Helen Keller from a Second Grade Point of View - Guest Post by Paige Stilp

Second grade at our kids' school comes with monthly projects in addition to daily homework.  The first time through this process with Grant I was exhausted after all the work it took for me him to finish his project.  My desire was to micromanage everything and make it a project worthy of adult approval.  But I wasn't in second grade.  He was.

I learned to loosen up and let the kids drive and dictate their monthly projects, offering input as needed and trying my hardest to take a hands-off approach.  So what if the lines aren't straight and the paper is cut crooked?  When Alli wanted to make her family tree report out of a Christmas tree and cut out pictures of her family to look like ornaments I said, "Great idea Sweetheart."  And it really was.  Her Family Tree was the only one that looked like a Christmas tree with faces as ornaments.

Paige's valentine card - her words for the greeting ~ 2nd grade ~ almost 8 years old

Paige is our last (of four) second graders to go through the process.  She takes school very seriously and doesn't like deadlines.  As soon as she gets the new monthly project assignment she starts fretting about how long it will take and when she has to get it done.  Finishing the monthly project on time makes it into her bedtime prayers.

What I love about this concept is that it teaches the kids life lessons that they will take with them into adulthood.  Paige is learning how to manage her time.  She now knows the stress of procrastination and the satisfaction of finishing a big project on time.  She has felt the frustration of being forced to start over because she did a sloppy job the first time.  We tell her, "Anything doing is worth doing well."  If I can't read the rough draft it doesn't count.  Her writing and sentence structuring is improving by leaps and bounds.

So far this year she has researched her future career (a missionary), charted out her family tree (insisting on including The Big's as her "fake brothers and sisters"), and studied a holiday we don't celebrate (St. Lucia's Day).  This month she researched and wrote about a famous American - Helen Keller.

We just finished pulling together the final pieces of her project.  All she has left is to lay it out.  I promise to sit on my hands if she pastes the pages on crooked.  Paige's essay really touched me though and I wanted to share it with you.  Read all the way to the end - you won't want to miss her witty humor in her resource list.  Here's her report - in her own words.

She turns eight this week.  How can that be?

Helen Keller Monthly Project

By Paige Stilp

2^nd grade

Mrs. Hubbard

My famous American is Helen Keller.  She was blind, deaf and she couldn’t speak.  Helen needed a teacher.  Helen’s first word was water.  She spoke in sign language.  Helen’s teacher translated what people were saying to her in her hands.  Helen’s teacher was blind too.  Her name was Annie Sullivan.  Helen wanted to be a teacher too.  Helen loved Alexander Graham Bell.  He was her hero because he sent Helen’s teacher to Helen’s family.  Helen was eager to learn.  She wanted to know about everything! Helen Keller was a great person.  She did a lot for America.

Helen loved animals.  They liked her too.  Helen was born June 27, 1880.  She died June 1, 1968.  Helen’s parent were Kate and Arthur.  They both loved Helen, but Arthur wanted to send her away. Helen Keller was in newspapers all over the world!  She was famous because she was the first person who was blind, deaf, and couldn’t speak who learned to talk. Helen Keller went to a school for blind children.  She played with them.  Helen met lots of famous people.  She even met all the presidents after President Cleveland.

Helen was not afraid of anything.  She loved everything.  Helen Keller lived in the South, but went North to go to school.  She was fearless.  Helen spent many seasons in the North. She stayed in Boston.  Helen let the fact that she was blind keep her from doing anything.  She was a great person.  Helen Keller was important to America because she was deaf and still wanted to learn.  Helen was the only person who was blind and deaf who wanted to go to college. She helped America by showing that whatever kind of person you are, blind or deaf, you can do anything that you put your mind to.  Helen Keller was fun to learn about.

RESOURCES

•  www.kids.britannica.com
• www.hermes-press.com   
• www.helenkellerbirthplace.com
•  www.biography.com
• www.favimages.net
• The Story of Helen Keller by Lorena A. Hickok 
• Paige Stilp’s Brain (it’s a resource)

Too Much Commotion and a Lot of Courage

Paige, the youngest of our four children, was the only one we planned.  When I realized how overwhelmed I was raising three babies born in three I years, I changed my mind and unplanned a fourth.  But it was too late.  Paige was already on the way.

a couple weeks old

From the time Paige was born we knew she was an extra special girl.  A different personality from three older siblings, Paige has always been mellow, easy-going, happy and content.  As a newborn she often took four hour naps and woke up cooing and smiling.  

nine months old

In the chaos of raising three very busy and very opinionated toddlers and preschoolers, Paige was a breath of fresh air.  She reminded me WHY I love being a mom.  Peace-making and peace-loving, Paige was naughty so infrequently that we would laugh if she tried to throw a tantrum.  After one attempt at naughtiness I posted on Facebook, "It only took Paige 3 1/2 years to prove to us that she isn't completely angelic."

