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October 10, 2004These Kids Have Wisdom Beyond Their YearsWith pleasure, I bestow my space today on a group of superior writers unburdened by facts, suppositions and opinion. I speak of the first-grade pupils tutored by Pat McCartan and Peggy Brunk at Sallie Jones Elementary school. We grownups have been absorbed for the past month with the practicalities of cleaning up and rebuilding after Hurricane Charley. Our problems and feelings have been chronicled with acres of newsprint. Now comes a bevy of six-year-olds with wisdom seemingly beyond their years. But not really, we just don’t listen very well. The Book of Psalms cautions us to be more heedful: "Out of the mouth of babes hast thou ordained strength." While infusing first-graders with rudiments of reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmatic the teachers Pat and Peggy encourage their charges to think abstractly. Brilliant! In a thoughtful news letter "First Facts" for parents, Ms. McCartan and Ms. Brunk explained their objective regarding the hurricanes: "We asked our students to use their senses and brainstorm ideas to create poetry to relate their Charley experiences" By Emily Beaton The house is rattling Whoosh, whoosh goes the wind Boom, boom, goes the rain Knock, knock goes the window Pop, pop goes the roof By Leila Brown Bubble, bubble Rattle, rattle Boom, boom, boom Tick, tick, tick Shoo, shoo Bam, bam Crack, crack Trees are blowing By Kayla Earnest Rattle, rattle Pop, pop Knock, knock Go, go To the closet Worry, worry Where are the horses? Side of the house Good! Trees knocked down Pond flooded See the horses eating By Brenna Ewing Bubble, bubble Run for towels Trees blowing Whoosh, whoosh Whistle, whistle By Matthew Ford Rattle, rattle Metal flapping Metal hitting the window Crack, crack Hole in the roof Drip drop Water in the house! By Taylor Goode Bubble, bubble Run for towels Quiet. Quiet Eat snacks Bang, bang Hold my ears Wing howling Get in the house Boom, Boom Hide in the closet Get away from that spot House ruined. By Erik Hager Dash, dash Water, water Ow, ow! Amen, Amen Dang! Dang! Hide in the closet Fire, flame Dog! Dog! Mommy! Mommy! By Skyler Higgins Rattle, rattle Wind, wind Crack, crack Boom, boom Pop, pop Rain, rain Bam, bam Shake, shake Fall, fall Hide, hide Kaboom, kaboom Windows got smashed By Zachary Holbrook Water, water Ice, ice Trees, trees Fall, fall Mom and sister in the eye! Dance, dance! Sing, sing Rain, rain Zap,zap No TV! By Hope Hughes Rattle, rattle Bubble, bubble Dog was shaking Cat said meow meow Mom was scared By Lizzie Lawton Boom, boom Hurry! Hurry! Get some food! How! How! Wind hits the window Boom, boom! Get some towels By Brandon Louttit Hide in the closet Boom, boom Break, break Snap, snap Under the table Looking Wind Drip, drip Get away Rattle, rattle By Riley McClain Tuna Fish Tuna Fish Hurry Get the tarps Cover roofs Cover your ears By Benjamin McComiskey Roar like a monster Dishes banging Wind blowing trees Feeling the wind Stuff touching my body White wind Clear By Thomas Newton At the shelter Power on Power off No electricity Lots of people Sleeping on the floor Shirts off By Hope Powell Rattle rattle Crash crash Boom boom Pop pop Hide in the closet Peek out the door Flowers in the window Foggy wind Trees frozen It’s over House ruined Boo Hoo By Allissa Shaeffer Rattle, rattle A window broke Hide in the closet Wind howling Whoo-whoo! By Eddrishia Smith Boom, boom All roofs fell down Pop, pop All windows broke Sh-sh-sh Air out of my bed I’m safe at Grandma’s! By George Stephen Rattle, rattle Get some snacks Bang, bang Get some towels Whoosh, whoosh Get in the house! Boom, boom Get some flashlights! By Jessie Valerius Boom, boom Get in the house Bubble, bubble Run for towels Howl, howl Went the wind By Austin Wise Shingles shaking Run, run Run inside Shing, shing Run in the closet Cram, cram Fire flames Sh, sh Cat hissing Crash, crash Tree falling on house By Tevin Xayavong Bang, bang Pop, pop Umbrellas up Check the cows Ching, ching, ching Cows in the cage
Lindsey Williams is a Sun columnist who can be contacted at linwms@lindseywilliams.org |