ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND!!!

We made it to the next major milestone! We have 100 000 bread tabs. The kids are so excited.

I had been out of the room in a Professional Development session all day, and just came back to the room to wish them a good evening. Three or four students immediately ran over to me and said, "We only need 500 more to get to 100 000!" (The math teacher in me got excited that they are recognizing the changes in the decade numbers, but I digress) The next morning, can you guess how we began the day? The bags got filled quickly and they ran to the office (even though they shouldn't have been running in the hallways) to make sure this major event made the morning announcements.

We began, student by student, dumping in the thousands bags and ten thousands containers into our "hundred thousands" container. Around 78 000, we ran into a problem. The container was not big enough! Who would have guessed that an 89.9 litre container would not be big enough to hold 100 000 bread tabs. We are currently searching for a 120-125 litre clear plastic container to store our 100 000 treasures.

Recently there was a piece on the regional news about another teacher who had done the exact same thing. My mom called me about it. My math coach sent me the newspaper article via e-mail and the guidance counselor at our school photocopied the article and brought it in. They were all very supportive. My first thought was, "How could there be two teachers crazy enough to take on this project?" My second thought was, "I'll just have to do it faster!" Yes, this has brought out my competitive spirit!

He collected for 23 years to get to one million bread tabs. Boy, I hope it does not take me that long. I'm only going to be teaching for another 18 years. At the rate we're going, we should be able to complete our quest for the millionth bread tab in 15 years. People are amazingly supportive of my plastic tab insanity.

A Boost in the Numbers

The bread tabs have been trickling in. A couple of local restaurants have been making weekly contributions and the folks at church have been handing me small baggies every Sunday. The number has climbed to 87 600 and there is a 2-litre ice cream container full of tabs sitting on my desk. We were supposed to count them today but with life being as busy as it is, it just did not happen today.

Today, when I got home I noticed a pile of something by my door. There were six bread bags filled with bread tabs! I called my parents to ask if they knew anything about it. My dad informed me that Mom had dropped them off. Apparently, there is a farmer who feeds his donkeys day old bread. Over a period of time, he has thrown the tabs in bags and set them aside. His mother-in-law is a friend of my parents. When she saw them, and he didn't know what he was going to do with them, she said that she knew just exactly who would take them off of his hands.

I would not be surprised if this puts us over the 100 000 mark. Yes, I am excited! I hope that donkey lives a long and healthy life.

Also, this weekend I went to "Christmas in the Village" in Gagetown. As I walked around to the different sites with my mom, she ran into several people she knew. She would introduce me and the next question would be, "Are you the daughter that's a teacher?" When I would respond in the affirmative I would hear, "So you're the one I'm saving the bread tabs for!" A couple of times this brought enquiries from people close by. They, too, said they would start to save them. God bless my mom and her friends! She is definitely one of my biggest supporters.

When the count is done, I'll let you know the results.

A New Total!

Well, here we are on the first day of the fourth week of the school year. As previously stated, the bread tabs have been flowing in from all directions. (Another little fellow, from grade 3, also brought in a huge amount of tabs for us.) With the help of kids who are willing to make stacks of ten and bags of 100 during read alouds, a very dedicated TA and a wonderful Oral Interpreter we finished counting the bookbags of bread tabs. That one little darling brought in 16 916 bread tabs. I was amazed that one group in my class had estimated the amount to be 16 242, and another group had estimated about 18 000. I have some pretty bright little kiddies in my room. I am also thrilled with the improvement I am noting in some of their abilities to add and subtract mentally. Math, math everywhere!

Our present total is...69 142! That is over twice what we collected throughout all of last year. Inconceivable! (My little homage to The Princess Bride) There is still my 2-litre ice cream container and four sandwich bags of bread tabs sitting on my desk awaiting tabulation.

I have to admit that I brought some home this weekend and counted out 4 000 between watching The Princess and the Frog and The Amazing Race.

