from trevor’s encyclopedia of lost and beautiful things

Writing is my favorite subject.

I bet you already knew that about me.

At the beginning of the school year, we work on a “small moment,” a moment that happened in our lives that we will always remember.

Here is the example I wrote for my students -

                           Christmas Ghost

“Boo!” Have you ever seen a ghost? I did, or I thought I did, when I was in 4th grade. Here is what happened.

It was Christmas Eve. My little brothers Trent and Tyler and I were sleeping in the same room. We were so excited, we couldn’t get to sleep. Finally, deep into the night, we did. Trent woke up in the darkness. “Maybe Santa came,” he whispered. “Who wants to go look?”

“I’ll go, since I’m the oldest,” I said. I slowly rose from the bed and opened the bedroom door. “Creak,” it went. I tiptoed down the hall toward the Christmas tree in the living room. When I looked into the room, I saw a white sheet floating above a chair. “A ghost!” I screamed.

I ran back down the hall and leaped into my mom and dad’s bed. “I saw a ghost!” I cried. They took me by the hand and led me back toward the room with the Christmas ghost. My brothers followed. I was so scared.

When we walked into the living room together, there by the softly lit tree, there was a white sheet over the chair. But it wasn’t a ghost. It was covering the backboard of a new basketball goal.

I love that kind of ghost!

I wish you could have seen my students’ expressions as I read this story to them. They could hear the story in my voice and see the story in my eyes.

Telling stories are wonderful ways to share our humanity.

Daniel is one of my immigrant students from Mexico. 

There is deep intelligence in his earthy brown eyes and mischievous playfulness in his nine year old grin.

Here is the story Daniel wrote. 

                               Big Waves

My family took a trip to Savannah, Georgia. My cousins went with us, too. We went to the beach. My cousins and I ran as fast as we could into the water and jumped into a gigantic wave!

There were so many more big waves that came after we jumped into the first one. 

Jumping into the big waves made me think about how amazing the world is.

And there it is.

The humanity of a little boy from Mexico, here in my classroom.

Daniel is an amazing kid.

All of my immigrant students are.

I love their stories.

I love them.