A Class Mascot as a Teaching Tool

Thirteen Augusts ago, I discovered a smiling volleyball stuffed in retiring teacher’s closet. Being a creative writer, nothing with a face is quite inanimate, so I rescued the ball from the closet, plopped it on a fabric-covered coffee can, and decided to make it a class mascot. My fifth graders were tasked with naming it, and “Cheesy Bob Walmart” was born. Thirteen years later, Cheesy Bob is:

• a creative, attention-grabbing addition to teaching classroom routines and expectations. Now an art teacher, I make statements like, “When it is clean-up time, the first thing Cheesy Bob should do is…”
• a negative-behavior scapegoat who does not share his name with any child. “If Cheesy Bob decides to paint his neighbor instead of his paper then…”
• a way to project what a child might be feeling. “Cheesy Bob gets scared when ________, so you can help him by _______” or “Cheesy Bob doesn’t think he can draw well. Is it helpful to draw for him?” or “Cheesy Bob needs time to think, so what happens if you blurt out an answer?”
• a simple tool to engage imagination. Cheesy Bob has become a classroom “friend.” The kids love him, ask questions about his background, and invent their own role-playing. Students were excited last Spring when Cheesy Bob’s beachball cousin, Cheddar Jack, visited from Monterey.
• a unique link to my class. It may sound silly, but Cheesy Bob creates camaraderie. He unique to my classes, and is just zany enough to create a lasting memory. I have had former students ask if I “still have Cheesy Bob.”

One note: During the three years I taught first grade, I decided a volleyball was a bit abstract and kidnapped my mom’s Pinocchio marionette. He got his own chair, desk, nametag…and a friend named Cheesy Bob.

It is strange how a closet-cleaning, impromptu inspiration wound its way into the fabric of my teaching. If you have a classroom mascot, or are going to add one this fall, I would love to hear what it is and how you integrate it into your teaching.