math - Week 22

Don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE

Here are today's submissions:

@wyldbirman - Systems of Equations

Beth - Mixed Practice Equations of Lines

Fouss - Precalc Stations

@luvbcd "Middle School Math Rules!" - Tackling my Printables TO DO list

@misscalcul8 - Unit Plans

Made4Math Monday - Week 21

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I hope all of you have very safe travels and enjoy an amazing time with your family and friends :) During this time of giving thanks, let me share how much YOU mean to me. When #Made4Math was started this past summer, I don't know that any of us could have dreamed of how well it would be received and how much effort people would put into their creations. It has been simply amazing to see the resources that are shared every week and the creativity that goes into each and every post. Thank you all for being supportive of #Made4Math! As @samjshah pointed out the other day, this has been a heck of a year for the math-twitter-blog-o-sphere and I'm so proud to have played a part in it. Have a wonderful week!

Don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE

Here are today's submissions:

Beth - Point Slope Form

@misscalcul8 - Piecewise Functions and Cup Stacking

@sqrt_1 - Dry Erase Practice Folders

@tbanks1906 - Made4Math: Homework Help - Smartboard...

Sometimes we forget...

Sometimes we forget that even though our students are young adults, they really are little kids at heart...

Today in Algebra 2, I stole an idea from one of the science teachers. Over the past 2 weeks, we've learned 5 ways to solve quadratic equations. So, when the students came into class today, on the board for their warmup was the following:

On the next page of your notebook, on the LEFT side, trace your hand :)

They all seemed somewhat confused but they followed the instructions :)

Then, I had them fill in the five fingers with the five ways we've learned to solve quadratic equations...

Finally, I told them to finish up their page by making a Hand Turkey. It cracked me up to see how excited the kids got - one girl literally was bouncing in her seat! :)

So here ya go... some Hand Turkeys for you to enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!

And that is my #MyFavFriday :)

My Favorite Friday #17

Don't forget to submit your post HERE

@algebrainiac1 - Technology as a time saver

@_CindyWallace_ - Thanksgiving Classroom Happies

@druinok - Sometimes we forget..

@tbanks - My Fav Friday: Waterfall Trivia

@misscalcul8 - Whiteboards and Pipe Cleaners

Made 4 Math Monday - Week 20

Don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE

Here are today's submissions:

@reminoodle - No Cell Phone Sign - End of the Trimester Policy Revisions

@_CindyWallace_ - Totally Awesome Prizes

@lmhenry9 - Factoring Practice

@Fouss - Trig Stuff

@misscalcul8 - Parallel Lines and Transversals Investigation

My Favorite Friday #16

Don't forget to submit your post HERE

@misscalcul8 - File Converter

@misscalcul8 - mp3 Converter

@algebrainiac1 - Technology as a time saver

Made4Math - More Quadratic Fun :)

This week I have some more quadratic goodies to share with you...

Project #1 - Quadratic Function Foldable
Last week, we started the dreaded Chapter 5 - Quadratics. This is the point where students really start thinking "HOLY MOLY! I have to *study*?!?!". Of course a huge part of Quadratics is the terminology. So, here is the foldable I did last week to help with the lecture notes...

In case you want it... HERE is the file :)

Project #2 - Quiz Review!
I love, *love*, LOVE Julie for showing us the photo frames for stations! My students love how professional they look and no more "Hey! I can't see!" :) Today we reviewed for a quiz tomorrow... I got a ton of work done while the students worked away!

I really should use this more often... I am so productive on the days I use these!

Project #3 - Solving Quadratics
On Wednesday, we will start solving quadratics. Wednesday and Thursday are block days for us, and 100 minutes can be way too long if you don't break it up! So I'll start out lecturing on how to solve quadratics using graphing, factoring, and the square root methods, then turn them loose on this activity. Each group will get a set of cards and turn them all over to the answer side. They will pick one quadratic to flip over and as a group, solve that quadratic. They find the answer in the answer pile and flip that card over to get the next problem to solve.

