It would be great if kids would only use the bathroom at recess and lunch, but in the real world, kids often need to use the bathroom during class - sometimes at the most inconvenient times! Here are five ideas for managing this little inconvenience.
- Put your bathroom passes on lanyards. Require students to wear them around their necks when they go to the bathroom. Why? Imagine this. Your student is in the bathroom and needs both hands to deal with ...well, you know. What happens to the hall pass? It gets set down on the floor - ick...double ick!
- Use bathroom time as learning time - they are just sitting there anyway, why not give them something to think about? Vocabulary/spelling words, math problems, quick quizzes, brain teasers, or current events could all go on the back of a bathroom pass. Change the content often.
- Another idea is to have students leave the pass in the classroom on their desks. You could use passes you make or any large, novel object such as stuffed animals. Then you know which student is in the bathroom at any given time and students would not have to ask permission every time they have to go.
- Consider having students raise their hands with crossed fingers when they want to use the bathroom. You can give permission with a eye contact and a nod instead of interrupting the lesson.
- If you have ESL students at your school, avoid confusion and embarrassment by being sure that there is a boy/girl symbol as well as the word on both the passes and the bathroom doors.
These ideas came from
300+ Tips for Teachers.
7 comments:
Funny - I was having just this discussion with my seven year old this evening. He has a weak bladder and can't wait for his teacher to finish talking to other students to ask for permission to go to the toilet. We agreed on making him a signal (he chose a "T" sign with his fingers so that he can signal her and run.
Great idea! I got the fingers crossed idea a long time ago when I was subbing. All these little Kinders with their fingers crossed and I didn't know what it meant till one of them finally told me.
I love idea #3! I never liked the idea of a pass going to the restroom, and to be honest most teachers aren't going to stop students if they aren't horsing around anyway. Being able to have a quick visual reminder of a student being out of the classroom is a great idea!
My passes hang by the door. The kids hold the pass up by the door and wait for me to give them "the okay" - a simple nod or "go ahead" or "can you wait until after instructions?" -- most of the time it's a nonverbal response though. Then they put the pass on their desk and they are off! Easy for me, few discussions, etc.
We use clothes pins in the fifth grade. Each student gets two at the beginning of the year with their name. They raise their clothes pin when needed. I used one of my son's Huggies wipe containers as a collection tool. There is a student who hands clothes pins out at the end of the day. :)
I use hand sanitizer for a bathroom pass. I have a girls one and a boys one. The student quietly gets the hand sanitizer bottle and puts it on their desk. The bottle is a visual for me to remember where they are and then when they return they squirt a little on their hands.
I do have them sign out simply because 4th and 5th graders have been known to meet students from other classes at a designated time, etc. (Yup! Even texting for the meet-up!) Also, if there is a pattern for over use and abuse, it will be documented. Of course, it's a student-by-student situation to be determined if the bathroom time really is being abused.
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