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| Cole |
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| Evan |
We made handprint Indians over the course of the last week. The finishing details were finally complete yesterday afternoon. It can be a challenge for me to step back and let the students be in charge of the creative process, but it always turns out well . . . A drip of paint in the wrong place turns in war paint. And don't you just love Xavier's Indian?! It was the best thing about my day. Though I'm sure I can't capture the complete essence, I will try.
I gave him his handprint to add the face and headband. He started by decorating the headband and then moved on to writing letters, chattering about "This is how I spell 'handprint'". When he was done with that, he asked me, "Is this how you spell 'handprint'?" But before I could answer (I was standing right next to him), he announced "This is how I spell hand- NO this is how I spell "footprint"! Ever amused with himself. I told him he needed add a face. He made one tiny dot with the marker, which I said was okay, but I think a brother mentioned that it should be bigger. So bigger it got. I saw the intermediate stage of him coloring in the eyes and thought, "Well, we're going to have to come up with a good Indian name for that one." Big Eyes came to mind immediately, but I thought I'd wait till the end and see what transpired. I was a little surprised when I came back and saw the nearly finished product. As if Xavier had read my mind and the "Big Eyes" thought, he said, "He's looking for white men." (We just finished reading Clyde Robert Bulla's Squanto.) Perhaps this Indian is going incognito with dark glasses, because a minute later, Xavier asked, "Will the white men shoot him?" Lastly, I love the way he appears to be a thoroughly modern Indian with cool sunglasses and the assertion "I Roll", which is complete serendipity. Yes, I think he is the coolest Indian ever.
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| Mom |
