feeling teller

Today I visited three classrooms at Gabriel's school as part of Dare to Dream Day (back in the literal-minded 80s, we called it Career Day). I signed up during the whirlwind end-of-semester time, when I could barely manage one day to the next. I didn't have much brain space to dedicate to figuring out what a clinical social worker should say or do with kindergartens and first and second graders, but I put my hope in my future better-rested self, who could surely figure it out.

Now the semester is over. I made banana chocolate chip muffins this afternoon! I have stopped by the library no less than three times over the past five days, and two of those days were spent alone with my husband on the Eastern Shore. Yes, it's true! Overnight! Ask my wonderful in-laws who stayed with the kids and got them to school on time, or marvelous Bob and Cathy, who lent us their house on a tidal creek that is frequented by osprey and red-winged blackbirds. For the first time in three years, we skipped town.

...Ah. That was really, really good. But what was I talking about? Oh. Yes. Dare to Dream Day.

I first did what anyone who knows her would do: I asked Christen for advice. She gave me great ideas for talking about feelings with kids in a playful way. She also recommended this lovely book. So I put it on hold at the library. I futzed around on the internet some last night, put a few notes together, and decided - nervously - that it would all somehow come together.

Then Gabriel and I walked to school this morning. On the way he asked me what I was planning on doing when I visited his class. And then miraculously, within minutes, he helped me come up with a terrific idea: why not make feeling tellers? He is obsessive when it comes to origami and has made about a thousand 'fortune tellers' over the past couple of years. Perhaps you've seen them before? My children love to make them and write absurd, outrageous fortunes under the paper flaps. (I have a feeling I have blogged about this, years ago...but know I could never find it in the mountains of posts.)

I had a blast with the second graders and kindergarteners. It did somehow come together. They showed me their style of "belly breathing" and told me all about what colors their feelings were. But when I finally landed in Gabriel's first grade classroom, the real fun - and chaos - began.

I watched my newly minted seven year old stride up to the front of the classroom and begin instructing his fellow students on how to fold a feeling teller, step by step, using the document camera. Mrs. Pirela whispered to me that she started calling him Professor Gabriel after he assumed this authoritative style when teaching his classmates to make paper boats last week. Sure, he's watched a lot of how-to YouTube videos. That may have inspired his manner. But nonetheless I was in awe. Professor Gabriel!

We drew faces on the outer flaps representing four main emotions: happy, sad, angry, scared. Then we wrote those words on the inside of the flaps. It was craziness, getting all the kids to that point, and Gabriel got more than a little flustered trying to lead this ambitious, valiant effort.

Finally, just before our time was up, we were able to practice playing with them. This is what you do: hold it out to your friend and ask her to pick a number between 1 and 10. Then alternate the flaps till you hit that number; invite her to lift one, and see what feeling it is. Sad? Tell a story about a time you were sad. Angry? Tell about the last time you were really angry. Then switch.

Simple! A feeling teller. You use it to tell about your feelings. Thanks, Professor Gabriel.