One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

As with the custom of many families, my husband and I will periodically clean out our children’s toy boxes, getting rid of any broken or unwanted items. (Here’s a word to the wise. Clear out the toy box when the children are asleep or gone at a friend’s house. This will alleviate any drama and hard feelings. The funny thing is that your child won’t even notice those toys are missing.) Anyways, the holidays are usually a good time to do this when new toys and treasures come in. Much to my husband’s chagrin, I must sort through these toys personally myself before he’s allowed to box them up to pass along to Goodwill or throw away. Why, you ask?

Starting with my first year of teaching, I have always used my children’s toys to either introduce a lesson or use them as a pivotal component of the math lesson. Talk about capturing your students’ attention! Not only elementary-aged children but also teenagers in middle school. If I ever teach high school or even college, I envision myself continuing to use this practice.

Being a garage sale junkie, my step-mom had found a $1 toddler remote control robot for my son. I innocently decided to use this robot to demonstrate to my students how a Texas Instrument CBR can collect and graph functions comparing distance to time. Oh, my! I had never seen my 7th graders so jovial about a math lesson before! What a discovery I had stumbled upon! Ever since then I have looked at children’s toys in a whole new light.

When I taught 3rd grade, I used my son’s 200 Hot Wheels collection to teach the multiplication facts. Every year, his old Transformer toys help me kick start my transformation lesson. The possibilities are endless!

I must admit that my husband is a pretty good sport for appeasing me and going along with my eccentricities. What treasures do you have buried in your closets, basement, or attic?