The Teachers Lounge

Wednesday, July 8th is Trend Day!

2009-07-06T10:01:00.002-05:00

Don't forget that Wednesday, July 8th is Trend Day at The Teachers' Lounge! Julie from Trend will be with us from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM to show you all of the latest and greatest Trend products for the new school year.

Plus, everyone will enjoy 25% off ALL in-stock Trend products ALL Day! Don't miss out!

Closed on July 4th

2009-07-03T08:50:00.003-05:00

We just wanted to remind everyone that the store will be closed on Saturday, July 4th. We hope that everyone enjoys the holiday!

July 1st is Carson Dellosa Day!

2009-07-01T08:20:00.002-05:00

Stop by the store on July 1st for Carson Dellosa Day! Enjoy 25% off ALL in-stock Carson Dellosa products! Plus, we have lots of samples of ways that you can use Carson products in your classroom. Hope to see everyone today!

Store Closed on Tuesday, June 30th

2009-06-30T08:59:00.001-05:00

We just wanted to remind everyone that the store will be closed on Tuesday, June 30th while we stock the store with all of our NEW Back-to-School products. Please visit us on Wednesday, July 1st to see all that is NEW!

Last Day of Sidewalk Sale!

2009-06-29T08:35:00.001-05:00

It's the last day of the sidewalk sale, and everything is now 50%-75% off! Stop by today to find a great bargain!

Sidewalk Sale Runs Through Monday!

2009-06-27T13:41:00.004-05:00

Be sure to stop by the store this weekend to get some great deals on terrific teacher products, toys, and games at our sidewalk sale. We are making room for all of our NEW back-to-school inventory. It's one of our biggest sales of the year, so don't miss out. Our sidewalk sale will continue through Monday. All sale items are 25%-75% off!

Super Sidewalk Sale!

2009-06-26T11:24:00.002-05:00

Super SIDEWALK Sale is TODAY Through Monday! 25%-75% off HUNDREDS of items. Free Lemonade too! Hurry in for the best selection!

Father's Day Craft Ideas

2009-06-14T10:19:00.006-05:00

Do you need some great ideas for Father's Day? Here are some cute crafts that kids can make for their dads and grandpas. Try some out today. We're going to try the "Crafty Computer Frame" for our techno dad.

Click Here To Visit Father's Day Crafts

Special Hours for Memorial Day

2009-05-25T08:59:00.003-05:00

The Teachers' Lounge will be open for Memorial Day, but we will have shortened hours. We will be open from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM today. We hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday!

2009-05-21T21:42:00.002-05:00

We we had a busy morning at The Teachers' Lounge today. We created wild pets at Story Hour and then we took our Butterfly Pavilion outside and released four of our ten butterflies. Our story hour friends giggled with glee as our winged friends found their way to the top of their habitat and experienced free flight for the first time. It was quite an experience on such a blue skied beautiful day. If you would like to see the rest of the butterflies take off, join us at 10:30AM on Monday morning and don't forget...all in stock butterfly items are 20% off until the end of Memorial Day. The habitats and pavilions are going quickly so come by soon!

The Sale Begins!

2009-05-20T16:44:00.002-05:00

All of our butterflies are here and enjoying their new home in their Butterfly Pavilion. Make sure to stop in and see them and enjoy 20% off any of our butterfly products until Monday, May 25th.

This would be a great time to buy the Mini Butterfly Bungalow so that you can have your own butterflies at home or stock up on accents, trimmers, puppets and more for a butterfly theme week in your classroom next year! Make sure you mention that you saw this sale advertised on the blog so that you will receive your secret discount!

We will release our butterflies on Memorial Day at 10:30AM Let Freedom Ring!

And Then There Were Five!

2009-05-18T08:54:00.002-05:00

We have five butterflies this morning! I think today may be a busy day for emerging butterflies so make sure you stop by the store to enjoy the excitement. We have five more waiting to make an entrance! If you would like to bring a fresh carnation or flower for the butterflies to feast on, we will add it to their pavilion.
The changing colors on the wings of these painted lady butterflies is amazing.

See you Soon!
Kat

One Butterfly Has Appeared!

2009-05-17T11:54:00.002-05:00

Ann just discovered one of our butterflies sitting at the bottom of the pavillion! The store is open today from 12:00-5:00PM. If you get a chance, stop by and watch the process!
Remember, once all of the butterflies have emerged, I will announce the 20% off of all butterfly items.

20% off with Butterflies!

2009-05-16T13:01:00.004-05:00

I wanted to catch all of our friends up on what has been growing at The Teachers' Lounge these last two weeks! Caterpillars!

