Quiet Mouse

I think as teachers we all tell our students at some point to pretend they are mice in order to get them to be as silent or quiet as possible, right? Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. However, with the help of the quiet mouse puppet...we accomplish being quiet in the hall pretty well if I do say so myself. :-)


I got this idea from my cooperating teacher when I was student teaching kindergarten a little over a year ago now. I love it and so do the kids. If you are a lower elementary grades teacher and happen to take all your kids to the bathroom at the same time; this is a fun and great little way to have them wait patiently and quietly in line for the bathroom. 


My class lines up outside the restroom for a bathroom break together twice a day to prevent accidents and also to limit the constant bathroom interruptions while I'm trying to teach. And the way I try to keep them silent in line is through the use of a puppet. Ours last year happened to be a mouse (which worked well with the idea of quiet mouse). I choose one student who walked down the hall quietly and correctly to start with the quiet mouse. They take the mouse, stand in front of the class for a couple of minutes and look for a friend who is also being a quiet mouse and they then pass it on. This continues until everyone has used the restroom.


 It's amazing how well this works and how excited they get over getting a chance to hold the mouse. And the best part? It works ALL YEAR LONG. At least it did for my class. They never got tired of using it. It was always fun and exciting to be chosen. However..you will have to disinfect poor little mouse often...And probably replace him every year.. I'm thinking I might go with Quiet Bunny this year...since I have an amazing book calling Quiet Bunny..hmm..sounds like a book review in the making to me. ;-)


Happy Pickin'
Mrs. L