Bread Tabs Over the Net

Over the past two years and two months I have received bread tabs in a variety of ways. They have been left on my desk, on my doorstep and in my mailbox. They have been handed to me in large bags, small bags, plastic bags, paper bags and numerous other containers. I have received them from fast food restaurants, fellow church members, co-workers, hospitals, a donkey farmer, organizations to which various friends and family members belong and former classmates. This month, however, was a new experience for my kiddies and me. We received a substantial number of tabs via the World Wide Web.

Early in the month I received an e-mail from a teacher in the community in which I live. She taught Grade 3 last year and looped this year to remain with her students in Grade 4. Last year, she decided to collect 1000 bread tabs to show her students what it looked like. It, however, took on a life of its own and one thousand became two, three, four and so on. When the kids came back in September with all the tabs they had collected over the summer, she decided that she needed to find the class' collection a good home. The math coach in her school informed her of our little endeavor. She wondered if we might like to adopt their beloved plastic closures.

I believe that my response was a quiet, sedate, "YES!!!! WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THEM!" She and the other Grade 4 teacher from her school had asked if I could come in, so the students could present them to me, but, as I teach at the same time they do, that was impossible. As we live in the age of technology, my ever-so-wise principal suggested a Skype conference and then they could present the tabs to my whole class. The teachers from the other school agreed and a date was set.

The other school was to Skype us right after lunch, so we turned on our Skype and I put the screen up on the Smartboard. As I read to the children, while we were waiting for the call, I don't think they heard a word I said. Their eyes were glued to the teacher's name, waiting for her to sign on. Her status changed and a "She's on-line!" arose in stereo from the four corners of my classroom. Shortly after, we were face to face with the other class and a chorus of "Hi"'s and waves were arising from both groups. Several of the students from the other class knew me from a children's group at my church and immediately began to call me by my first name. Quickly, the other teacher reminded them we were at school and I was Madame Peters. I found it very difficult not to burst out laughing.

After the basic introductions were completed, the other class presented us with a large water bottle, the kind you put on a water cooler, filled with 20 023 bread tabs. A cheer arose from my class. The other class had counted by 25's and then double counted. We showed them how we had arrived at our total by showing them a ten's bag, a hundred's bag, a thousand's bag, a ten thousand's container and a hundred thousand's container. The kids loved the latter. So cute!

I stopped by the school the next day and picked up the bottle. My kiddies were thrilled when they arrived on Monday and the bottle was sitting by my desk. With that addition and more from The Pita Pit, the hospital and a variety of other sources we regrouped our little hearts out and arrived at a new total. We have currently collected 271 315 wonderful little pieces of plastic. Another hundred thousand's container is just around the corner.

I have one other interesting development to report. My students have become well aware that plastic tab closures come in a variety of shapes and sizes. A few decided to begin pocketing the more unique ones. To help prevent the pilfering urges, we have started a museum of all the different kinds. When a child finds one that they think might be different, they bring it to me now. Then we take it to a piece of paper and compare it to all the forms and figures that we have traced. If it isn't on the sheet yet, they immortalize it by tracing it on our collection sheet. This seems to have solved the problem. I have often said, I have never ever had a boring day teaching. One always has to be on one's toes.