Happy Ending?

Science, snakes, and boys: all things that I don't understand/am afraid of. This makes my job of nannying  three little boys who LOVE science and snakes particularly challenging. I am so sick of reading about and playing with sharks, fighter jets, snakes, spiders, trains, and astronauts that I could puke. Can't we just play dress up and drink imaginary tea and dance?! The answer to this, is no. We cannot. 

Luckily, the boys and I have been able to find a small plot of common ground with my man, Shel Silverstein. Even though his books aren't heavily illustrated, are in black and white, and contain no scientific data whatsoever, the boys fall into a coma-like trance when I begin reciting the kid-friendly poetry. And I do, too.

Here's a poem I read this week that I loved so much I took a picture with my phone. The boys didn't understand the poignancy of the poem, but that's ok; I don't understand half the shit they like to read. 

Comments

  1. GeorgieJanuary 15, 2012 at 7:05 PM

    I love to share Shel Silverstein with the kids. They are always enthralled and beg me to "read one more!!" I love it too because he was one of my faves when I was little. He was a fascinating person too! Have you read anything about him?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Leave me a message!

Popular posts from this blog

The Opposites Game

  By: Brendan Constantine The Opposites Game                               for Patricia Maisch   This day my students and I play the Opposites Game with a line from Emily Dickinson.  My life had stood a loaded gun , it goes and I write it on the board, pausing so they can call out the antonyms – My                 Your Life                Death Had stood ?   Will sit A                   Many Loaded                     Empty Gun ? Gun. For a moment, very much like the one between lightning and it’s sound, the children just stare at me, and then it comes, a flurry, a hail storm of answers – Flower, says one. No, Book, says another. That's stupid, cries a third, the opposite of a gun is a pillow. Or maybe a hug, but not a book, no way is it a book. With this, the others gather their thoughts and suddenly it’s a shouting match. No one can agree, for every student there’s a final answer. It's a song, a prayer, I mean a promise, like a wedding ring, and later a baby. Or what’s that p
Read more