Blow the Ball (2 Versions)

Even More End-of-School Games

SUCK IT UP:

Players place a straw in their mouth and use suction to transfer a pile of 25 M&Ms or Skittles from one plate to another in under one minute. Only one hand may be used to hold the straw. Everyone gets to eat their candy when the round is finished!  This game also works well with 3 players competing in each round.

More Fun Games and Activities

You will need craft sticks, some mega blocks (or legos).

Put craft stick in your mouth and start stacking blocks one by one. 

Fun Games and Activities

You will need thick straws (thin ones work too), small sheets of paper.

Using straw players will need to suck the paper sheets and transfer them from one pile to another. Whoever does this first WINS the game.

Beating the Box

This game would work so well with Pre-Kinders and Kindergarten students! And it doesn't have to be seasonal. You could do also it at the end of the school year.

To prepare:
Place a small but "worthy" and unbreakable item in a box. Wrap it. Place it in a bigger box. Wrap it. Repeat however many times you wish.

You also need two oven mitts and a pair of dice.

To play, everyone gathers in a circle. For a classroom, I suggest sitting on the floor.

The first person tosses the dice. First person to roll a pair gets the first "whack" at the box. They put on the oven mitts and try to open the package any way they can (without using their teeth!) In the meantime, the dice keep getting passed from person to person until another pair is rolled. Then that person puts on the mitts and has their turn beating on the box.

This rolling and beating continues until the prize is eventually recovered. But, warning! This does eat up a lot of time!

It's Been a Great Year

Today I'm in my room, shutting it down for the summer. Yesterday, I surprised the class with plain white cotton t-shirts (Hanes) that I bought at the dollar store. They got to sign each other's shirts with permanent markers. Yes, it was a bit of an expense, but I had been buying a package of 3 shirts (@$5.50 each) a month until I had enough for the entire class. The shirts were a huge hit, and several kids made sure to get other teachers and students to sign their shirts, too.

It was a memorable day, capping a very memorable year. Take care, Kinder class of 2012!

It's Splash Day!

The day is hot, humid, and brightly sunny.  Definitely not a day to take the kids outside and go running around having sack races and whatnot.  But when you throw in water, the rules change for the best!

Even if your school doesn't have a Splash Day (or Field Day), you can have your own!  Here are some tips to help keep everyone cool and safe when you're outside on the playground.

1.  Keep a water sprayer to spritz the children.  You'll find them running up to you and yelling, "Do me!"  (Hint:  Don't give any water pistols to the kids.  Otherwise you might end up with hurt feelings and maybe an eye injury.)

2.  Hand-size sponges are cheap.  Get several so they can get them wet and squeeze them over other children's heads.  The picture you see here is of a relay race where members of two teams dunk a huge sponge into a big bucket of water to get it soaking wet, put the sponge on their heads, race to the other end where they squeeze out the water, and hand the dry sponge over to the next person in line, who runs to the other end to get it wet.  Winner is the team with the most water in their return bucket, not the one who finishes first.

3.  Dont forget your sunglasses and hats!  And lots of sunscreen!

4.Give them several breaks to go to the water fountain.  Or provide popsicles.  (A cheap alternative - those frozen tubes of ice.)

5.  Make sure you've notified the parents ahead of time so the children can bring towels and/or an extra change of clothing.  Oh, and flipflops might be more appropriate than closed-in shoes.

6.  Finally, limit your time outdoors to 20-30 min. before you seek shade or shelter.  Watch the kids' faces for signs of heat stress.  If a student looks like he's overdoing it, having him sit out.

7.  Most importantly, have fun!