This weekend, I went to the local farmers' market to stock up on some fresh fruit and veggies, and samosas, of course, and I ran into a high school friend. She recently moved back to the area. While living in Ontario, she sent me bread tabs via Canada Post. After exchanging a few words, she reached into her purse and pulled out a bag of bread tabs. I can only assume that she was carrying them around in case she ran into me. I love that gal!

This weekend, I'm going shopping for a see-through container that is big enough to hold 100 000. I think we're going to need it soon.

The New Year Begins With a Bang

As I said in my last entry, the road to one million does not take a summer vacation. However, I had no idea how true that was until these past two weeks, and especially today!

On the first day of school, my brand new batch of little darlings sat in front of me and I announced that we would continue what last year's class had started, and that we would attempt to save one million bread tabs. Once again, a few of them thought that this was a reasonable goal for this year. Others, however, perhaps a bit more savvy after watching the adventure from afar last year, said that it just wasn't possible but that they would give it the old Elementary School try.

We hauled out the ever-so-trusty 2-litre ice cream bucket, filled with tabs saved over the summer, and had our first count. Luckily, I still have the same understanding and marvelous Teacher's Assistant from last year. She dug in and began to help in instructing her table in the tens, then hundreds, then thousands procedure. 1 670 bread tabs later, the kids had caught the bug and I could see little pieces of plastic dancing in their eyes. Then someone announced that a girl, who was out of the room at the time of the count, had said that she had some tabs in her bookbag. I thought, "Oh good! We'll be able to start filling up the bucket again. Maybe we can have another count in a couple of weeks." The girl returned, went to her backpack and hauled out a bread bag practically full of bag closing devices. The kids jaws dropped and then raised again in the form of a smile.

The next day, was bread tab count #2. This was the first experience, of its kind, for a very dear sweet oral interpreter who is working with me this year. Up until this point, I believe she thought I was quite loopy, but was much too thoughtful to say anything of the kind. As she watched some children, who are not particularly enamored of mathematics, figure out that if they had 8 bags of 100 they needed 2 more bags to make 1000, and that that meant 800 + 200=1000, she turned to me and said something like, "Now, I get it." Our total went up by over 3 000 that class.

The plastic stream did not stop there however. A very enthusiastic boy from the grade 2 class arrived at my door this week with 4 or 5 sandwich bags full. His mother informed me that everywhere he went this summer, he asked if he could heave their bread tabs because a teacher at his school needs them. The coffee shop our staff stops at on Friday morning agreed to start saving them for us. I went to my mailbox in the office to find another sandwich bag just about full, a gift from a lovely lady in Headstart. A child came in with another large amount from her mother and "all these orange ladies in Harvey (that) are saving them for us." (I am assuming that The 2-litre container was once again filled.

Before we had a chance to count again, a substitute teacher, whose mother works at the hospital cafeteria, came in with another bread bag full. The children's eyes gleamed as they predicted that it held anywheres from 1 702 to 3550 bread tabs. A count confirmed that the upper estimate was close, 3265 to be exact. However, before this tally occurred something even more amazing took place.

This morning, a little blonde haired cutie from my class came up to me as she arrived in class and said, "My bookbags are really heavy Madame!"

"Bookbags? Why do you have two with you?" I really don't assign that much homework.

"They are filled with something you will really like!"

"Oh, what did you bring?" Yes, folks, that's right! TWO backpacks filled with bread tabs. (See picture above) Did I mention that we hadn't even got around to counting my trusty ice cream container again? "Where on earth did you get all those bread tabs?"

"My Aunt Shirley. Oh, and some people from the French Lake Baptist Church" I am not sure who Aunt Shirley is, but she is certainly going to be receiving a thank you card from a happy class of grade 5 students. I am sure there are over 15 000 precious petroleum based wonders sitting in a Sterilite container awaiting sorting and quantifying as I type. Unbelievable!!!

