Fun session today, started out with one of the boys showing me a book with the word “rabbi” in it. We had discussed what a rabbi is two weeks ago when I told Stealing Smells. The kids are thinking, and want me to know it!
We formed a big circle and went around one-by-one, each person saying their name and the title of the story of one good day in their life. I did this exercise to get the kids thinking about words and titles, and also for me to try to learn the names of the thirty-plus kids in the class. Many said things like, “The Day I Got My Dog” or “The Day I Got My Surfboard.” One said, “The Day I Moved to Phoenix.” Nan (Mrs. Wilkinson) said, “The Day I Said Yes.” She had told that story before to the class; Luke covered his ears and said, “I don’t want to hear that story again.” Clearly the reaction of a 6th grade boy.
Nan had already begun to talk with them about filling out their stories with sensory descriptors. So we stayed in the circle and I asked them to come up with different words that would be used with each of the five senses. They started with easy stuff, like taste: sweet, sour, salty; touch: hard, soft, bumpy. Eventually, they started coming up with words like rancid or fragrant; then with phrases like “the smell of alcohol in the doctor’s office”; “The soft feel of a cat’s fur” and “The bold taste of coffee”.
The class is working on some math modules, so I told The 18th Camel, which deals with fractions and a prime number. At the end, I asked if anyone knew how and why adding one camel to the pack now allowed the sons to divide them easily, but have that one extra camel left over in the end. One young man knew that 1/2, plus 1/3, plus 1/9 doesn’t add up to ONE! These kids are smart! (If you want this story, E-mail me.)
Next week - Three students will tell stories. — I must remember to wear my hearing aids!
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