Cherie Blessing has been a Crazy 8s coach just about as long as Crazy 8s has been around! For more than a decade, she’s coached a before-school club for her third- and fourth-grade students, welcoming the same kids back for multiple seasons. Over time, that adds up to nearly 100 students! Cherie’s commitment has never wavered. She even led her club through remote sessions of Crazy 8s during the pandemic, making her a true cornerstone of the Crazy 8s family. Read on to learn why she keeps coming back year after year!
What inspired you to become a Crazy 8s coach?
One of the most outstanding teachers I know, Chris Hunewell, has been a Crazy 8s coach for some time. She knows what gives me a thrill as a teacher and recommended it to me shortly after she began. I’ve been hooked ever since!
What’s the most memorable moment you’ve had with your club so far?
I will never forget the first time we did Ninjas on the Run! Those young mathematicians came up with so many geometry connections and varied ways of running that course. They never wanted that session to end, and it was like watching the pure beauty of childhood as they showed off their ninja moves through that geometry course again and again.
What’s the funniest or most creative thing a student has said or done during a club activity?
After we did Secret Formula, we started seeing Fibonacci swirls EVERYWHERE! The whole class laughed every time we spotted more, or saw connections in our current events program, and it was delightful.
What’s your favorite Crazy 8s activity?
It is hard to choose because they are all so well-planned, but some of my favorites are Super Cube Shuffle and Secret Formula. My students usually have said Toilet Paper Olympics is their favorite of the three seasons, but they also mention Stuffed Animal Swing and Epic Air Traffic Control often.
How have you seen your students grow or change through Crazy 8s?
In fourth grade, I had a teacher who made very unkind comments because I hadn’t learned my multiplication tables yet. It wasn’t until I got to Calculus in high school that I realized I wasn’t stupid in math after all. When I became a teacher, I determined that I would battle math anxiety with all my might, so that none of my students would ever feel like I felt. Crazy 8s has been a key element of that determination in recent years. Over our Crazy 8s years, confidence, playfulness with numbers, patience with hard or new concepts, and excitement over math have been growing and growing. Now when I ask kids their favorite subject, math is the one most often chosen.
If you could describe Crazy 8s in one word, what would it be?
Joy.
What’s a tip you’d share with new coaches starting their clubs?
The directions have been so well tested that you can really trust them as you plunge in. Also, the kids love it when you let them wrestle for the answer a bit, and they can do it.
What’s something surprising or unexpected you’ve learned as a coach?
At the end of the year, when we have step-up day, the new crop of students ALWAYS asks to be sure I’m planning to coach Crazy 8s clubs again the next year. They can hardly wait for the next week to come all throughout our season. What a blessing to see math so cherished and celebrated! Thank you to all who design and sponsor these math clubs.