B is for Bathroom Breaks (ABCs of 2nd grade)

June 5, 2014
Posted by clbartlett on

Yes,
you read that right…B is for Bathroom breaks. There’s nothing more
disrupting to a classroom routine than kids constantly having to go to
the bathroom. It never fails that when I let one of my little darlings
go to the bathroom, three more of them have to go.  So, we make a journey to the bathroom as a class and totally lose our momentum in the classroom. So, today, I am bringing you a way to continue learning even when your class is at the bathroom.

I always try to keep my class really quiet at the bathroom because other classes are learning but that can be hard when the bathroom break takes a while. Some of those kiddos who don’t need to go are just standing around and getting in trouble because they are bored. So we play Bathroom Break tag.
How to Play
While my kiddos are waiting in line to go back to the room, I pick a student to start the game. I decide on a topic with something that we have been learning about or need reviewing. For example, if we are learning about nouns, I have the student say a noun to start the game. The other students raise their hands and say a different noun. If the student is correct, they get to go next. 
Challenges
To make this game a little more challenging, I have my students tag their words together. If the first student says the word, “Owl,” then the next student has to say a noun that begins with the last letter of that word so their noun would start with an l. 
So the sequence of words could go like this…
1st student: Owl
2nd student: Lion
3rd student: Nose
4th student: Egg
5th student: Giraffe
 
I found this helps them really listen to each other and not just have a noun in their head and keep raising their hands to say the same word. 
 I’ve come up with a list of things you can practice during your class bathroom breaks. Not all of them will work with the challenge extension.
Math Ideas
The bathroom tag idea is a little different for math. The math games are a little more teacher directed. To review math concepts, sometimes I take flash cards to the bathroom and we play the same way. For telling time, I might take a practice clock and have them tell the time. If you have an iPad in your classroom, you can pass the iPad around and have them answer math facts in an app. 
I’ve come up with a list of topics that you can practice during your bathroom breaks. You can click on the image below to download this page. 
The math games are a little more teacher directed.

Follow along in the alphabet and check out my new post on Centers.

https://www.swimmingintosecond.com/2014/06/c-is-for-centers-abcs-of-2nd-grade.html

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4 Comments on “B is for Bathroom Breaks (ABCs of 2nd grade)”

  3. I love this idea. I can totally see using it. We are a little different have scheduled bathroom breaks two times as day as a grade level (6 classes). My challenge with the bathroom break is that there are so many kids they want to play in the bathroom and don't get back to the line. The nature of the school, I can't send just a couple kids at a time. How do instill urgency in your kids to go and come right back out? Would this help with that too or do you have other ideas? I will definitely be using this. Thanks.

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