First class Paigey took for herself - Intro to Dance with Miss Cheryl

Paige is eager to please and much more timid than her boisterous, loud, and somewhat crazy older siblings.  New circumstances, new faces or new anything tend to intimidate and overwhelm her.  She does NOT like to be the center of attention, but is really witty, clever, and fun in situations where she feels comfortable.

Paige is now in second grade and her adorable personality emerges more with each year.  A little bit of a perfectionist, she likes do to things in a certain order and follow directions to a T.  She takes school very seriously.  She was selected to be Mrs. Clause in a Readers Theater that her second grade class was presenting to the parents on the last day of school before Christmas break.  Paige was really excited about being chosen to read the main part but anxious about being the center of attention.  

2nd grade

There was confusion surrounding the dates and times of the presentation that Paige was in.  Paige REALLY wanted me to be there and I didn't want to miss it.  At Paige's direction, I emailed her teacher to confirm that I had the date and time entered correctly in my calendar.  In the chaos of a very busy week I read the teacher's response incorrectly and went into the day of the presentation with the wrong time in my calendar.

She got all dressed up and we curled her hair.

Paige doesn't like to be rushed or hurried and gets nervous if we're late for things.  Knowing this, I left my house with enough time to arrive at school and be in Paige's classroom fifteen minutes before the show.  I didn't want to add any extra anxiety to her already revved up nerves.  

I walked confidently into her classroom.  Then stopped dead in my tracks and my heart sank.  The presentation was just wrapping up.  I got to hear Paige read one line.  She gave me a weak smile and immediately I started blinking rapidly in a feeble attempt to hold back the rush of tears.

the line I saw her read.

Paige and I went in the hall after the show.  I held my girl and cried.  Told her how I had been looking forward to it all day, praying for her, and how excited I was to see her shine.  She said, "Mom, I knew when I saw the time that we had it wrong in your calendar and that you wouldn't be there.  It's okay.  But can you stop crying?  It's making me feel like I want to cry too."

We hugged it out in the hallway then went inside for her class party.  I still couldn't pull it together so one of my friends scraped up the pieces of my battered heart, held my hand and whispered, "It's okay."  Talk about an epic fail.  

I was overly emotional the rest of the afternoon - fighting back tears every time I thought about letting my baby girl down.  But I got to join her for her class party.  I treasured every minute of making a snowman craft with her, then headed to the gym for the All School Holiday Sing-a-Long.  

class party and snowman craft

After school Paige and Alli and two of their buddies were signed up to do the Holiday Dance Camp.  All four girls were really excited to learn a dance routine that they would perform at halftime of the high school basketball game.  Until we got to the check-in line.  

I noticed that Paige had gone from excitement to apprehension in a matter of minutes.  I had to shove her toward her snack table with her friends.  A check in my spirit told me to not rush out the door and hang around a bit.  I'm so glad because moments later my Baby disintegrated in my arms.

Silent, shoulder heaving sobs wracked my baby girl's body.  Between gulps she told me, "It's too much commotion.  I can't start my Christmas break off with all this commotion.  I just want to go home."

So we did.  To regroup and pick up Big Brother and Big Sister.  Then back to Dance Camp, but only to watch.  It's all Paige could commit to.

Once we were there, she felt good enough to eat dinner with her buddies and even do two practice rounds.  When she took her shoes and socks off and started smiling, I thought we had overcome the dread.  But the chaos overwhelmed my girl and she was crying in my arms again.  "Take me home Mommy.  I don't want to dance."

So we went home.  Me, my Baby Girl, and my Big Kids.  We were all exhausted and emotional.  There was wisdom in Paige's desire to start our Christmas break with calm instead of commotion.  We crashed on the couch and snuggled - therapy for our tattered emotions.