They arrived at the store on Thursday, April 30th. They were so tiny! I set up our Butterfly Pavilion and put the two cups that held 5 caterpillars each inside. It didn't take long for those caterpillars to grow! Every morning I would check on them and they would double in size! We had a hard time catching them actually moving but we know when we weren't looking they were all over the jars! Wouldn't you know, by Mother's Day, they had all crawled to the top of the jar and were busy spinning their cocoons. By Tuesday (May 12th) I was able to open the jars and put the paper they had attached themselves to in the Butterfly Pavilion and they have been snug as a bug (actually caterpillars) in their new homes. It is going to happen any day...the miraculous transformation from caterpillar to butterfly and we want you to be the first to know!
We have been celebrating Butterfly week at our story hours and have set up an awesome display in our seasonal area of all of our butterfly products. Our story hour friends and all of The Teachers' Lounge visitors, keep checking the blog so you can come up to the store when our butterflies start emerging from their cocoons to see them and so you can join in the celebration.

I will update you on the process PLUS once all of our butterflies have emerged, I will let you know and then all of our butterfly items will be 20% off! Keep checking the blog because you will be the only ones to know!
This has been a fun process to observe and very affordable to set up at home. The mini Butterfly bungalows we carry in the store are a great deal at $14.99. Keep checking the blog and hopefully you can get one at 20% off!

Great Math Games Featured in Instructor Magazine

2009-04-20T10:51:00.004-05:00

Here is a great article from the latest issue of Instructor Magazine. Learn about some terrific math games to play with your class from Marilyn Burns, the founder of Math Solutions Professional Development:

"Using games to support students’ math learning has long been a standard feature in my teaching. Games help to lift math off the textbook pages, and they support students’ learning about Numbers and Operations. They are also ideal for students when they have extra time. All four games presented here are easy to teach and rely on few materials other than paper and pencil. The key to making games a successful, integral part of your classroom is how you introduce them, and the classroom management you use to make the time truly valuable.

Four Strikes and You’re Out
Fun mental computation practice for a range of grades

Recently, I shared Four Strikes, from Teaching Arithmetic: Lessons for Addition and Subtraction, with a class of second and third graders. I wrote on the board:

_ _ _ _ + _ _ _ _ = _ _ _ _
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

“You have to figure out the number for each blank in the problem,” I explained. I showed the children a folded piece of paper and told them that inside was the problem they were to guess. (I didn’t reveal the problem: 35 + 10 = 45.) “If you guess a number that’s in my problem,” I explained, “I’ll write it in all the places it belongs. If you guess a number that’s not in the problem, you get a strike. To win, you have to figure out all of the numbers before you get four strikes.”

A few children were confused. I’ve found that the best way to resolve confusion is to move forward. “First you just have to guess,” I said. “But after I write some numbers, you’ll have some clues.”

Natalia made the first guess. “Three,” she said. I referred to my “cheat sheet,” wrote 3 where it belonged, and crossed it off the number list.

_3_ _ _ + _ _ _ _ = _ _ _ _
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

“Two,” Jude guessed next. I referred to my cheat sheet and said, “No, there’s no two. That’s a strike.” I crossed out the 2 and made an X next to the title.

“Nine,” Maite guessed next. I referred to my cheat sheet and said, “No, that’s strike two.”

“Five,” Ana Sophia guessed. I again referred to my cheat sheet. (Even though I had memorized the problem, I checked to model for the students what to do when they later played the game independently.)

“That’s in my problem,” I said, recording the 5 in the two places it belonged and crossing it out on the list.

_3_ _5_ + _ _ _ _ = _ _ _5_ Xx
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

A buzz of excitement broke out as children had ideas about what to guess next. “Now that you have some clues,” I said, “talk at your tables about what might be a good next guess and raise your hand when you’re ready.” This gave students a chance to hear and explain their reasoning. When many students had a hand raised, I called on Mika.

“There has to be a zero,” she said.

“Can you explain why?” I asked. Because the answer ends in five,” she explained. “So the number you add to thirty-five has to end in zero.” Others nodded in agreement. Reasoning numerically about the clues helps students develop their number sense.

“So you’re guessing zero?” I asked. Mika nodded and I recorded.

_3_ _5_ + _ _ _0_ = _ _ _5_ Xx
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

I asked, “Who wants to guess next?”

“Lucky seven,” Morgan guessed. The students groaned as I recorded a strike.

“What choices are left?” I asked. Together we read the numbers that were not crossed out—1, 4, 6, and 8. I gave the students a few moments to talk at their tables, and then called on Olena.

“One goes in the first blank,” she said.

