Fun with Fractions

I came across these fraction magnets from Lakeshore a few months back and included them on my most recent Donorschoose wish list. Time has passed, and sadly, there have not been any donations towards my proposal of math materials requested for my classroom. I completely understand, with the current economy, why people may not have extra money to donate, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. 

We started a unit on fractions this week so I knew that it was time to get crafty again. This simple fractions puzzle set only costs $12.99, but I was able to create them myself for less. I really love these realistic looking food items and thought dividing food was a great way to teach fractions that would be meaningful to young students. When sharing food, being fair ** having equal parts** is essential!

I went to google images and searched each kind of food that is pictured in the image I saw on the Lakeshore website.  I have a color printer at home, so I did have to use my own colored ink (no biggie) and I printed two copies of each food item. I then cut one picture into equal parts (halves, thirds, or quarters). I have a student whose mother feels so sad that we no longer have a laminator at my school and she, very kindly, offered to laminate items for me because she has a laminator at home and gets a great deal on the paper. I sent the photos home in my student's homework folder and received nice, crisp laminated photos the following Monday! I simply added a small piece of sticky magnet to the back and voila! I did not write the fractions on my pictures because I wanted my students to be able to tell me the fraction by looking at the image and thinking about it, not just reading from the image.

 I think I made a pretty good replica and saved myself at least 10 dollars. 

I then spent that 10 dollars I saved on the ingredients to make these delicious cake balls from Bakerella's AMAZING website, but my staff was very appreciative, so it was worth it. 

Some photos of my food fractions...