Do What You Love

art by my Great Aunt Elsie

Lately I've been giving myself permission to read and write more.  To let the laundry pile up and the dishes wait to be unloaded.  Because when I am stressed out and busy and don't let myself do what I love, I become a strange tense version of myself that I don't want to be.

Anywho.  One of the benefits of letting myself write more is having something to share on my little blog!   Below, I'm posting a poem I wrote about my Great-aunt Elsie. Enjoy!  (And by the way, what will you do this week that you just love?)


Card Castle

I never visited her,

my great aunt Elsie,

Never saw the life she built

out of the bad hand she was dealt.

Born to an overwhelmed father and an ailing mother,

with so many mouths to feed

in the Great Depression.

Not a single ace or king, nothing up her sleeve.

Her mother passed (Passed what? The final test?)

and her older sister (my grandmother) tried to care for them—

Elsie and her tiny twin brothers--,

but

her young newlywed husband (my grandfather) just couldn’t handle it. 

and so, it was off to the orphanage.

My grandmother stood tall, in heels and her best skirt,

uncertain,

watching small, wiry Elsie twist her dark auburn hair.

Finally, she signed the papers at the counter, so many words stuck in her throat,

and the clerk hurrying her with his eyes.

I don’t know much about the orphanage, 

except that that’s where my grandmother said

Elsie must’ve learned to be a lesbian.

Long years of living with so many other girls 

and no boys, she explained.

But I have the wisdom of time, 

and so many homosexual branches off my family tree.

Genetics are genetics.

My sister visited their apartment once, in Seattle,

Great Aunt Elsie and her artist partner.

They painted flowers and trees and laughed from a purple velvet couch.

They walked down to the farmer’s market every Saturday.

I like to picture them side by side,

Gray hair swaying,

pushing bicycles with baskets heavy laden 

through the shining streets.

I like to study her art hanging on the wall 

in my hallway in California.

The beauty she created smiles out at me.

I like to think of her, her head tilted,

considering the lines, the light, 

contemplating,

a cat sunning in her window.

I like to think of how she built a quiet castle

out of a bad hand of cards.  

Start with Their Interests

A few weeks ago, Flannery noticed on the back of one of her Barbie books that there were some books we didn't own that weren't illustrated, but that instead had photos of Barbies in different settings to create scenes for the book.   That was all it took for her to dream up her own book, with her own photos of different scenes.  

To make her dream a reality, I took my camera, set it to "digital macro" mode (whatever that means--good for close-ups of small things), and took photos of each "scene" she wanted us to capture.  We set the stage on her bed in her room, and she adjusted the Barbies until they were "just right" before I took each photo.  She was so cute--like a little director--telling me just how she wanted the scene to look and often wanting us to take several shots so she could choose just the right one.  In the end, we chose the best photos from the ones we had taken, and I printed them with lines below them (just using Power Point) so that she could write in the story later.  It took her about a week to finish her story (working before and after school), and she fussed over and edited the order and flow of the photos several times until it seemed perfect to her.  

In the end, I think her story was pretty cohesive and interesting.  It was about a couple who loved their dog so much that they had him in their wedding.  Then, he got sick, had to go to the vet, was cured by eating a special type of dog food, and went running with some horses once he was better.  

I think if I had dreamed up this activity on my own, and tried to get her interested in writing her own little book, she probably would've never worked so diligently on it.  But this was her own idea, her own vision, her own little dream--and she was so motivated to see it to fruition.  

So, there you go.  The researchers are right when they say, "Follow the child's lead" in learning.  When they say, "Build upon their interests," it really does lead to a whole new level of focus and motivation.  

So, start with their interests!  And see what beautiful surprise you will get.  

How have you "followed a child's lead" this week?

Functional Writing Activities for Preschoolers

The more I read about the development of oral and written language, the more I am convinced that there must be a function, or a use, for all of our learning activities with children.  Some way to tie the activity to real life so that it's meaningful for children and motivating for them to participate with us.

Before we moved from Durham, I had a few things to finish up at work, and I brought Flannery with me to the office.  I was bustling around making copies, filing documents, and checking off my to-do list, and talking through my list with Flannery, when she asked if she could make me a to-do list.  I grabbed a pen and a post-it for her, and here's what she wrote for me, all on her own.

It was such a meaningful activity, tied to what was happening in our life.   Her writing had a function and really meant something to her.  That's what early writing activities should be like.  Not worksheets focused on letter formation.  There's a time and a place for handwriting practice, but we're just going to turn our preschoolers off to writing if we focus too much on form rather than meaning at this age.

Another neat activity Flannery did was to create her own scavenger hunt for us.  We came home from work one day, and her Grammie said that she had created a scavenger hunt for us to follow.  Here are the clues she left for us.


The scavenger hunt activity was incredibly motivating for her, and she's returned to it several times since.  It's so exciting to see her invented spelling taking shape, and the beginning of little sentences.   She also helps me make lists for grocery shopping, appointment reminders, and wish lists for her birthday (yes, already, even though it's not for 4 more months!).  I love that she's already using little transition words like "then," "when," and "now," and how complex her little sentences are.

Follow the squares

When you see mom's room go in there.

Now turn to the hall way

Now you have to go to Flannery's room

Now go to my bed. 

Now go to my shelf.

Now go to the closet. 

Take it out then find this.  (We found a treasure box with necklaces and gemstones!)

How have you supported children's written language development?

We found a turtle!

This morning, Flannery and her Poppa found a turtle out in the yard.  Flanna made it a nice little habitat for the day (we'll release it this evening) and has been watching its every move.  After it sat hiding in its shell for about 45 minutes, we finally got smart and offered it some fruit and lettuce, and it started to explore.  Flannery named the turtle Fuschia, and Fuschia has seemed to most enjoy laying in her water bowl.

Flanna's been taking notes in a tiny notebook, just like a real scientist, recording her observations of the turtle.  Here's what she wrote:

It walks.
It sits in water.
It eats.
It pokes its head out.

And that is about all Fuschia seems to want to do.  Sounds like a pretty good life to me.

What did you love to study/observe when you were a kid?  I used to love to watch my dogs, and to follow them wherever they'd go in the woods.  They found the neatest cool mossy places, creeks, and cool rocks to lie on.