Whew!! It's been a busy week!

Have a Happy Monday!

#Made4Math Monday Week #19

Don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE


Here are today's submissions:

Beth - mx+b lesson planning

@4mulafun Jennifer Smith-Sloane - November Reward Coupons Freebie

Fouss - iPad apps

@druinok - More Quadratic Fun

My Favorite Friday #15

Don't forget to submit your post HERE

@_CindyWallace_ - Makayama iPad Case

TravelingMathTeacher - GEEO Travel for Teachers

@druinok - My Favorite People of the Week

Beth - "can't do without" tools

@bobloch - Using Desmos Calculator to Assess at 1-Variable Equations

My Favorite People of the Week

It's Friday again!! Wowzers, where does time go? :)

This week, I have two favorites to share with you :)

Favorite Person #1
On my #Made4Math post this week, I gave a shout out to Amy Gruen. If you've never read her blog, then go there - seriously, go now!!! Amy is one of those math teachers that I have a total blog crush on. I mean, I can't think of a single time that I have read her blog and not gotten a great idea for my classroom!

Anyway, recently she posted about factoring and as I posted on #Made4Math, I was stealing her idea to use in my class. :) Yesterday was our monthly "late start" day, where the students come 2 hours late so that the teachers can work together. On those days, one class doesn't meet and yesterday that class was one of my Algebra 2 classes. Since we would be learning factoring today, it fit in perfectly to do Amy's activity during the late start day in my other Algebra classes.

So yesterday, each group got a work mat and a stack of binomials. They had to find the two binomials that multiplied together to equal the trinomial. It was great practice to remind them how to "FOIL" (Yeah, it's an annoying acronym, but don't flame me... it's one of the few things that the kids remember from Algebra 1)

Thank you Amy for being awesome and sharing your creation with us!!! You are definitely a #MyFavorite :)

Favorite Person #2
My next favorite person is one of my parents this year. These parents are amazing and I would totally volunteer to teach their kiddo for the next 2 years. On the first day of school, this mom comes up to me and gives me a goodie bag and says "Welcome Back to School!". I had no idea who she was, but I said thank you and she walked off. Later, I found the gift tag and the last name was the same as one of my students.

This comes last week. I'm in my classroom after school and in walks Mom with a gift bag. I go out in the hall to visit with her and she tells me to open my gift. It was a tshirt that said "This is my math teacher costume" - OH.MY.GOSH - How cool!!! I wore it on Halloween and got so many comments from the students! LOL

So after school on Halloween, I run next door to ask another teacher a question and when I come back, this was on my desk:

There wasn't a name on it, but when I looked out the window, I could see the Dad climbing into his car, so I ran outside to thank him. The box was filled to the brim with homemade Halloween cookies... and some really creepy looking finger cookies. LOL

This week was a crazy week, but thanks to Amy and these parents, the week was SO much more bearable than it could have been! Thank you, Favorite People of the Week! :)

#Made4Math Mon... errr, Tuesday :) Quadratic Functions

I'm a day late... again... Sorry about that! :) This week is the equivalent of hell week for me for some reason - lots of meetings, lots of late nights, and WAY too many things on my "to-be-done" list! But that's okay... I'll keep plugging away at it and hopefully someday I'll be caught up! :)

This week's Made4Math focuses on my Algebra 2 class, so hopefully there is something here you can use!

Project #1 - Partner Problems WS
Remember me saying how swamped I am? (If not, may I direct you to paragraph one...) This year is going well, but with new responsibilites plus a prep I haven't had in 2 years plus a record number of students on my roster and I'm just plumb tuckered out! So yesterday in Algebra 2, we were supposed to start Quadratic Functions (the infamous Chapter 5 in every Alg2 text). However, I just wasn't feeling it, so I gave my kids a "sub day". That means that I got up at the beginning of the hour and said...