“And the other number is four,” Stevie said. “It’s thirty-five plus ten equals forty-five.”
I recorded the numbers and said, “Let’s check the addition to be sure it’s right.” Everyone agreed.
“You figured out the problem with only three strikes,” I said. “So you win.”

I repeated the game for several more problems, (50 + 26 = 76 and 29 + 13 = 42), and even varied the number of digits (37 + 87 = 124). Then, students played in pairs. First they made up problems of their own, which they wrote on a “cheat sheet” and folded in half. Next, they drew blanks for the problem, listed the numbers from 0 to 9, and they were off!

2. 101 and Out
A great game for column addition practice

This game, from About Teaching Mathematics, is a favorite of mine that encourages mental computation and understanding of place value. The goal is to arrive at a sum that is as close to 100 as possible without going over. The game involves luck (numbers are generated randomly) and supports reasoning (as students decide how to use the numbers that come up). It works well competitively, cooperatively, and as an individual activity.

Teaching the Game
To play, students draw their own game boards. Model this by having them watch as you draw a sample on the board.
Explain the rules: A 1–6 number cube will be rolled six times. With each roll, students write the number that comes up on their game board. They write the first number on line 1 of their game board in either the 10s column or 1s column; they write the second number on line 2 in either column; and they continue to play for six rolls. Once students write a number, they can’t change it. After writing six numbers, they fill in any blanks in the ones column with zeros, and then add to find the sum. The winner is the player with the sum that is closest to 100 without going over.

Model playing a round as a class activity. Give the number cube to a student to roll and call out the number that comes up. Then have students discuss where they think it would be best to write the number on line 1. After hearing from students, have a student record the number on the board. Give the number cube to another student and repeat for line 2. Continue for six rolls, and then model for students writing zeroes in any empty spaces in the 1s column. Give students time to figure the sum.

The second time you play, instead of having a class discussion about where to write each number, ask students to decide for themselves and record on their individual game boards. When the number cube is rolled a second time, it helps to remind students to write the number that comes up on line 2. As play continues, check to see that students are writing numbers correctly. After six rolls, ask them to write zeroes in empty spaces in the 1s column and then find the total. As students finish, have them exchange papers to check each other’s addition. (This gives time for students who need more time to complete the addition.) Then find the sum that came closest to 100 without going over. Post the winning game board and have the others check the addition. With a whole class, it’s likely that more than one student will get the same winning sum.

Playing Competitively
Once students understand the rules for playing, have them play in groups of two, three, or four players. Organize students and give a number cube to each group. Circulate to observe and troubleshoot any confusion.

Working Together
To encourage communication among students as they reason numerically, organize students into pairs and have each team play against another pair. On each turn, partners have to agree where to write the number that comes up. Even though both players on each team will have the same results, have them each record numbers on their own game boards. This gives all students adding practice and gives partners a way to check their total.

Additional Tips
Increase the challenge by using a 0–9 spinner to increase the range of possible numbers that can be generated.
If you need to make the addition easier for younger students, change the game so there are only four lines on the game board.

For individual practice, students first play the game by themselves, following the same rules. Then they draw another game board and use the same numbers they rolled to try and figure out the best way to arrange the numbers to get a total as close to 100 as possible.

3. Seven Up

It is essential for students to develop fluency with combinations of 10. Seven Up, a game from Scholastic’s Do The Math intervention program, gives students the practice they need. A deck of 40 cards is required—four each of cards numbered 1 to 10. (A deck of playing cards with the face cards removed works well.) To play, students deal seven cards face up in a row.

They remove all 10s, either individual cards with 10 on them or pairs of cards that add to 10. Each time players remove cards, they replace them with cards from the remaining pack. When it’s not possible to remove any more cards, they deal a new row of seven cards on top of the ones that are there. The game ends when it’s no longer possible to make 10s or all of the cards are used up.

I modeled the game for a group of first graders. “One person deals the cards and the other keeps the cards that we remove,” I explained. “Then you switch jobs for the next game.” Students can play in pairs or small groups, or unlike Four Strikes and You’re Out, students can also play Seven Up as a game of solitaire. The solitaire feature is useful when a student doesn’t have a partner to play with.

Both Seven Up and Four Strikes and You’re Out are games that are suitable for playing multiple times. Not unlike the games kids play over and over again and know well—checkers, Monopoly, solitaire, Sorry, and others—this repetition effectively encourages learning. Students may lose interest in a game after a while but return to it later, enjoying the comfort of their familiarity with how to play.

