(no subject)
1 October 2004 20:17So a few years ago I found this beautiful children's book about the beginning of life. It has beautiful plates in it and tells a beautiful story about how we are all part of a big ocean, how we came to this planet etc...etc...It just really is an amazing book. But I had somehow forgotten about it, until recently when I found it while cleaning up some stuff. I read the book, took it to school with me and showed it to one of my colleagues who's pretty much into this. She wanted to read it and use it in her class. She works with younger children and most of them didn't really show anything when they heard the story.
So..I decided to read the story today to my children. They're all age 9-12. It felt a bit funny, cause a few kids are pretty quick with their judgment, but it didn't happen. They all listened in silence. It took me about 10 minutes to read the story, so we only had about 5 minutes left until they had to swop classes, but I took those 5 minutes to talk about the story.
After 5 minutes a few kids really told some very personal stories, and I was sad that it was time to finish it.
So...at the end of the morning, when everyone was back in the classroom again, I decided to continue our talk. It was such a great experience. They told me about their "imaginary" friends. This girl who has lost her dad a few years ago, told me how she still talks to him every now and then. And that she sees things. So many kids in my class have seen or experienced things. At first they were a bit scared to talk about it, but as soon as one person started talking and they felt safe enough, others started to share their stories as well. Nobody laughed at each other, nobody made fun of each other. It really was a magical experience. And then I told them a small part of my story. How i see things too. It didn't sound weird to them at all.
The rest of the day the kids came up to see me and tell me another story or experience. One girl had an imaginary dog for a long time, until the day they really got a dog. It was the same dog has her imaginary dog and they are the best friends. This other girl often had a circus in her room, with real animals.
This other girl, who had also lost her dad, told me that for a year she could experience the emotions of other people. She would see them as colors, or just feel them.
Really, so much came out and I felt so connected with them. Some kids changed, for the better. They usually find it hard to concentrate, especially when we talk about something serious, but now they just sat down and listened and talked.
I'm curious as to how it will go from here, but the fact that I was able to have a conversations like this about this subject, well, it just made my day :)
So..I decided to read the story today to my children. They're all age 9-12. It felt a bit funny, cause a few kids are pretty quick with their judgment, but it didn't happen. They all listened in silence. It took me about 10 minutes to read the story, so we only had about 5 minutes left until they had to swop classes, but I took those 5 minutes to talk about the story.
After 5 minutes a few kids really told some very personal stories, and I was sad that it was time to finish it.
So...at the end of the morning, when everyone was back in the classroom again, I decided to continue our talk. It was such a great experience. They told me about their "imaginary" friends. This girl who has lost her dad a few years ago, told me how she still talks to him every now and then. And that she sees things. So many kids in my class have seen or experienced things. At first they were a bit scared to talk about it, but as soon as one person started talking and they felt safe enough, others started to share their stories as well. Nobody laughed at each other, nobody made fun of each other. It really was a magical experience. And then I told them a small part of my story. How i see things too. It didn't sound weird to them at all.
The rest of the day the kids came up to see me and tell me another story or experience. One girl had an imaginary dog for a long time, until the day they really got a dog. It was the same dog has her imaginary dog and they are the best friends. This other girl often had a circus in her room, with real animals.
This other girl, who had also lost her dad, told me that for a year she could experience the emotions of other people. She would see them as colors, or just feel them.
Really, so much came out and I felt so connected with them. Some kids changed, for the better. They usually find it hard to concentrate, especially when we talk about something serious, but now they just sat down and listened and talked.
I'm curious as to how it will go from here, but the fact that I was able to have a conversations like this about this subject, well, it just made my day :)
