Getting Ready for 12-12-12

Holy Holiday Rush, Batman!  This last week has been so crazy for me that I have all but fallen off of the face of the blogging world. We have had report cards and parent conferences this week, as well as finishing up my Earth Science unit and beginning my new unit on the Folktales of Africa.  Then, we also have preparations for our holiday show – Light Up the World with Celebrations – songs, lines, decorations, programs, etc. 

To top it all off, one of my little sweeties is getting ready for a big move, leaving us to move with her family to Kenya, so we have been trying to get in time to make her last days special.  So, when she asked if we could do something special for 12-12-12, how could I say no?

So, here I was tonight, putting together a fun sheet of random facts that connect to 12.  There are an amazing number of them.  Like, did you know that twelve comes from a Germanic word “twalif” meaning two more?  Or that you have exactly twelve finger bones (without your thumb)? Or that there have been 12 people to walk on the moon?  Okay, the moon thing might be a fluke, but there are some serious historical and mathematical connections to twelve.  Our entire system of measuring type is based on 12 – 12 months in a year, 2 sets of 12 make a day, 12 sets of 5 minutes make an hour, 12 sets of 5 seconds make a minute.  This list goes on.  Grab this free sheet from Google Docs to use with your class on 12-12-12.

Some other things we are going to do is:

- Sing the 12 Days of Christmas

- Fold paper cubes – each cube has 12 edges.

- Play with a deck of cards – each suit has 12 face cards.

- Count on by 12’s from random numbers

- Scout around  our room to find other groups of 12.

What do you have planned for 12-12-12?