"Good morning kiddos! I'm Mrs. __'s Sub. Mrs. __ isn't here today because she just had a ton to do. But, Mrs. __ left a lovely note saying how awesome her classes were, so I know you guys are going to do just great today! Mrs. __ did leave some review work for you, but I hate to tell you that I, Mrs __'s Sub, don't know ANY math, so you'll really have to rely on your table partners and your notebook to help you out. Mrs. __ said in her note that you are used to using your notebook as a resource, so I know this is going to be just an awesome day!"

The kids cracked up. All hour, they would refer to me as "Mrs. __'s Sub" and today they even asked if the Sub had left a good note about them! :)

Anyway, here's a snippet of the worksheet they had to do:

Project #2 - Vertex and Standard Form
Today, we started Quadratic Functions and how to graph them. Tomorrow we are going to talk about Vertex Form of a quadratic and how to switch back and forth from Vertex to Standard Form. In their groups, the students will be asked to match the following:

More Projects underway...
I did create a foldable for Quadratic Functions, but I forgot to take a picture! DOH!
I'll share it soon :)

Also on tonight's plan is to create these awesome factoring mats from Amy's blog.

Happy Halloween!!! :)

#Made4Math Monday #18

Don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE

Here are today's submissions:

Beth - Slope Stations

@misscalcul8 - Slope-Intercept Form Card Sort

@druinok - Quadratic Functions Fun

My Favorite Kitchen Extra

Welcome to another Friday :) Honestly, this week I forgot it was Friday until it was actually here! There's so much on my to-do list this week and most of it involved grading - UGH!

One of the things that really helps me when I grade is COFFEE! :)

Problem is... I don't like "real" coffee - I like the flavored stuff...

So enter in My Favorite...

Please ignore our McDonald's Monopoly game pieces - LOL :)

Seriously, our Christmas gift to each other last year was a Keurig and I can honestly say it's been one of the best purchases. Yes, it's a bit expensive to buy K Cups, but it's so worth it to me. Hubs likes his coffee strong and jet powered, while I like the flavors, so this has been awesome because we can each have "our" coffee without a lot of waste. I'm also a hot cocoa fan, and the Keurig is so much easier to use with my hot cocoa packets than warming water in the microwave.

My current favorite K-cup is the Folger's Vanilla Biscotti... :) I'm also a fan of the Chai Latte.

I think I'm going to go make a cup of coffee...

My Favorite Friday #14

Don't forget to submit your post HERE

TravelingMathTeacher - Math Graffiti Posters

@4mulafun Jennifer Smith-Sloane - Favorite Activities (Video Style)

@druinok - My Favorite Kitchen Extra

Math In The Middle - My Favorite iPad Apps

@misscalcul8 - Student Teacher

@tbanks06 - Best Group Work Activity :)

@sqrt_1 - Sound Buttons

Made4Math Monday #17

Don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE

Here are today's submissions:

@4mulafun Jennifer Smith-Sloane - Flippable Templates

@csteketee21 - Scratch Off Unit Rates

@misscalcul8 - Relations and Functions Foldables

@druinok - Around the World

@fourkatie - GEMS (Order of Operations)

@4mulafun Jennifer Smith-Sloane - Interactive Notebook Video Update

Kristin - Combining Like Terms Art

@crstn85 - Geometry Proofs: A New Approach

@_CindyWallace_ - Getting Our Groove on w/ Dance to Advance

#Made4Math - Around the World

This past week was Fall Break and let me tell you - I needed it! Just a few days of sleeping in, taking naps, etc really helped me to rest and relax. In fact, yesterday, as I was thinking about this week's lesson plans, I even had the energy to be creative again! :)

On a typical Sunday, I can spend many, many hours tossing and turning ideas over in my mind until I finally settle on what I want to do. But not this week! Within about 3 hours, I had all of my lessons ready to go for this week - yay!

