Submitted by Daniel J. Fee, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Idea posted June 25, 2002

A while back there was an idea of throwing a wet sponge at the board (with a big staff on it) and having the kids tell the letter name of the line or space where the sponge landed. I tried this, and it was lots of fun. (Actually, it became fun after the students recovered and began breathing regularly again - I don't do many games!! ;<) Maybe they were just in shock.

Anyway, I tried several things besides the sponge since that just didn't work real well. The BEST thing I came up with was about 10 kleenexes rolled in half to make a square. Get those wet. Then, when you TOSS it at the board, it STICKS and makes a great sound... and, of course, leaves a wet mark. The sponge just bounced off the board and landed on the floor... wet. I also tried a wet rag and paper towel from the bathroom, but the kleenexes really worked best.

The kids and I were trying to come up with a name for this game. One suggested "Smack Dab In The Middle."