The Brown Bag Teacher

Teach the Children. Love the Children. Change the World.

The Bathroom Pass: 5th Grade

So, I can be a *tad* neurotic at times. There are lots of things I do not do… like pets and meat and blue food and the word ‘moist’ and most importantly, GERMS.

I know, I chose the wrong profession for not doing germs, but I love kids more than I dislike germs, so it works for me. What it does mean is that there will be very specific structures in my classroom to ensure germ-age is kept at a minimum.

I found this on Pinterest and love 
it, but I
cannot find a source. 
If you know to whom it belongs,
 please let me know!

One of the procedures that makes me and my not-doing-germs self most anxious is the bathroom pass. I have several concerns

(1) Kids get germy when in the restroom.
(2) Students have to do something with the bathroom pass while in the bathroom. Does any teacher really know where it goes????
(3) Kids don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom.
(4) Students have to touch the classroom door knob when leaving and returning to the classroom. (2.7 million bacterial cells per square inch on a door knob!!!!!)
(5) During this entire process, students are out of the classroom and not learning.

Traditional bathroom passes require student’s germy hands to pick up a bathroom pass, touch the 2.7 million bacterial cells on the door knob, slowly trek to the restroom, use the restroom (where is the bathroom pass right now?!?!?!), get germy, consider washing their hands, slowly saunter back to the classroom, touch the 2.7 million bacterial cells on the door knob AGAIN, and put the now 5.4 million-bacterial-cell-infected bathroom pass back on a hook/table. Repeat this process for 5-6 students a day, and you have my nightmare.

Therefore, I eliminated the option of a bathroom pass that has to be held, randomly tossed somewhere in the bathroom, and brought back to the classroom to infest my classroom. Sorry, friends. I CANNOT HANDLE IT. Cannot. Also, because I am also neurotic about LICE, I eliminated the option of a lanyard bathroom pass. Can you imagine my classroom being ground zero for a lice epidemic???

Anyway, it is out of my neurotic fears, that I decided the clip-on bathroom pass was the way to go. So, this is what it looks like (i.e. this is what I will demand happens with the bathroom/hall pass).

(1) Student asks to use the restroom.
(2) Student uses hanitizer. (Thanks for the term, Erica!)
(3) Student takes appropriate clip from poster and clips it on the middle/top of his/her shirt.
(4) Student uses restroom and “washes” hands.
(5) Student returns to classroom and uses hanitizer.
(6) Student removes clip and returns it to the poster.

Voila! In theory the transfer of germs has been minimized. Now, I know all of you veteran teachers are laughing hysterically at my multi-step plan, but just having this plan puts me at ease. Plus, when I see the rare student properly using the system (hanitzing twice), my heart will leap with joy.

So, I whipped up these 3.5 x 2.25 bathroom/hall passes and a poster for the wall. Then, I laminated these friends. I picked up some name-tag clips at Walmart and attached them. And, there you go! They were super simple and can be easily replaced if destroyed or dropped in a toilet.

So, the set of passes I initially made (above) were *tad* passive aggressive but at the time I made them (summer, weeks before I actually started teaching real children) they effectively communicated my feelings about bathroom and hall escapades. We only had 50 minutes a day for reading which means if students take even 5 minutes to use the restroom they are missing 1/10 of instruction or practice reading?!?! That is crazy talk. So, I wanted students to realize they are making a conscious choice to leave the room and must use that responsibility wisely and quickly. In reality, I had a change of heart.

If you would like to create your own set of clips, here is the file! I’ve also included a less passive-aggressive alternative for all of you kind-souled teachers. (Please note, after meeting my 5th graders and careful consideration of their feels, I’ve actually used the below version of the chart.)

Oh goodness. I got so wrapped up in germs that I am out of energy to tell you all about my first creation for my very first classroom! Quick rundown because I am kind of in love with these bright and fun posters. Plus, I just printed them, and they look fantastic! After reading Miller’s The Book Whisperer, I am set that my classroom library will be organized by genre, but I wanted a guide for students. (We technically do not cover genre in 5th grade, but it is so important for students when they pick just-right books). So, I looked at current trends and we all know subway art is in right now. It’s clean, professional looking, and communicates a lot of information in a small space. Knowing this, I created a set of subway art Genre Posters! These posters are perfect for hanging in your classroom library or on a focus wall as each genre is studied. My game plan is to introduce them individually the first weeks of school and then, keep them on display in the library corner! If you are interested in learning more about these posters, click here or the preview below. 🙂

Well friends, you all just learned a whole lot about me in this post. I’m embarrassed. Oh, goodness. Thanks so much for Fourth Grade Frolics for hosting Monday Made it! Make sure to stop by and see all of the amazing ideas out there in Blogland. 🙂

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Comments

  1. Chelsea says

    July 1, 2013 at 8:56 pm

    I love the bathroom passes! Thanks for sharing them with us. Such a great ideas to have them clip the pass on their clothing! I too am a germ-a-phobe and always disliked it when the handheld passes come back wet or dirty…yuck!

