Please pass the bacon...

In my math class we play a game that involves 8 pigs.



You roll them similar to dice and then depending on how they land you count the points. The kids love the game and always ask if they can play the piggy game when they have free time. It is one I also enjoy playing with them. When you walk into the classroom you may wonder what's happening because it's common to hear, "Pass the bacon." "Hand over the ham," "Bacon, bacon, bacon," or "Give me the pork chops." Can you tell that it is a bunch of boys?

So, you ask how can you score a game where you roll 8 pigs. Here's how it works...

A Bum Pig is one that leans against another pig and sits on it rear. These pigs don't occur very often and are worth 20 points. The kids love when this happens and they tend to call it a butter.


Chinny Chin Chin is a pig that lands chin and nose down. Again not so common so it is also worth 20 points. In the case that a student gets one of these and a few time multiple ones they usually yell "Not by my chinny, chin, chin." Then they also feel the need to let me know, no matter what I am doing at the time.


Four on the floor is the pig that lands standing. These are seen more often and are worth 10 points.


Side slabs are the most common so they are only worth 2. I call them side slabs because the kids always say that the person rolled a bunch of dead pigs. Again, can you tell it's a group of boys?


Piggy back is the last type of roll. This pig is worth 5 points and again the boys refer to it as a really dead pig.

Whoever said you can't have fun with a bunch of pigs? I don't know, maybe it's because I grew up on a farm but at least these are cute, little plastic pigs that don't smell. They are cheap entertainment and if you didn't know, teachers are really into cheap entertainment.

Winter Wonderland

Here is a picture of the winter wonderland outside of the window at my work. It inspired a fun activity for my kids. They were working on spelling, so after the jumping, the writing repetitions, the vocab, and the general filling out of worksheets I handed each one a large marker. Then we preceded to bundle up (let me rephrase that), the kids bundled up. Off we treked to the great outdoors...cold outdoors. They used their markers to practice writing their spelling words in the snow. They loved it and it gave me a great chance to see if they really did learn the words without having it right there to copy. It also gave me a chance to enjoy the beauty of the snow and gorgeous weather we were having.

More pictures to come when I have a chance to be at home more than a few hours where sleeping isn't the #1 priority.