Grades K-2

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Toilet Paper Olympics The Big Idea This week you’re going to host your own Olympics, measuring your feats using toilet paper. You’ll do the long jump, the shot put, and finally a relay race with toilet paper unfurling off a paint roller. Then mummify the winner and count up the squares! Supplies Bedtime Math provides: You provide:

★ Paint rollers: 2 ★ Measuring tapes: 1 per kid (will

also be used in later sessions) ★ Stopwatches: 2 for the coach(es) ★ To print: Olympics Scorecard: 1

★ Double-ply toilet paper – make sure they’re 4-inch squares!: 6-8 rolls

★ Large binder clips: 4 ★ Roll of masking tape ★ Pens, pencils, or markers: 2

Room Set-up: ★ You’ll need a 25-foot-long hallway or flat space! ★ Set up the long jump: tape both ends of 10 feet of toilet paper to the floor,

and put a piece of tape 15 feet before it as the start line (see page 3 for photos).

Other Key Prep: Print 1 copy of the Olympics Scorecard. What’s the Math?

★ Counting ★ Measuring lengths; units of

length

★ Estimation ★ Bonus: Single-digit multiplication

and division

Grades K-2

2

Kickoff

Intro to the kids: “Welcome to the Toilet Paper Olympics! For once you get to unroll toilet paper at top speed! Have you ever used a ruler or measuring tape to measure length? Today we’re going to compete in Olympic events – and use toilet paper to determine the winners!” Get Calibrated (5 minutes)

1. Hand a few squares of toilet paper to each kid. 2. Hand each kid a measuring tape as well.

Ask the kids:

★ “What are the width and length of 1 square of toilet paper?”

★ “How many squares are there in a 1-foot strip?”

★ “Based on that, use some math to guess how many squares tall you are!”

Grades K-2

3

Event #1: The Long Jump (15-20 minutes)

Intro to the kids: ”Now that we know how to use toilet paper to measure, let’s use it to measure how far we can jump!”

1. Divide kids into teams of 4 (or close to it) for the 3 Olympic events.

2. Each contestant runs from the start line, then upon reaching the toilet paper jumps as far as possible. Make sure they jump right next to the toilet paper and not on it, to avoid it ripping.

3. The other kids watch where the jumper's heels land, then mark it with a piece of tape and write the jumper’s initials on the tape.

4. After all jumps, teams count the squares to measure the distances. Record the results on the Olympics Scorecard or a whiteboard.

Ask the kids:

★ “How many squares long was each team’s best jump?” ★ “Which team had the best jump of all?”

Bonus (optional): Ask the kids: “If every 3 squares is a foot, how many feet were these jumps?” See how they handle non-multiples of 3!

Grades K-2

4

Event #2: The Shot Put (10-15 minutes)

Intro to the kids: “In the real Olympics, super-strong men and women compete in the shot put, where they throw really heavy metal balls. But today you’re going to hurl a roll of toilet paper!”

1. Add another 10 feet of toilet paper to the strip you’ve already taped down, to accommodate long throws!

2. Show the kids how to shot put, by crunching your arm and pushing a full roll into the air.

3. Each contestant stands at the long jump take-off point to throw the roll of TP.

4. The other kids watch to see where it lands, then mark with a piece of masking tape and write the thrower’s initials.

5. After all throws, teams count the squares to measure the distances. Record their results.

Ask the kids:

★ “How many squares long was each team’s best throw? Use your math skills and count them up!”

★ “Which team had the best best throw?” Bonus (optional): To the kids: “Now use our mathematical measuring unit of a toilet paper square to convert the length of your best throw to feet and inches, using 3 squares per foot.” Again, see how they tackle the math. Record the group’s results! NOTE: Larger clubs can make 2 runways and run both events simultaneously if space permits.

Grades K-2

5

Event #3: The Relay (15-20 minutes)

Intro to the kids: “Our next Olympic event is the relay race. We’re finally going to find out: how long is a roll of toilet paper, anyway?”

1. Have everyone guess how many squares are on a roll. How many feet is that?

2. Half of one team stands at the start line, and the other half stands at the long jump line. Slide a fresh roll of toilet paper onto a paint roller and unstick the end of the TP.

3. Secure the toilet paper by diagonally attaching a binder clip on the paint roller on each side of the TP roll.

4. Hand the roller to the first contestant at the start line. Another

team member stands at the start line holding the first square. 5. Now the race begins! Start your stopwatch. 6. Contestant #1 runs toward the other half of

the team, letting the toilet paper unroll. 7. At the long jump line, contestant #1 grabs the

last square coming off the roll (without tearing it) and hands the roller to the next runner.

8. The next runner runs back to the starting line, grabs the last square, and hands off the roller.

9. Continue this until the toilet paper roll runs out. Record the time. 10. Repeat for each team, or if you have enough space, make a

second parallel track for simultaneous races. Ask the kids:

★ “How many squares were unrolled in 1 lap?” Count 1 strip! ★ “How many full laps did it take to use the whole roll?” ★ “How many squares in the last leftover piece?” ★ “Let’s do the math and see how many total squares we get.”

Bonus (optional): Let them convert the total to feet and inches!

Grades K-2

6

If you have time: Mummify the Winner! (5-10 minutes)

Intro to the kids: “Well, now it’s time to wrap it up – literally!” Ask the kids:

★ “How many toilet paper squares wrap once around a person?” Everyone takes guesses.

★ “How many times around do you have to wrap a person to mummify him/her completely?”

★ “So how many squares in total?” Now test your guesses!

1. Choose a volunteer who’s willing to be the mummy. 2. Wrap a fresh roll around and around, starting at the neck going

down. Ask the kids: “How many total squares were used?” See how they figure it out! Bonus (optional): Ask the kids: “How many feet of toilet paper were used?” Now see if your mummy can walk around wrapped up like that!

A Touch of Class

To the kids: “Bet you never knew you could use toilet paper to do math! And the wild part is, we did the same math you do in school:”

★ “If Elsa jumped 6 feet, and Tim jumped 4 feet, how many more feet did Elsa jump?” (Answer: 2 feet, because 6-4=2.)

★ “If you guess that a toilet paper strip is 80 feet long, and it’s really 90, by how many feet did you underestimate?” (Answer: By 10 feet, since 90-80=10.)