Our school is situated in the most amazing and thoughtful community in the world. As this project takes on a life of its own, I am becoming more and more convinced that I will see one million before I retire.

I'll update the blog when I know how many we have in total.

Quick Summer Update

Although there will not be a bread tab count until the kiddies come back in the Fall, I thought I would just make a little entry that numbers continue to grow. I have begun carry a Ziploc bag (make that a hundreds bag) in my purse for random donations. At church, at friend's houses, the homes of relatives, etc. people come up and deposit small amounts of plastic gold into my hands. This, usually, is followed by, "Sorry it's not more. We just don't eat that much bread." "No problem. Every little bit counts."

I went to get a pedicure today (a treat from some of the wonderful parents of my wonderful wee ones) and the receptionist was the mom of one of my students from this past year. She assured me that her child was still collecting and would send them in with a younger sibling in the Fall.

The road to one million does not take summer vacation.

School is done tomorrow and I have to say good-bye to my wonderful little kiddies. I can't believe it is that time of the year already. They will all be moving on to middle school and I will shed a few tears no matter how hard I try to control it. I wish each and every one of them exactly what they need to make it through and be successful in their own unique ways. They will stay in my prayers and in my heart.

We had our final count today! We ended the year with 33 345.5 bread tabs. Yes, they had half a bread tab and added on the five tenths. They make me laugh!

The bread tabs are now safely packed away in a cardboard box, awaiting a new group of kiddies ready to learn about the size of one million (or maybe 66 000).

Well my kids reminded me today how much this project has come to mean to them. The TA from my class last year came to visit. The kiddies were thrilled to see him. I had a combined class last year, so half of my class had worked with him. After about 10 minutes, he stated that he had bread tabs for us. As he dug into one of his pockets, one of my students also started to help him, by digging into his pocket. They grabbed the ice cream container, scooped them all in, and promptly thanked him.

They have begun to scour all areas for our little bag closing marvels. We have been on three field trips recently. One was for the purpose of releasing salmon we had raised in our classroom, another to tour the middle school they are attending and another to the seashore. At each of these sites I had at least one student come up to me with a smile and a "Madame, look what I found just laying on the ground." I hope they don't start snagging them from fresh bread at the grocery store. :s

One of my students from last year, who has moved on to middle school, stopped by this week with a bag of about 300 tabs. This is the second time he has made a bread tab drop-off. The school librarian came in with a large bag from the hospital cafeteria where her mom works. Did I ever mention we have an amazing little community school?

Now for some of those strange occurrences surrounding this project. One day, while checking my school e-mail, I get a message from someone I don't know asking if I wanted her bread tabs. She said she had found out about our endeavor on Kijiji. For those who don't know, Kijiji is a kind of on-line classified ads with which I have never had any association. I was seriously confused! I said I would love to have them and said I would meet her somewhere to pick them up. This from the mom who keeps telling her son to beware of random people met via the internet.

It ended up that she had been saving bread tabs for some philanthropic purpose. This cause no longer accepts bread tabs, so she decided to post her collection on Kijiji to provide them with a good home. A co-worker saw the ad, told her about what we were attempting to do and gave her my e-mail so that we could connect. When she learned that we were at Geary Elementary, she informed me that a co-worker of hers had a daughter at our school in grade one. She sent them with her. That dear little girl came into school a couple of days later with a smile threatening to split her cheeks and a "Madame, look what my mom sent in for you!" Slightly over 1 300 bread tabs. Unbelievable!

The year is nearing the end and I have just about completed their report cards. Each report ends with a friendly note: "Have a great summer! Enjoy middle school. Be kind to everyone you meet. Keep saving those bread tabs!" Yes, I have officially become "The Crazy Bread Tab Lady"!

I plan to go back and tell you some of the interesting events that have occurred this year in our quest for one million, but I couldn't resist writing about yesterday first.

