BINGO

My 2010-2011 school year officially started on Monday. Due to moving and not having internet I have unfortunately waited until today to post on my blog. We are off to a great year and I love the fact that I have my original first class that I taught in first grade now in fourth grade. This class will have many entertaining stories to add to my blog. I still remember one of the girls in my class now, telling me in first grade, that she hopes when she grows up that her husband is great with kids and cannot smell. I originally thought she said spell, but she corrected me. When I asked why, she said because sometimes she toots. I also still have a drawing and journal entry that I made a copy by another little girl in my class, "What is your favorite thing about you and why?" She wrote, "My bottom. It wiggles." She also drew a picture of a bottom with wiggle marks.

Over the summer, I was fortunate enough to go to a three day workshop called, "Tools for Teaching." This year I'm incorporating as much as I possibly can into my classroom. One of the things I started this year is called P.A.T (preferred activity time). I give the children fifteen minutes at the end of every day to have some kind of educational game that does not involve reading and writing. The children have the chance to add additional time for P.A.T during breaks. To help reduce the amount of students constantly getting up to sharpen pencils, go to the bathroom, and getting water, I give the students 3 five minute break periods. I will stand by the door and during the five minutes they can get up walk around the class, go to the bathroom, get water, sharpen pencils, etc. After their five minutes they are not allowed to do any of those things, with the exception of one emergency bathroom pass for the day. If the students are all in their desk with the desks nice in straight in the classroom and trash off the floor before five minutes I give them the difference onto their P.A.T. Today the children were very excited because they got a little over 20 minutes of P.A.T.

Today's P.A.T. activity was multiplication bingo, very grade appropriate for my fourth graders. While we were playing Gwen was becoming very frustrated with the game. She wasn't getting many of the called numbers on her game board and unfortunately Cosmas, sitting right next to Gwen won the first game. Gwen instantly wanted to switch boards with Cosmas. In my head, I thought this would be a bad move because I would hold off calling those numbers that I just called, increasing the chance of her getting Bingo on the card she currently had, so I said no. Gwen's game didn't get much better. Trying to cheer her up some I jokingly told her not to grow up and be a professional bingo player. Of course, what was I thinking, to get a smile on one's face, I have started an open discussion among the others. Celine instantly says that she will grow up and play bingo. When asked why, she says that is what you do when you are an old person. Raphael sitting near Celine instantly agrees, he too wants to play bingo. Maximus on the other hand, after spending much of the game in the same boat as Gwen says, "it is best that he doesn't play bingo when he grows up."

As a teacher, I often think about the life skills I teach my students. Today's life skill was BINGO, will you grow up to be a BINGO player and will you be any good at the game? If left to Celine, of course she will, it doesn't matter to her if she wins or loses, just that she plays the game because that is what old people do.