Half-Pint

The third grade put on a ‘Wax Museum"’ last night. They have been working for weeks on researching, writing, and memorizing the life of an important person.

At first, Hannah said she was going to be Christopher Columbus. While I don’t disagree he was an important person, I hadn’t yet caught the vision of this project. “Really, Hannah? You wanna dress up like a man?” I felt bad for making her question her decision. I really did. I hate it when I do that.

The remorse ended as soon as she decided on Laura Ingalls Wilder. We are BIG Little House on the Prairie fans at our house. We own several seasons on DVD and have even approved them for Sunday viewing.  When Casey was younger, he proclaimed that he would vote for Pa if he ran for mayor of our town. Me, too, Casey. I realize the series is only loosely based on the books. But the books aren’t completely autobiographical, either. Nonetheless, they give an accurate portrayal of life in the 19th century. Hannah is the perfect age to start reading the series, so I dusted off my old set that had been sitting on Hailey’s shelf since she read them at the same age. Hannah fell in love. It became real to read the words typed by Laura Ingalls Wilder, herself. And that is what this project was all about.

I had a vision of what I wanted her costume to look like and for the past couple weeks, tried to make it happen. I spent the better part of Tuesday sewing her dress and bonnet. It was well worth it, wouldn’t you think? My little Half-Pint looked so cute.

Hannah wrote a short summary of Laura’s life (no thanks to me this busy time of year) and memorized it all on her own. She wouldn’t perform it for me until the big event because she wanted it to be a surprise.

At the door, we were given tokens. When you drop one into a student’s jar, they come to life. Our first stop was, of course, Hannah. I was not prepared for what was about to happen. As she recited her memorized speech, I became very emotional. I contained the tears and congratulated her on a job well done. This became the routine for the next hour. We’d drop a token in, watch the person ‘come to life’ and I’d fight my emotions.

I was so proud of each of these kids. They worked hard to learn about someone important in history. They made them real to themselves and each of us lucky enough to be a part of it.

Listening to a nine year-old talk in the first person about someone who has lived a full life and accomplished great things, made me realize the potential inside each one of those little bodies. They have so much ahead of them. What great things are in store for these young people?

Half-pint? I think not.