Bling Bling One Dollar Rings

Today we had seminar and I had the kids bring in one dollar bills, so that we could make Bling Bling One Dollar Rings. Some kids obviously forgot and had to work with other dollar bills (which seemed to work out ok, for the most part) and some kids didn't have any money with them, so they worked with someone that did bring a dollar and helped them follow the steps. Even though seminar is only 20 minutes long and some of that is announcements, we were able to finish, although we did have to leave a few people behind that were having some serious struggles. If I hadn't left them behind, then there would have been no way to see the finished product.

I like the idea of doing something interactive and fun with these kids. During today's activity everyone was enjoying themselves and participating, even if they didn't have their own dollar bill.

After sharing my success with a neighboring teacher, she revealed that they celebrate birthdays in their class with cookies and milk. They then sing to the person and have a great time celebrating their special day. After our conversation I went onto my computer and looked to see who has birthdays, and next Tuesday will be our first. I've had this girl in my class before and we have a pretty good relationship, so I think I might surprise her and the class by bringing in cookies and milk.

Also, next week, I need something fun to do with my seminar kids so that they don't look down upon this time and think that seminar is boring and a waste of time. One mission of seminar is to build relationships, and by finding entertaining and bonding experiences, I can do just that. So, I've decided that it would be fun and relationship forming to play a game of "Never have I." Since this game is popular at alcolhol related parties, I will have to set a few ground rules first:

• All questions are to be school appropriate. If someone (the teacher included) feels that this is an inappropriate comment, that person can say "stranger danger" which means that a new question needs to be asked due to inappropriateness. 
• The class will form a huge circle in the room, leaving an empty space and a container to shoot for in the middle. Each person will go around the circle and share something that they have never done, "I've never gotten a speeding ticket," and then all those that have had this happen to them will throw a chip into the middle while trying to aim for the container (this will hopefully avoid crazy tosses).
• All students will be given the same number of pennies, chips, beans, etc (I haven't really decided which will work best) and the person with the most at the end will win a prize.