Updated December 23, 2022
Keeping students engaged in the days before Winter Vacation is quite a challenge for a teacher, but for Caga Ti贸, it's effortless! When I told my middle school students about Caga Ti贸 and asked whether they would like to care for him in our classroom as part of Spanish class, they were all in!
Early in my teaching career, I spent a year in Barcelona, where I taught English and lived with two Catalan roommates. My roommate Quim described a Christmas tradition of wrapping a log in a blanket to keep it warm, giving it food and water, and then, on Christmas morning, hitting it with a stick to make it "poop" turr贸n (almond candy). For a long time, I didn't believe him and thought he was trying to fool his American friend. One day, he insisted I come quickly to see what was on TV, and sure enough, there was a black-and-white video of children singing and beating a log with a stick. It was true!
The Caga Ti贸, or "poop log", I used in my classroom was one given to me by a friend. It's a simple little log with two sticks attached to look like legs and a face drawn on the front:
I wrapped it in a large throw blanket- large enough for hiding the nuts and turr贸n later on. Before we welcomed Caga Ti贸 into our classroom at the beginning of December, my students assured me that they would take good care of Caga Ti贸 by keeping it safe and warm, feeding it little pieces of food, and bringing it water. There were a few seventh graders who took on most of this- it was very sweet!
We kept Caga Ti贸 close to my classroom nook in a corner of the room that was visible yet a little less accessible in order to avoid any possible rough handling. My students asked if I had a little cup for water, and I found one in my science closet. Students filled the cup daily, and I gradually emptied it throughout the day when they weren't looking. I did the same with the food they left, which was mostly fruit.
On the last day of Spanish class before Winter Break, I taught students a simplified version of the Caga Ti贸 song, one that my friend had taught me. The song is not in Spanish but in Catalan, a language spoken in the state of Catalonia. (You can find the traditional Caga Ti贸, or Ti贸 de Nadal, song on Youtube) It was a good opportunity to tell students that Catalonia has its own distinct language and culture.
Before passing out sticks to my students, I reminded them that the sticks were, of course, not for sword fighting or hitting each other but for gently hitting Caga Ti贸. For Spanish class, I had a smaller class size of about 12 students, making this activity more manageable. Although my class sizes are usually around 25 students, during Spanish class, half the students are in P.E., while the other half is with me.
Caga Ti贸 was set on a desk, and students walked around him together in a circle, hitting him with their sticks and singing the Caga Ti贸 song. Then they heated their sticks in a fire- made by my wonderful teaching assistant Nicole- before returning to hit Caga Ti贸 and sing to him again.
When we thought students had sung enough for Caga Ti贸 to work his magic, we lifted the blanket. It worked! He pooped!
I first offered almonds to students and then worked at cutting the turr贸n into pieces. (I have found turr贸n in the Little Italy neighborhood in my city of San Diego, and you can also buy it online.) There are two types of turr贸n- hard and soft. The hard turr贸n, or turr贸n duro, is difficult to cut into pieces but doable with a good knife. For students with allergies to almonds and/or eggs, I had alternative candies under the blanket marked with their names on sticky notes.
Having Caga Ti贸 in our classroom in December gave students something to look forward to in coming to school, and I had the chance to have a little fun with them!
If you would like to know more about Caga Ti贸, you can read this NPR article:
This video includes the Caga Ti贸 song and a description of the tradition:
For any students out there who do not believe in Ti贸, here is video proof that he can eat and drink:
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