When Curt got home from work we headed to the high school.  Again.  To watch Alli and her buddies dance during half time.  We got there early and as we stood around in the lobby waiting, I watched Paige's demeanor change again.  She took a couple deep breaths, blowing out deliberately slow and loud.  She squared her shoulders and announced, "Mom,  I changed my decision.  I think I want to dance after all."

Off we ran to the practice area.  The kids were still rehearsing and Paige's friends embraced her with the best-ever-second-grade-hugs and told her how happy they were that she changed her mind.  I waved goodbye and joined our dwindling family in the stands.

performance in the cafeteria

Halftime came and the hoard of kids flooded the gym floor for the cutest half time performance you have ever seen.  Alli and her friends in one section, comfortable with the spotlight and hamming it up.  Paige and her buddies, much more timid and clearly thinking through the moves, but dancing in front of a big crowd during halftime of a basketball game.The kids performed the dance twice more in the cafeteria so parents could get good video of their kiddos.

After the performance, Paige was beaming.  She gave me the biggest hug and said, "Mom, that took a lot of courage, but I'm glad I changed my decision."

I've been replaying the events of that day in my mind for the past several days. It's been a long, hard year for our family.  Some beautiful times, but some dark, hard times too.  I think we're all a little exhausted.  And really thankful that we've moved through the valley into a more relaxing, spacious place.  

Paige got it right when she rejected commotion and fought for calm.  And chose courage in the face of fear.  We could all learn from her.  

Thank you Baby Girl for setting the precedent for what has been a magical Christmas break thus far.  Mommy loves you!

I Am - guest post by Paige Stilp

Paige on a recent field trip to the zoo

The girls have been bringing home piles of school papers, half filled notebooks, and mostly used school supplies.  They do this in stages to prepare for the last day of school.  Paige (7 years old and our baby) is finishing up first grade.  I seriously can't believe it.  There's something about her that seems time warped at age two.  I wonder if we'll always view her as our baby?

showing off her new glasses and how tired we were after a day at the zoo

As Paige pulled papers out of her backpack this afternoon, she unpacked a treasure trove of "Must Keep For the Rest of My Life" documents.  I'm such a pushover for anything creative, especially stuff the kids write or draw.

I found this imaginative piece.  The assignment was to create a Dr. Seuss-like animal. Paige's creation was a "camorseat."  Per Paige's description, "It's a combination of a camel, horse and cat.  It has four eyes, a camel head, a horse body, and a cat tail.  It has rainbow colors and it's habitat is mixture of desert and forest."  I would love to meet one of these in person.

Paige's Camorseat

Paige has always been a little Rule Follower.  When I found this enlightening piece on the dangers of bark chips it was all I could do to not burst out laughing.  The captions on the illustrations are so funny.  "Good.  No.  Okay. Stop."  So precious!

"You shouldn't throw bark chips.  Because it is not safe.  Because it could knock your eye out.  Because people don't like it.  One time I saw a person doing...

..it.  Bark chips are very sharp. Bark chips are always very wet.  Don't throw bark chips."  

The final gem in her pile of papers was a book she wrote.  Simplistically beautiful, it almost made me cry to see on paper the confidence she has in this world, in herself, and in those around her.  It came through in her words and her brightly drawn illustrations.  At the tender age of seven she understands her value and worth as a Daughter of the King.  That security and confidence is shaping her view of the world.  I hope she never loses this bright outlook on life.

Here's her book, exactly as she wrote it.

"I AM (in hand-drawn bubble letters)

by Paige Stilp 

I am Paige Stilp.  A sister, a student and a helper.

I feel happy when Sophia Wong comes to softball games.  And when I get to be with Mrs. Young.  I see people all arond me who want to love me.  I see anamals all arond.

(Mrs. Young is her first grade teacher.  Thank you Mrs. Young for such an incredible First Grade experience for Paige.  She learned and grew so much under your leadership.)  

I hear voices off.  And pencils moveing on paper.  I know that I have friends and that I'm loved.

I am a anamal fan.  A friend.  A sister.  And a student."

What about you?  If you had to write a book called I AM, what would you write?  Would you focus on the things that you are not? The things you aspire to be?  Or who you really are.  A daughter.  A son.  A sister.  A brother.  A friend.  A student.  Lover of Jesus?

Do you know that you are loved?

Thank you Paigey for bringing us all back to what really matters.  I'm so proud of you.