After some thought and a little bit of research, I decided this week to let my grade ones chew gum in class. But I knew I had to come up with some pretty clear rules around this; and I knew I would have to enforce them pretty strictly in order for my plan to be sustainable.
So I sat the kids down and explained why I wanted them to chew gum -- to have something appropriate to chew on, and to help them pay attention more -- but also what my concerns were. Primarily, I am worried about: a) the choking hazard, and b) the gum-in-all-the-wrong-places factor.
They were able to generate a pretty good set of rules for gum-chewing in class, and I made them all sign the rule page at the bottom (which I photoshopped out for privacy purposes). And the first week of gum chewing has gone well.
But I haven't told the custodian yet....
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