Creative Ideas. For special children. Dina Veksler
Chesky, you are not bad, your behavior is bad. In which box should this photo be placed?»
«Here in this, where behavior is bad.»
«That’s right, so we’ll do it.»
Auntie and nephew discussed all the photos in this way, and Jane was convinced that Chesky correctly assessed his actions. The sorted pictures needed to be nicely arranged and appropriate inscriptions were made under each, which Jane did. She discussed each signature with her nephew, telling him why it is good to do it this way, and bad in another way. Chesky willingly came up with names for the pictures: «Chesky is building a castle, he’s done well» or «Chesky is jumping around the room and screaming, he’s behaving badly.» Jane then instructed her nephew to carefully trim the edges of the pictures so that they were all the same size. Working with scissors was not easy for Chesky, and a paper cutter was very useful here. The boy wielded it quite deftly, and the edges of the pictures turned out to be even. For the future, Jane planned for herself to teach her nephew to work with scissors.
After that, it was time for decorating. Chesky did not differ in special patience and perseverance, and Nina, a great lover of drawing and coloring pictures, came to the aid of her brother. She drew frames around the pictures. Chesky, with apparent pleasure, commented on the most expressive photos for Nina:
«Look, Nina, I’m behaving badly here, I’m kicking the bear,» but there was no remorse on the boy’s smiling face.
«The bear is in pain, but you rejoice! It’s not funny,» Nina did not share her brother’s fun at all.
«Not funny?» Chesky was very surprised by Nina’s reaction, but he did not think about this topic for a long time and moved on to discussing another picture.
Jane was depressed by this behavior of his nephew: the boy reacted in much the same way to his good and bad deeds captured by the camera – he admired himself and had fun. The girl wanted to teach Chesky to distinguish between good and evil, but Jane had a very vague idea of how to do this. Postponing the solution of the problem for later, the young aunt turned to her nephew:
«Wow, how interesting you are talking about each picture! Just a real teacher, we can send you right now to teach children at our school.»
«I’m smart, right?» Chesky immediately remembered his habit of constantly asking questions, and Jane almost fell into a trap, but caught herself in time, returning the question:
«Are you smart, Chesky?»
«Yes, I’m smart!» the boy answered his own question with visible pleasure.
«That’s what we call this folder.»
Chesky liked the idea.
«What do we call the other one?» Nina asked.
«I’m bad,» Chesky said.
Jane immediately responded:
«You’re not bad, you have bad behavior, of course. Let’s call the second folder „Bad Behavior.“»
Restless Chesky kept trying to quit work and go to play. It took a lot of work for Jane to keep her nephew in place, asking him again and again about what was shown in the pictures, good or bad and why. Nina enthusiastically painted the sheets of papers.
Jane and Chesky distributed the pictures into different folders, supplying them with captions The white folder was decorated with the inscription: «Chesky is a smart boy. Good Behavior» and the line «Bad Behavior» appeared on the black one.
SCHOOL NAMED ME
Before going to sleep, lying in bed, Jane recalled how vividly Chesky discussed the photos. The girl came up with an interesting idea. In the morning, she shared the idea with her nephew:
«Chesky, I think we need to organize a special school in which you will be the main teacher. You will teach the other guys the rules of good behavior. What do you think?» Jane mentally applauded herself for a great idea, seeing how the boy’s face shone with joy.
«Hooray! Great!» Chesky jumped like a frisky kid from the emotions that overwhelmed him.
«I’m glad you like my idea. It will be a school named after…» Jane hesitated, looking for the right word.
«Me!» Chesky shouted. «School named after Me! I will be a teacher!»
«Well, of course, your name, how could it be otherwise,» Jane muttered and added more confidently: «And don’t doubt it! Let’s get the class and students ready.»
It was not possible to immediately put the plan into action: Chesky’s next building was located in the most suitable place for equipment of the class. As usual, he didn’t let anyone take it away.
«Photo! Take a photo!» The boy was very determined, and Jane took advantage of the situation: «Good idea, but isn’t it time for you to learn how to take pictures yourself? You are such a smart guy, you will certainly succeed. Come on, take the camera like this, look here, now press this button…»
A few seconds – and the first photo is ready! Chesky had one more reason to be proud of himself. Together, the aunt and nephew dismantled the building, put the parts of the designer into a box, and proceeded to equip the classroom. In the center of the room, Chesky and Jane put a table for the «teacher.» The sofa became a place for students. All Chesky’s soft toys were invited to these roles, and Jane joined them as a teacher’s assistant. The «teacher» himself put on his hat and dad’s tie. It was assumed that these details of the toilet would give the boy solidity, but in fact, Chesky looked very funny. The main teaching aids were two folders with photographs – white and black.
«Let’s start the lesson. Silence in the classroom!» Chesky tapped the table with a pointer, calling the class to attention. He tried to be serious.
And so the educational process began. Using the example of photographs from white and black folders, the teacher clearly explained to the students what is «good» and what is «bad»: «Throwing toys and jumping on the sofa is bad, look, children, at this picture. This one is very ugly, and mom will be upset. And look here – I collect toys in a box and put them in their place.»
Jane prompted a little: «Now the room is in order. Mom will be happy.»
«And these photos are good, here the boy built a beautiful castle and helps his mother with the housework.»
The students did not behave in the best way: they made noise, interrupted the teacher, and the teacher scolded them and put them in a corner, and Chesky really liked this part.
Each picture showing bad behavior was balanced by a photo in which Chesky behaved perfectly. He even began to invent bad behavior himself so that later he could photograph the good and explain it to the students.
The boy showed photographs, describing in detail what is depicted in each of them. It seems that Chesky finally got what he always aspired to – everyone’s attention. He noticeably calmed down: now he is the most important, he is a teacher, and he has something to tell his students about.
HOMEMADE ABC
One day, when Nina came home from kindergarten, Jane had an idea for a new, exciting project. The school named after Chesky needed more educational materials, so she suggested creating a homemade alphabet book. They quickly got to work: Jane would call out a letter, the children would find an object whose name began with that letter, and Chesky would take a picture. Illustrations appeared one after another: A for apple, B for banana, C for circle. Chesky, filled with a sense of responsibility, took his job very seriously.
Nina then came up with a wonderful idea: to create a manual for mathematics lessons. She and Jane assembled compositions from several identical objects, and Chesky photographed them: one pencil, two balls, three Lego blocks. The time flew by, and they were slightly disappointed when Alina called them to dinner, interrupting