4 .Target 300
Target 300, a game from Teaching Arithmetic: Lessons for Extending Multiplication, gives students the opportunity to practice multiplying by 10 and multiples of 10. It also supports mental computation and develops students’ numbers sense. Although the game’s focus is multiplication, students also practice their addition and subtraction. The object of the game is to be the player whose total is closest to 300 after six rolls of a 1–6 number cube. The total can be greater or less than 300, or exactly 300, but players must use all six turns. As with other games, I teach students how to draw their own recording sheets: in this case, two columns each with a player’s name at the top. Here’s a game between Cindy and Julie that ended in a tie.

Cindy rolled the number cube and got a 6. She then decided whether to multiply the number by 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50. She chose to multiply 6 by 10. Players record the rolls and calculations of both players as a way to keep track of what is happening. For example, on Julie’s first turn she rolled a 5 and multiplied it by 10, so both players record 5 x 10 = 50. Players keep a running total of their scores. After each takes six turns, they record who won and how far each player’s total was from 300.

For example:
Cindy and Julie tied. Cindy was 10 points away from 300. Julie was 10 points away from 300.

Using these and other math games in your classroom can really help with differentiating instruction. For example, to serve the various needs of students, I change Target 300 to Target 200 for some struggling students and to Target 600 for those who need more of a challenge. (Alternatively, using a 0–9 spinner will increase the challenge by giving students a wider range of numbers to work with.)

It’s common in class for some students to finish assignments quickly while others are still working. Games are ideal for answering the “What do I do now?” question. Also, having students share games with their families is an effective way to send home information about the math being done in school. When I choose a game for students to play at home, I’m always sure that they have had enough experience to be thoroughly familiar with how to play."

Tons of Terrific Products Coming This Summer!

2009-03-07T08:07:00.003-06:00

We traveled to Dallas this week to attend Ed Expo which is a huge convention for teacher stores. We were able to meet with our favorite vendors to see the great new products that are going to be available for Back to School season. We are so excited about all of the new classroom decoratives and wonderful learning tools. You will be seeing a ton of this in our store in the next few months. Here is a little preview of what will be hitting our shelves. We can't wait!

We Are Open Today!

2009-02-16T12:54:00.004-06:00

Don't forget that The Teachers' Lounge is OPEN on President's Day! Stop by and get everything that you need for the week ahead. Bring the kids by to enjoy our play area on their day off school. We can't wait to see you soon!

Sweetheart Sale Starts on Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T12:27:00.002-06:00

Join us this week for our Sweetheart Sale featuring hundreds of items 30% to 50% off throughout the store. Bulletin board sets, borders, letters, accents, deskplates, name tags and more are on sale. Come in today for great savings on Teacher Supplies.

St. Louis Art Museum Scavenger Hunt

2009-02-03T16:05:00.010-06:00

If you're looking for something fun to do with the kids on these cold, winter days, try a visit to the St. Louis Art Museum. I developed the following scavenger hunt for my Daisy Girl Scout Troop and thought I would pass it along. The girls had a great time searching for the hidden objects throughout the museum. Click on the pdf below to download the scavenger hunt worksheets. Try it with your family this week!

arthunt.pdf

P.S. If you visit the art museum on Sundays between 1-4 PM, you can enjoy their FREE family activity in the main gallery as you enter the museum. You can check out their website for a full list of monthly activities.

Click Here To Visit The St. Louis Art Museum's Website

Cute Homemade Valentines

2009-01-19T13:22:00.005-06:00

Want to try making some cute, homemade valentines with the kids this year? Family Fun magazine has some adorable ideas in their latest issue. You can make some great valentines from just a few simple supplies. Our favorite is the "Rock Candy ipod".

Click Here To Visit Family Fun Valentine Crafts

It's Almost the 100th Day of School!

2009-01-06T21:41:00.003-06:00

Try some of these fun 100th Day of School Activities from Education World to celebrate the 100th Day with your students.

Click Here To Visit 100th Day of School Activities

Summer Camp!

2008-12-28T12:44:00.004-06:00

Can you believe that it is already time to start signing your little ones up for summer camp? Here is a wonderful list of camps provided by Newschannel 5 that are available in the St. Louis area this summer.

Click Here To Visit the Summer Camp List

A Great Holiday Website!

2008-12-15T14:01:00.005-06:00

Are you looking for something for your kids to do on their Christmas Break? Check out northpole.com. This site is filled with great activities which include: letters to santa, holiday stories to read and color, holiday games, and a santa tracker.

Click Here To Visit northpole.com

Holiday Gift Ideas

2008-12-03T09:49:00.004-06:00

Do you need some unique gift ideas for the kids on your shopping list? Click here to see our recommendations for the best educational toys and games for this holiday season. Give the gift of learning!

Last Chance to Save

2008-12-03T09:49:00.001-06:00

This week will be the last week to grab all remaining Thanksgiving and Fall decorations and other items HALF PRICE!