Meet Me Mystery Bag

Building a class community is as important, if not
more so, than all the reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic we can cram. If
we don’t get along with each other, it can make for one extremely long school year, and we’re NOT about to let that happen! Seriously, if Day 7 feels long, than we are in for a lot of grape feeding and fanning
heartache come Day 177. But, fortunately we’re off to a fabulous start!
They are motivated, and kind, and they love to talk! A lot! Like us!
So, guess who’s winning this battle? Need a hint? Didn’t think so…

We’re spending quite a bit of time getting to know each
other. What makes us tick…or tock…or scream…or shout…or run…or
cry…or whatever. If we can make some personal connections with our
kiddos and help them do the same with their peers, than we are making
progress in the universe our tiny class.

One of our favorite ways to get to know one another is through our Meet Me Mystery Bag activities. For some reason, we need to add a dramatic Dun, Dun, Dunn to the end today…just sounds more mysterious…

These activities
are both for take home and in class. We’ve done it on the teacher side
for years, and the mom side for a few…We love it, and our kids
(biological and adopted from September-June) do too!

We
provide each student with a Mystery Bag to take home and fill. We use
brown paper lunch bags, but any type of bag would work. BIG Rule
though…All items must fit in the bag. No elephants!

Upon
return, we select a few each day to share and guess. We sit in a
circle, talk about the categories and use our inferring skills to make
some educated guesses as to who this mystery friend might be. Could it
be a boy? Or, a girl? Someone who speaks a different language, or can do
a triple twirl? Enjoys the beach? Has 80 shells? Has been on a boat?
Rode a goat? Oh, oh…I don’t know! The possibilities are endless!

The
Masked Magician (that’s us…not masked…that’s weird), is the
controller of all Mystery Bags when it comes to guessing time. We reveal
one item at a time, help talk them through a thought process for
inferring and then we make educated guesses. They get it.

If our guesser is successful, the person stands up and we all say, “Nice to meet you.”

If
we have three failed attempts from the crowd, the masked magician says
in an announcerish voice, “Will the real mystery friend, please stand
up?” They do and everyone giggles until the masked magician puts them
under a cease spell and we start again.

We
quickly go through each item, asking a few questions, giving the friend
a moment to shine and share before we get down to writing. There is
always a method to our madness.

To
be perfectly honest, the number of bags we get through really depends
upon the class. Case in point ~ We had a “friend” who had a class who
could only make it through 3 at a time. We.are.serious.do.not.laugh.
But, then this same “friend” had another class who begged for more after
the 12th one and we she needed a break!

Once we’ve made it through all the mystery bags, we write.

We
set the items out in the order of the writing page, touch them, hold
them high in the air, wave them round and round. Whatever we need to do
to make sure we’re all on this planet the same page.
With younger students, we go item by item, one at a time. With older
students, we talk, they write. We do not spell for them. We encourage
them to try their best. We want to see how they sound words out.

We also spend time working on a directed drawing of ourselves to complete our Meet Me bulletin board in class.

Controlling
Moment…We do the cutting around each drawing ourselves. Just gives
them personality, and avoids any scissor surgery that may occur with
Firstie Scissorhands maneuvering the blades. Older kids could probably
do the cutting themselves.

To
extend our Meet Me activities, we play Find a Friend. We make it
through a row a day, and they love getting up, moving around, and above
all else talking!

To help our first graders, we bring them back to their seat between boxes,
to read them together. After the first few, they are old pros!

We
were in love with them doing this activity the other day all alone
(after a few previous sessions). We could’ve stepped out of the room and
it was Day 4…need we say more?!?

Until
one of our “special friends” figured out they could ask the teacher.
Coffee break o.v.e.r. Well, we’re sure you can guess what happened next.
Flood gates, mad rush, stampede the teacher!!!

So,
as far as they are concerned…We do not know how to ride bikes, have
never been on an airplane, cannot tie our shoes to save our lives, and
forget about blowing a bubble…Nope, our tongues are broken. We know
our secrets are safe with you. Please don’t tell.

This
week, we’re putting our Meet Me activities in the bag with our last and
first activity ~ Our I’m in First Grade Now! Little Book. They’ll fill
in the blanks and illustrate. We’ll resume our coffee break.

We.are.totally.kidding.they.are.first.graders.but.gals.can.dream.

Our unit on TpT includes little books for Kinder, first and second grades.

They
will be able to read them when we’re done. Independently. And with each
other. But, not the teacher. We can’t read. Nope not our eyes. They’re
old. Unreadable.

Kidding. We’ll read with every last one of them. Twice probably.

Cuz now that we know them…

we kinda love them.

They’re ours.

For better or for worse…

Our Meet Me Mystery Bag Activities are in our TpT Shop now.

Here’s what’s included: