Blink Addiction

It all started at our half day in-service on Friday. The staff was supposed to align the objectives in our new math curriculum (coming this fall) to our state standards. Well, as you can imagine, all of us Special Ed teachers were feeling a bit left out, seeing as how it didn't pertain to us. "Oh, but it does!", we were assured. "You should be familiar with each grade level's standards and math objectives". Yes, that is a valid point. But which grade level should we choose to work with?

So Special Ed. got our own breakout session. Our team discussed housekeeping details for about twenty minutes, then got down to business: Cards. Not just any cards... Blink. Our speech therapist was explaining why this game in particular encouraged both sides of the brain to work together. It's also an excellent way to build working memory! We played for over an hour.... so simple, yet so addicting. While we were playing, we also discussed hosting a game night for parents with simple and fun games that have educational value. Goodness knows, I know the motivating value of games in my classroom!!

On Friday night I swung by Target to pick up a deck of "Blink" for myself (oh, and my students too). I've taught all of my students to play and they are having a blast with it! Some are still getting the hang of it, but my fourth-grader (who is as fiercely competitive as I am) is nuts about it! That girl was on her feet and shouting out: "SHAPE! COLOR! NUMBER! COLOR!" for the better part of 20 minutes. I wonder what people must have thought as they walked by?

I'm pretty nuts about it too. For two straight days, I've used my planning period to compete against the other resource room teacher, who is a worthy opponent! Work? What work?!