President’s Day

The history of Presidents' Day can be traced back to the late 1700s.  People began celebrating George Washington's birthday (February 22) while he was still president. 

       Now in February, the U.S. honors two of our greatest Presidents with a federal holiday. “Washington's Birthday” is the official name designated to what many of us know as “President's Day”. During the month of February the birthdays of two of our greatest President's takes place, George Washington who was born on Feb. 22nd and Abraham Lincoln born on Feb. 12th. The holiday is now observed on the third Monday of February, rather than Washington's actual birthday.

       At Library of Congress, you will find a chronological list of Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents of the United States as well as selected images from the Collections of the Library of Congress.

Paddy Number 3

Challenge your friend to add eight 8s in such a sway that the total is 1,000. If your friend gets stumped, show him/her to add the 8s like this:

8+8+8+88+888=1,000

Paddy Number 4

Choose any number                                                             15

Multiply by 6                                                                       15x6=90      

Add 12 to the product                                                          90+12=102

Divide the sum by 3                                                            102/3=34

Subtract 2 from the quotient.                                               34-2=32

Divide the difference by 2.                                                  32/2=16

Subtract the original number                                               16-15=1

Add 9 to the difference.                                                       1+9=10

(The answer is always 10.)

Paddy Number 5

Start with any number.                                                        517

Change the order of the digits in any way you  choose.     571

Subtract the smaller number from the larger number.        571-517=54

The difference is always  evenly divided by 9.                  54/9=6

Fun with Numbers

Write on index cards for your math center or give to the class orally for Fun Friday!!!

Paddy Number 1

Choose any number                                                                34

Multiply by 9                                                                       34x9=306

Add the numbers in the products                                              3+0+6=9

The sum of the number can be divided by 9 without a remainder     9/9=1

Paddy Number 2

Choose any number                                                             15

Multiply by 5                                                                     15x5=75       

Add 6 to the product                                                            75+6=81

Multiply the sum by 4                                                          81X4=320

Add 9 to the product                                                            320+9=329

Multiply the sum by 5                                                          329X5=1,645

Cross off the last 2 digits                                                     16

Subtract 1 from the results                                                   16-1=15

(The answer should be the number you stated with.)

Valentine Verses

Tip your hat to Cupid and the season of love with a poetry activity that’s truly a treat!

For each student, fill a small Ziploc bag with ten candy conversation hearts. Challenge each student to use the words and phrases on their hearts in a Valentine’s Day poem.

When students have finished their poems, have each child copy his/her verse on a heart shape cut from red or pink construction paper.

After the activity is complete let your enthusiastic poets eat their candy inspirations.

Data Folder

 I know that most of you are already doing data notebooks. However, I want to suggest that you try keeping a data folder for each student. Each student should have his/her own data folder.  The data folder can be shared during parent-teacher conferences or whenever necessary.  Students can track their progress on a series of “I Can” record forms.  As students acquire new skills, they can track them in their data folder.  Each time a new skill is mastered, a copy of the student’s “I Can” record form should go home as a way to celebrate the child’s accomplishment with parents.