    ~Chelsea
    Fifth Grade Wit and Whimsy

    Reply

  2. Mercedes Hutchens says

    July 1, 2013 at 9:12 pm

    I love the bathroom passes. I pinned them so I'd remember when school starts. I used clothes pins this year to clip to the top of their shirt but they manage to break those pretty easily. I like the metal clip with the name tags. I never touch the bathroom passes and used the clips for the same reason as you. The bathroom passes that they carry usually get put on the floor- gross. One teacher made a necklace for her first graders to wear but they hang right at zipper height and I don't want to know how often they've been pee'd on. Thanks for the sanitary, educational and cute option.

    Mercedes
    Surfing to Success

    Reply

    • Kate says

      July 2, 2013 at 1:43 am

      Hahaha – I cannot even imagine. So glad the idea might work for your classroom! 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by.

      Reply

    • Kate says

      July 2, 2013 at 1:44 am

      Excellent plan. We can add it to the list of things teachers wonder about. It's right up there with where do all the pencils go?? 🙂

      Reply

    • Kristine White says

      July 6, 2013 at 10:35 pm

      Welcome to fifth grade! I've been here for the last 6 years and love hearing what others are doing with their kiddos!! If I can ever be of any assistance please let me know! I need to get better about posting more frequently to my blog, but there are some ideas there that you might find helpful if you want to pop over at http://tearlessteaching.blogspot.com/. One of my FAVORITE things in the whole world are the spelling extensions I do with my kiddos. My fifth graders love them 😀 Again, WELCOME!

      Reply

    • Kate says

      July 2, 2013 at 1:47 am

      I completely understand that we need a healthy dose of germs in our line of work, but bathroom germs are not acceptable…at least in my world 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Reply

  10. Tara says

    July 2, 2013 at 12:27 am

    Love the bathroom pass idea!!! LOVE it!!! We did clips last year and loved that….I just need to remake it all because I changed my colors….maybe this will work for me:) Thanks for linking up:))) Those posters are amazing!!!!

    4th Grade Frolics

    Reply

  11. Kate says

    July 2, 2013 at 1:48 am

    Hi, Tara. Thanks so much for stopping by. Your linky is the highlight of my week – thank you. Did you use clothes pins or another type of clip?

    Reply

  14. Julie Marciniak says

    July 2, 2013 at 5:26 am

    Thank the lord I am not the only germOfobe in teacherland!!! Last year was much better for me when I started using clothespins with the same idea. Your clips are adorable, thank you for sharing!
    Julie

    Reply

  15. Rachel says

    July 2, 2013 at 4:07 pm

    I love the bathroom passes. We have to fill out a specific blue hall pass for each student at my school. Any ideas on how to make those work together?

    Reply

  17. D. Frideley says

    July 5, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    I always put my bathroom passes on lanyards – that way there is no possible way it touches the ground (ick) in the restroom.

    I also just ADORE your genre posters. I've put them in my cart for the BTS sale! But, I'll probably have to get them earlier b/c I want to have them made into posters to go in my library!
    Thanks!!!
    Deniece,
    This Little Piggy Reads

    Reply

  18. MsAPlusTeacher says

    July 10, 2013 at 11:12 am

    I love your genre posters! I've already been eying them via Pinterest! I also teach fifth grade and have a huge genre wall behind my library – more as a reference than anything else. We just spend the first week in reading reviewing genres but you're right – it's nothing in depth by 5th grade. However, they need that information to make good choices!

    Love the bathroom pass idea. This year, I used the big hand sanitizer bottles for passes. They had to place it on their desk and use it when they returned but I don't think my bottles were quite big enough… I need the Costco sized bottles! Glad someone else is on the germ patrol as well!

    Love your blog!
    I'm your newest follower!
    – Amanda
    My Shoe String Life

    Reply

  19. Emily says

    July 12, 2013 at 3:20 am

    As it happens, I also hate germs. Seriously, hate. My manicures are always looking dull thanks to the ridiculous amount of hand sanitizer I use on a daily basis. Haha. Fabulous idea with the bathroom clips, and they're cute too!
    I wanted to tell you that I nominated your blog for a Liebster Award! Go check it out on my blog 🙂

    Love reading your posts!

    Emily

    Reply

  21. Carissa Peck says

    January 21, 2014 at 8:08 pm

    I had a teacher that used to use a toy vaccumn partially to embarass us and also because we could just wheel it around:

    I avoid the whole bathroom passes by having each student get their own paper disposable passes. They get 4-6 a semester and when they are done they are out of luck (unless they have a medical condition clearly). Although, I do tell other students they should feel welcome to sell their if they like. If they have extras at the end of the term they can submit them to me for extra credit.

    That's the method that works best for me, but I know other teachers use different methods. I even blogged about five different ways to control bathroom visits. http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2014/01/i-have-to-go-to-bathroom.html

    Reply

  23. mdk says

    August 19, 2015 at 1:27 pm

    I love this idea so much. Is there any way you'd think about creating it in a blue and green background. I'd be happy to purchase it if you did.

    Please let me know.

    Reply

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