Blenders are the funnest.

This week my kiddos are learning to read beginning blends (i.e. st, sp, br, fl, gl, etc...).  I do not claim the following lesson idea as my own, but I can just tell you how much I LOVE it.  (AND how much my kids are in awe of my magic skills!)  Let me set up the background before I tell you a funny story about my childrenssss. 

So, you take a blender, not plugged in of course.  You throw in a little card that says "s".... and then you throw in a card that says "n".  You hold up the blender and make the appropriate blender noise (brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) while swirling the blender around.  (It's not plugged in, remember??  You gotta make the magic happen!)  And then "DING"!  It's done!  You reach in the blender and tah-dah!!!!!  There's a card that says "sn"! 

Magic.

Here's how the magic happens (because I'm not a real magician, and I do reveal my secrets to special parties such as yourself):  You line the inside of the blender with construction paper so they can't see inside.  You put the whole cards in there before the lesson so the kids don't see it, and you have the individual letter cards stacked in the order of the cards already in the blender!  Magic, people.

Okay, so yesterday I introduced the first set of blends... the "s" blends... and I totally forgot how in awe my students were last year when we did this, so it was extremely exciting to see my kids react this year.  Once I pulled out the first blend put together on a card and showed them the card... there was silence.

*Insert cricket chirping*

Seriously.  It kinda threw me for a loop because I'm looking for a response.  Wait for it.... wait for it.... wait for it... About 10 seconds later there was a giant woaahhhhhhhhhhh across the classroom.  Then I heard a couple of "HOW did that happen?!?!?!" statements.  I'm magic, people.  What did I tell you??  Entranced they were!  What a spectacular teacher am I! 

And then there's that kid.  You know... the one who ALWAYS figures out the magic and proceeds to feel obligated to inform the rest of the class of how unmagical  the act really was.  Funny thing is that I CALLED IT the day before the lesson.  I knew it would happen.  I knew who it would be.  And she didn't leave me hanging.  "IT'S JUST ANOTHER CARD!" she said.  "She just has another card!" she said again.  Like 1,289,578,389 times.  Literally.

But the best part is... as she is proclaiming this across the room (and I proceed to acknowledge completely ignore her)... one of my GENIUS children shouts out quite obnoxiously, "WOAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOWWWWWW DID SHE DOOOOOOOO THAT?!?!!?!??!!??!?!?!?!?"

Miss Knowitall turns to Mr. Icantcontrolthevolumeofmyvoice and says (again), "She just has another card in there already!"

He looks at her and thinks for a moment.... then says the statement that should show you exactly why I'm going to be put into an institution by the end of this year,
"Man!  I just don't know HOW she did that!  Mrs. Gibbs, you are the magickest!!!"

Welcome to my class.