Dominoes!

How I loved playing with them as a child, happily idling away the hours in a world of tiles. Over the weekend I researched domino history, artwork, terminology and events. A short summary of this information (mostly found here) was given at the beginning of class. I also passed around pictures, including an example of this guy’s work. His site includes free detailed instructions for a few designs, which may be used as class projects.

Next, I dumped our colorful collection of dominoes (purchased here at Hearthsong) on the tables and let the students have fun! They enjoyed this theme, but it was also a test in patience for them. Selfish tendencies quickly surfaced, as did praiseworthy displays of kindness and sharing. Their creations were often brought to premature demise (sometimes purposefully by naughty peers!), but I had warned them about this ahead of time. For the most part, I would call the class a success despite the sprinkling of flaring tempers and mischievous behaviors occasionally exhibited.

For some reason I am suddenly in the mood to play with dominoes. Perhaps I can entice Hubby and Sonshine to join me in a few rounds of Chicken’s Foot.