So here's what I'm doing this week on our block schedule day...

This activity has many names, but I call it "Around the World". In this activity, I have 18 problems and answers that I will post around my room. Each pair of students will pick a problem, go to that location, work the problem, then find the answer on another card and work that one. It continues until they have worked all of the problems and they are back to their original starting place. This one is specifically to help review normal distribution problems for my AP Stat class.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Fall Break!!

As @cheesemonkeysf pointed out this morning, this week is #MyFavFriday the 13th!

My favorite thing about this week has been FALL BREAK!! :)

That means sleeping in... lounging in my pjs... going on a mini roadtrip with the hubs... and in general, not thinking about school!

Let's just say that this break was sorely needed. I am having a good year for the most part, but it's been overwhelming at times. I have (very) full classes and between 5 classes plus advisory, I have 182 students this year to keep track of. If I include my university class, then add another 30 to that. (Secret time.. I *still* don't know all of their names! shh! don't tell!)

I hope you will all forgive the short post, but I am off to curl up with a novel :)

Happy Friday!

My Favorite Friday #13

Don't forget to submit your post HERE

@_CindyWallace_ - Black Light Math

Simplifying Radicals @noraoswald - The Line Game and The Parabola Game

radical rational - Paper Thermometers

msmathemagician - Punch Cards

@druinok - Fall Break

Kristin - Holt Alternate Opener Explorations

Beth - Hats Off to You

Michelle B - White board favorite

@reminoodle - Watson Street Loft (local band)

@reminoodle - Ukulele (last week...forgot to link up)

#Made4Math Monday #16

This week has taken FOREVER to get here! It's finally our Fall Break and believe me, I am *READY* for it. That means I'll actually have TIME to read my google reader!!! :) yay!

Anyway, don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE

And now on to today's submissions:

@msklaster - Digital Word Walls

@tbanks06 - Best Formative Assessment Ever: STICKY NOTES

radical rational - parallelogram foldable

Simplifying Radicals @noraoswald - Proficien-trees

Beth - slope/intercept practice worksheet turned game

@btwnthenumbers (Bree) - Mini-Book

@_CindyWallace_ - Walking Word Bank

@misscalcul8 - Picture Frame Stations

My Favorite Friday #12

Welcome to Week #12 of #MyFavFriday!!!

Don't forget to submit your post HERE

And now on to today's submissions....

Ms. Z teaches in Mathland - A Very Busy Mom Still Finds Time to Cook

@druinok - My Favorite Win7 Gem

@luvbcd "Middle School Math Rules!" - Filetastics

School of Fisher - Student of the Month Candy Bars

@algebrainiac1 - Food Fridays - 3 Addictive Dips

Julie Reulbach, @jreulbach - Homework Responsibilty and Monster Equations

My Favorite Win7 Gem :)

When I got a "new to me" laptop last year, it came with Windows 7. I have to admit, that there are parts of Win7 that really drive me bonkers. But, there's one feature that I really love..

The Snipping Tool!

If you don't know what the Snipping Tool is, you are MISSING OUT! :)

For example, for my AP Statistics class, I like to use actual AP problems whenever possible. However, the pdf version of the released exams are locked down, meaning you can't use the Adobe Snapshot tool to grab a graph for classroom use.

In the past, I had two options...

A) Literally cutting and pasting the graph from a printed copy of the released exam to use on classroom assessments...

Or

B) Taking a screenshot, pasting it into Paint, then using the select tool to cut out the graph...

BUT... No more!

With the snipping tool, you can cut out of ANY document, webpage, file, image, etc. It's soooo awesome :)

I <3 Snipping Tool! :)

Made4Math - New Foldable

In case you haven't noticed, I'm on a bit of a foldable kick :)

For some reason, my students do so much better at taking (and referring back to) this style of notes.

Anywayz... today we reviewed solving systems by substitution and elimation, which of course meant a foldable was in order!

