
In the never-ending quest to be frugal, I refused to spend money on enough bingo markers for 30 kids. So, when we would play bingo, I would give each student a cup of dry soup beans to use instead. I only needed a couple bags for an entire class, and at $1 a bag, this was much less expensive. Before you think this is a great idea and run out to buy your own beans, let me tell you what happened...
My class full of tenth graders were learning animal vocabulary. It was a heated game of double bingo and I had just called out the word "oveja" when Sancho raised his hand urgently to siginify his win. The class let out a collective sigh and began to clear their boards. When I requested that Sancho repeat the words back to me, he informed me that he had in fact not gotten bingo. The conversation went as follows:
Sancho: I think there is a bean in my ear.
Me: What do you mean you "think" there is a bean in your ear?
Sancho: Wait, I might be able to get it out with my pencil...
Me: ABSOLUTELY NOT! DO NOT PUT A PENCIL IN YOUR EAR! Come here please. How did a bean get in your ear?
Sancho: I was trying to see if it would fit, and it did.
I sent Sancho down to the nurse who called me just a few minutes later to request a sample of the bean. They would be sending Sancho to the emergency room and needed to give it to the doctors there. Now let me remind you, this boy was 16 years old...I know it's easy to forget.
About three hours later, someone knocked on my classroom door. It was Sancho. He shared the good news, that they were able to flush the bean out of his ear. In his hand, he held a paper towel which he opened to reveal the bean. "Do you care if I keep it for my scrapbook?" he asked. Of course, I said "yes".
From that day on, he was known as "Sancho Frijoles".
My class full of tenth graders were learning animal vocabulary. It was a heated game of double bingo and I had just called out the word "oveja" when Sancho raised his hand urgently to siginify his win. The class let out a collective sigh and began to clear their boards. When I requested that Sancho repeat the words back to me, he informed me that he had in fact not gotten bingo. The conversation went as follows:
Sancho: I think there is a bean in my ear.
Me: What do you mean you "think" there is a bean in your ear?
Sancho: Wait, I might be able to get it out with my pencil...
Me: ABSOLUTELY NOT! DO NOT PUT A PENCIL IN YOUR EAR! Come here please. How did a bean get in your ear?
Sancho: I was trying to see if it would fit, and it did.
I sent Sancho down to the nurse who called me just a few minutes later to request a sample of the bean. They would be sending Sancho to the emergency room and needed to give it to the doctors there. Now let me remind you, this boy was 16 years old...I know it's easy to forget.
About three hours later, someone knocked on my classroom door. It was Sancho. He shared the good news, that they were able to flush the bean out of his ear. In his hand, he held a paper towel which he opened to reveal the bean. "Do you care if I keep it for my scrapbook?" he asked. Of course, I said "yes".
From that day on, he was known as "Sancho Frijoles".