Steal the Clock!

Howard Gardner didn't develop his theory of multiple intelligences for it to remain unpracticed!  Second graders want to utilize every facet of their (astounding, and at times alarming) intelligence.  We've got a bunch of music geniuses in here.  Many of us clamor to show off our math and spatial smarts on the daily.  We don't neglect any of them - that includes our "body smarts".

Being body smart means being active.  We maneuver.  We balance.  And most of all we run.

Running in a field is great fun, but we look for a way to make it more challenging.  Let's combine two intelligences.  Let's show our math and body smarts all at once.

And thus, Steal the Clock was born.

Now, I'm not going to say that Steal the Clock is a smashing hit every year.  There are years when students simply don't itch to compete and yell and cheer.

This year, our second graders have a very, very healthy competitive streak.  They are very math smart.  They are very body smart.

Each child is assigned a number.  Each student shares a number with a member of the opposing team.  When a math problem is called out, the kids work in their teams to arrive at the solution.  If a student's number matches the solution, they race for the clock in my hand.  They must grab it and run it back to their teammates without getting tagged.

I have never played Steal the Clock without getting a stitch in my side.  The kids solve tough math problems.  They race for the clock.  They scream and cheer.  I laugh.

We are good sports through all of it.  Exercise and tricky math never felt so good.

Andrew tries to finagle his way past Grace.  Grace has good defense skills!

Our teams watch a race play out.

Love the action shot.  Natalie crouches down, Mia is jumping for joy and Ben is sprinting to a teammate.