Outside...

Inside...

It's not much, but my kiddos liked it :)

Here's the file if you want it!

Happy Monday!

#Made4Math Monday - Week 15

Brrr!!! Fall has definitely arrived! So grab a cup of hot cocoa, throw a blanket over your lap, and settle in to read this week's posts... :)

Don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE

And now on to today's submissions:

@_CindyWallace_ - QR Code Scavenger Hunt

Beth - slope as rate of change

Bree (@btwnthenumbers) - Personalized Business Cards

@druinok - Systems Foldable

@misscalcul8 - Foldables

Julie Reulbach, @jreulbach - Equation Solving - Monster Math!

My Favorite Friday #11

Welcome to another awesome week of #MyFavFriday, featuring posts from around the blogosphere!

Don't forget to submit YOUR #MyFavFriday post HERE

Now on to Week 11's posts...

@druinok - Chicken Tortilla Cheese Soup

@luvbcd - My favorite routines for student papers

Math Tales From the Spring - Ghosts in the Graveyard (New and Revised)

@algebrainiac1 - Count Off

@4mulafun Jennifer Smith-Sloane - Organization is Empowering!

Beth - Simple lunches

@csteketee21 - Estimation180

My Favorite Cold Weather Meal :)

Here it is - the first weekend in October... That means the fair is in town and that chilly weather is upon us. Never fail, this weekend is traditionally the *true* start to fall weather, jackets, and hoodies!

So, in honor of the rainy, cold weekend, I present my favorite cold weather meal :)

(PS - I have *no* earthly idea where I originally found this recipe. I know it was after I discovered that I love my crockpot :))

By the way, the recipe calls for chicken and I'm sure this would be yummy with some boneless chicken breasts that had been shredded, but part of the reason I love this recipe is that all I have to do is open some cans and dump it into my crockpot :)

Chicken Tortilla Cheese Soup
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans fiesta nacho cheese soup
1 (10-oz) can red enchilada sauce
1 soup can milk
2 cans of chunk chicken (found near the tuna... )

Mix all together in crockpot and heat on Low until everything is mixed and melted together well.

I'm sure there are a variety of ways to serve this, but I like to put crushed tortilla chips in a bowl, smother it in this soup, and put a bit of shredded cheese on top :)

It is delicious! :)

Enjoy!

#Made4Math - A Puzzle and a Game

I am *so* glad that September is over!!! It was the most horrible month filled with all sorts of craziness! So far, October is shaping up to be quite awesome! Yay!

Anyway, on to today's projects

Project #1 - A Puzzle
Several #Made4Math-ers have posted about Tarsia puzzles, but I will admit there is something about making them by hand that I really enjoy! Last week, in Algebra 2, I taught Absolute Value Equations, but I wanted some way for them to practice that was self-checking, so I created an Absolute Value Jigsaw Puzzle.

The kids had a good time cutting and solving the puzzle. I really should use these more often... :)

Project #2 - A Game
I am working on my second project as I type! In AP Stat, we are currently working on graphs, etc, so this weekend, I stumbled upon this link of matching boxplots, histograms, and summary statistics. Of course that meant I had to pull out my pretty paper stash and fire up the ole laminator :) Have I mentioned lately how much I *love* my laminator!?!

Now just to have my student assistant cut them out tomorrow and there's Thursday's lesson plan!

Project #3 - Station Check
Every once in a while, I get a moment of inspiration. Tomorrow, in Algebra 2, we are reviewing for a quiz using a Stations activity. Julie, at ISpeakMath, blogged about this previously and I shamelessly stole the idea to use acrylic picture frames to make the stations look more professional and prop them up on the table for the students. However, I wanted tomorrow's stations to be self checking, so this morning, I got the bright idea to write the answers on index cards. Problem is, that I wanted some way to put the index card on the back of the picture frame. I started wandering around my room thinking of what I could use to mount the index card and I ran across an extra package of the library card pockets from Dollar Tree. A trip through the laminator and now we have...

