Find it! Fix it!

Has your child mentioned Find it, Fix it?  Are you wondering what they are talking about?  Well I refer to it as the greatest game ever invented.  I found it mentioned on a blog a couple of years ago and I love, love, love it.  Here are the particulars from The Clutter Free Classroom...

It's sort of a game.

But, not really.

If kids think it is a game they will want to play along. If you simply tell them to clean the room they may not be so interested.

Here's how it works:

Picture a classroom at the end of a school day. While it may not be a complete disaster, there are surely things out of place. I'm talking about things like a pencil on the floor, a pillow that is not straight, papers left on desks, a random crayon in the colored pencil box, a stapler left out of place (usually by me), books that are not facing the same direction, a goldfish cracker lying belly up just waiting to be crushed by a pint-sized sneaker, and other nit-picky things.

You pick one of those things and secretly put it into your brain. Then you tell the kids to "Find it / Fix It." At that point they scurry around like little elves and perfect the imperfections of the day. The whole scene lasts about 1-2 minutes. It doesn't end when the mystery item is found, but rather when the room is perfect.

The rules are simple: No talking, no running, no crawling under tables and no moving something unless you know for sure where it needs to go. The last one is important because you'll always get some kiddo who shuffles things to look busy. If a child talks, crawls or runs they are 'disqualified' and must sit down.  I also added you may not fix something that has already been fixed!

After everything is made to look spotless and every last thing is in it's place, I tell them to return to their seats to find out who won. I have them stand behind their chairs and will give them elimination clues to reveal the "winner." I say things like, "the winner is wearing shorts" or "the number of letters in the winner's first name is an even number."   As they are eliminated they sit down until only one friend is left standing.

It wouldn't be any fun without a "prize."  (one year the prize was the winner got to control the remote for the ActivBoard...another win, win for me!  This year we are starting a little more extrinsic, with simple piece of bubble gum!

Want to know a secret? Come closer and I'll whisper it.

It's usually rigged.

I try to make it fair so that everyone gets a chance to be the winner. I will often pick the winner before they start playing and will watch to see what he/she fixes and claim that was the "secret thing." I then put a little dot next to their name on my roster so I know that the student has had a chance to be the winner.  This year I am also starting the game with more than one winner a day.

 

Love it, Love it, Love it!

 

Don't give away the secret!