Whalen is a class favorite!!
I snagged him off of Amazon.com back in the spring along with the inflatable pool he sits in.
Wal*Mart was a great place to find the ball-pit balls.
Each ball has a different math fact-to start the year I only have addition and subtraction balls in the pit.
In order to help me differentiate I tried to use "cool colors" for subtraction and "warm colors" for addition--so I can quickly grab a type of fact and throw it at a student.
I use it as a quick check in and students can dig out facts as a math station as well.
It is a great classroom management tool--students quite down the minute they see me with the fact balls--only quiet students get a ball thrown their way.
Every now and then I use Whalen. The balls pop out of his spout and the students catch them.
SOOOOO much fun!
A tip I picked up I need to do?
After writing on the balls with permanent markers seal the writing with clear nail polish!
Even though I remind my students to hold the ball where there writing isn't it is still rubbing off.
So that'll be my next project, coating the writing in clear nail polish.
Whalen ROCKS!
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