Now just to cut out the card pockets, tape them to the back of the picture frames and insert the index card. :)

Don't forget to check out more #Made4Math projects HERE

Made4Math Monday - Week 14

Yay! It's finally October :)

I am so excited to read this week's posts. I don't know that any of us could have ever expected the awesomeness that has turned out to be #Made4Math. Because of YOU, each of us are being more creative and reaching more students on a weekly basis. Don't forget to submit YOUR #Made4Math post HERE

And now on to today's submissions:

@_CindyWallace_ - Math imPossible: Part Deux

Beth - Solving Equations Foldable

@noraoswald - Bucket O Lies

Kristen Fouss - Exit slips and google site

@algebrainiac1 - Sticky Ball Review Game

@druinok - A Puzzle and a Game

@marlenemharris - Sets of Real Numbers Venn Diagram

Julie Reulbach, @jreulbach - Zero Game for Integers and Abs Value

@misscalcul8 - Ships in the Ocean

@reminoodle - Course Binders

My Favorite Friday #10

Welcome to another awesome week of #MyFavFriday, featuring posts from around the blogosphere!

Don't forget to submit YOUR #MyFavFriday post HERE

Now on to Week 10's posts...
(Holy Moly - Can you believe we've done this for *10* weeks!!!!)

@Borschtwithanna - Hackpad for organization & discussion groups

@_CindyWallace_ - Algebra v the Cockroaches

@misscalcul8 - Kuta Software Presentation View

@tbanks06 - Favorite Place To B on Friday's at 7:30

@4mulafun Jennifer Smith-Sloane - My Fav Teacher Bag and Fav Shoes

Courtney Steketee - #myFavFriday- Sticks

Beth - Our team process

Ms Z Teaches in Mathland - My Favorite Way To Change It Up

Made4Math - Dollar Tree Find

I'm cheap. Actually, I take that back... I'm frugal :) And as a frugal person, one of my favorite stores is Dollar Tree! As I wander the aisles of Dollar Tree, I am constantly thinking of "How could I use this in my classroom?"

So this weekend, hubs and I were out shopping and I find a plastic basket on the floor of my local Dollar Tree and I immediately think... "HEY!!! I NEED THAT!!!" :)

Let's backtrack a bit...

This year I have been using Interactive Notebooks in my classes. I *big puffy heart love* them! My students love them. The parents love them. What I don't love though, is the paper. LOTS of paper. And students that don't know how to use glue/tape appropriately to adhere said paper.

Cue the music for the entrance of the "spare handouts" basket.

I am tired of kids asking me "Miss, do you have an extra _____?"

My answer (starting tomorrow)... "No clue! Go check the Extra Handouts Basket!"

Big Puffy Hearts to Dollar Tree!!! :) :)

#Made4Math Monday - Week 13

Don't forget to submit your #Made4Math project HERE

And now for this week's submissions..

@simonjob - Times Tables Grid Wall Poster

Goober Speaks - Sudoku Review for Functions

@4mulafun Jennifer Smith-Sloane - Ready 4 Fall with a Halloween Printable

Bree (@btwnthenumbers) - Gym Bag & Patterns Unit Assessment

Meg - Graphing Transformation Matching Game

@misscalcul8 - Idea Box

The Math Idea Drop - ZAP PowerPoint

@tbanks1906 - Notebook - Pair-Up Matrices

@Fouss - Three Ring

@druinok - Dollar Tree Find

Radical Rational - More Kagan, Triangle Centers Foldable

@reminoodle - Bazinga Board

@Alwildadaughter - PEMDAS Mobile

Julie Reulbach, @jreulbach - Dry Erase Table Frames

School of Fisher - Exit Activity (Printing on Stickie Notes)

@_CindyWallace_ - Math imPossible