I say it every year, but this year was especially terrible.
I feel like it was just August and I was meeting my students for the first
time, and here I am now planning last week of school activities for the little
guys I have come to love so dear! Our school year here is a tad bit longer and
the dates are a little skewed from the typical western school calendar, so our
last day of school wasn’t until Thursday, June 30.
When I taught first grade back in Ohio I always tried to
make the last day full of fun memories for the kids. I know many teachers like to
multitask and put in a movie while they finish up end of the year work, or have
the students help prepare the classroom for summer, but for me it’s a time to
celebrate! We’ve all made it through another school year and we all need time
to relax and have fun!
Enter Miss St. John’s “Minute-to-Win-it” games!
I have over the last couple of years compiled a group of fun
minute-to-win-it games that require few supplies and are easy for the kids to
understand, and I most certainly didn’t want to deprive my Taiwan students of
the fun! If you have never heard of minute-to-win-it games before they are essentially
small games that you try to complete in under 60 seconds. They are fast, fun,
and easy, and always a hit with the kids!
This year, since we only have 40 minute periods, I narrowed
our games down to 4 including eating a cookie placed on their forehead without
using their hands, keeping 2 balloons afloat for 60 seconds, stacking 36 cups
into a pyramid, and getting a tissue paper fish to cross a finish line by
fanning it with a plastic folder. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves,
but I promise you…we all had fun! J