We completed another "bread tab count" yesterday in class. My mother attends a TOPS group every Wednesday and the ladies of this group have been faithfully bringing her their tabs as they consume their grain products. One lady works in a nursing home and hadn't made it to the gathering for quite some time. She came in this week with half of a Walmart bag of tabs. My father delivered them to my home the next day. I was like a kid at Christmas! I knew there were a few thousand just sitting there waiting to be counted.

Friday, I arrived in front of my class, with bag in hand, and asked what they thought might be in it. A "normal" class might have guessed some kind of treat or an interesting object to go along with our study of Ancient Egypt. My little dollies, however, with eyes wide and perhaps just a little drop of saliva in the corner of their mouths cried, "Bread tabs!" With a giggle that I just could just not contain, I confirmed their response.

"Where did they come from Madame?"

"My dad dropped them off at my house, yesterday."

"Wow! Your dad rocks!" I don't believe my 69 year-old father has ever had this said of him before. Although he is a really great guy.

The guidance counsellor was in our room and had never experienced a counting session before. She sat down at a table with a group of students and the counting began. "I have 6 hundreds bags full. Does anyone have 4 more?" "Madame we need another thousands bag!" "We have 43 left over here. Does anyone have 57 so we can make another 100?" Let's just say that I was no longer the only one that had that kid-at-Christmas feeling. The room was abuzz.

By the end of the 20-minute counting session (My kiddies are getting good at this), we had bagged another 7 489 bread tabs. This brought us to a total of 29 905.

We have two weeks left of school, the children resigned themselves, in March, to the fact that one million is just too big a number to collect in one year, which was part of my goal. As a group, they still seem to think that 32 000 might be in reach. I guess we'll see.

Since I began this project, I heard of another teacher in my district that weighed out 100 grains of rice with her students. Then they estimated how much one million would weigh and measured out that amount on a set of scales. Hmmmm, that certainly would have been a way to go, but just think of all the fun we would have missed!

What is This All About?

During the 2009-2010 school year, my grade 5 class and I have taken on a project. In an effort to see how big one million really is, we began collecting bread tabs. Yes, those little plastic tabs that keep your bread bag closed and your bread from becoming rock hard. They don't take up a lot of space, they are light and everyone has them in their home at some point or another. They were most definitely the perfect object to collect to reach one million.

Even I, as a 41-year old educated adult, have a hard time wrapping my head around the enormity of one million. The number is tossed about frequently now with sports salaries, per episode salaries for actors and prizes in the weekly lotto, but it is still a huge number! I knew that my students really didn't have a good grasp of it's size and it was my job as a Grade 5 teacher to help them. Thus the project began.

When we began, my 26 kiddies were absolutely sure that we would have no problem collecting one million bread tabs in one year. After all, there were 26 of them, their families, the breakfast program and the hot lunch program of our small school all tucking away these tiny pieces of plastic. This would be a breeze. I never let on that I believed the project would remain incomplete in June.

The fun began right away. I brought in what I had squirreled away over the previous years to use as Bingo tokens and the lessons on place value began. "Okay boys and girls, begin by putting them in bunches of 10. How many tens do we need to make 100?" Quickly Ziploc snack bags became known as tens bags and sandwich bags became known as hundreds bags. We had slightly over 200 that day and did a quick lesson on regrouping in subtraction to find out how many more were needed to reach our goal. Positive attitudes still abounded.

Small baggies of bread tabs continued to trickle in. Every time our 2 litre ice cream bucket got filled, we had a counting class. "Ones" were stuck to a piece of duct tape, snack bags of "tens", sandwich bags of "hundreds" and, finally, a freezer bag of one thousand. These all got hung on the wall with our place value chart. Every time 10 smaller bags were filled a student announced that they needed a larger bag and regrouping was full speed ahead.

Since those early days there have been many interesting, funny and strange occurences with regards to our "little" class project. A colleague has encouraged me to jot them down and keep track of what happens between now and one million. I hope you enjoy the journey with us.