The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Clause

Well, I am happy to say that Steve received a live bug for breakfast on Thursday.  Alexandra came running up to me after the bell rang on Thursday morning exclaiming, "I caught a cricket for Steve!"  My first question was, "Did you rip his legs off?" "No but I did squish him in the bag some, I think he's still alive though."  Sure enough, the cricket was alive, barely, when Steve ate him.  Even geckos deserve a warm breakfast right?

I play a game with my kiddos called Brain Quest.  I remember playing it when I was in elementary school so I figured I'd give it a go with my class this year.  Brain Quest is an age appropriate trivia game that contains educational questions.  We play this game when we have a few minutes to kill before lunch, before recess, or before we pack up to go home.  Now remember, these are educational questions so I am not losing instructional time by doing this. :)  My class has really come to love this game and I love it as well.  It is fun to have something that you can do together to create a bond.  While playing Brain Quest before recess on Thursday the kids were having a great time playing they were helping helping each other and were even able to giggle at themselves when they gave a silly answer.  The last question I asked before going out to recess was this: "How many boats did Christopher Columbus have when he discovered the new world?"  I was shocked when almost everyone's hand shot up in the air along with "Ooohh ooohhh ooohhh" in surround sound.  I called on the first kid, "200!"
"No."
I moved onto the next, "1,000"
"No."
This random guessing lasted for about 5 students until Hannah finally answered correctly, "3."
"Yes!  Now a bonus if you can name them."
Once again, all hands shot up in the air and the ooohhhs continued.  I called on the first student, "The Titanic"
"No."
I called on the second student, "The Mayflower."
"No.  I'll give you a hint the first one is the Nina.  The other 2 rhyme with Nina."
I got answers anywhere from the Rina to the Thina.
"Alright, I'll give you the name of the second boat, it's the Pinta."
I received various answers for the third boat as well, "The Rinta, the Sinta."
"No."
By this time we were all giggling because no one could figure out the answer.
"Alright, here's the third hint; the last boat has two names the first name is Santa...."
"CLAUSE!"
I was laughing so hard I could hardly speak to give the class the right answer.  "NO!  It's not the Santa Clause!  Would there be a boat called the Santa Clause? It's the Santa Maria!"
"Oh!"  I was 25 beautiful kids laughing at themselves and laughing at me.  It was a great bonding moment and the best memory I have this year, even though we're only two weeks in.