Toma Todo, a Neat Little Counting Game for Cinco de Mayo!

 Fellow teachers introduced me to this neat little game that is very much like the dreidel game played by Jewish children. Except, in this case, this is the hispanic version.

It's called TOMA TODO, and it's played this way.

The "top" is six-sided. Each side has a phrase.

Toma means to take. Pon means to put. So Toma Uno means to Take One, Pon Dos means to Put Two. 

Todos means all. So Todos Ponen means to Put All. And Toma Todo means to Take All.

Here's how the game is played. Each child begins with 10 tokens. (In many cases, these tokens are pieces of candy. For adults who play the game, they use nickles, dimes, or quarters.) Everyone puts one token in the middle of the table, or "pot".

Each person twirls the top and follows the directions that end up, putting in or taking out however many they're told. If a person luckily gets the Toma Todo, or Take All, they get everything in the pot, and the game is over.

To say this game is addictive is putting it lightly. It's a lot of fun, and makes an excellent center activity, too! Furthermore, it's a super way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

* Note: You can get these tops at Amazon.

Cinco de Mayo

Here are three adorable art activities you can do for Cinco de Mayo, or any time you study Mexico.

First, there are the Paper Plate Parrot Puppets

Next, take a copy of the Mexican flag (run off 2 to a sheet) and have the kids glue construction paper to the outer sections after they color in the center emblem.

Finally, the activity that came out the cutest is the hot chili peppers, with their googly eyes and black pipe cleaner mustaches.

Ole!