I
got back from running a Saturday, willing to do nothing during the weekend,
when I discovered an emailwith a very simple tittle: 'writing contest'.
I did click to open it, a little bit scared knowing that
that would ruin my weekend, I sat down for a second to breath after my race,
but then I said to myself that there was not need to feel worried, if I
understood well the process of reading, then writing it should be based on the
same principle, except maybe adding an extra process, since writing is not just
about throwing letters on a sheet, it’s important to give coherence to those
letters, rhythm to an idea, that of first instance had to exist.
The message was an invitation to participate in the annual
writing contest of the school, no more intended than promote the value of the
word among the students.
During the weekend I thought about different topics that
perhaps children could work, at first I think, I was tempted to write a story by
myself, intertwining my paragraphs with children ideas, but that was doubting on
their your creativity, so I ended up writing only words that would give them
some inspiration to the group.
Sunday night I called Gaby to tell her my ideas and after
a bit of talk, she concluded saying:
"trust on children talent".
I walked happy to school on Monday, I explained the task
to the group, I showed them my ideas and explained that this competition required
a story on any subject, with the only one condition that it has to be an original work.
When I concluded the explanations, I could hear the
absolute silence that working minds produce, and everybody's eyes looked at me
with such concentration that I imagined 23 shooters pointing at my head.
For a moment it frightened me that silence, but after a
while Mita smiled and said in a loud voice: "Let us do a story about the
Moon!", and then Johana jumped from her seat and shouted with joy: "A
tale of the Moon sat on a tomato seed "... A heavy silence fell between us, but now my
eyes looked them all... I could only say: "well guys, you think and I
write"… children smiled, willing to enjoy the task...
Once upon a time... a orchad full of vegetables, the kind
of children hate to eat, but this orchard was special, since a group of students
cared for it and gave water, and all kind of special cares because they learned
how much importar is to attend to the
plants, and the role of bees in the food production process.
These plants was closely protected because thanks to
them, this group of children had won a Blue Ribbon at the fair of Science and
had shown to the School Director that they weren't dumb kids...
I don't know if it is correct to write that... perhaps we
can write the same idea in a different way...
These plants were jealously protected because it was a
promise of power for all generations to come, because the plants not only are
nice, but helps to keep us alive.
This orchad was so beautiful, that everyone admired it,
and Sun smiled all day to it, sending his best rays for each plant.
But there was a particularly beautiful tomato plant, with
such large flowers that everyone thought that the plant could not hold the
fruits.
During the night, the Moon watched carefully each of the
plants, and it liked to kiss the pumpkins, and illuminating with its silver
color rays the potatoes, but it could not ignore the flowers of the tomato, who
smiled the same way like when teacher David looks her friend Gaby, with puppy
eyes...
It is not true, I don't look at her that way!, I look at
her... with... respect!, What do you know about looks?
Please, Don’t get
angry dear teacher!, This is only to give you a little impact to the
history, Joseph said...
OK, then let's keep that, but now we need some drama,
just a little...
One night, in which the Moon was sleeping, a raccoon hacked
all security codes that the children had implemented. With a smart phone broke
codes of laser rays and the main computer that kept all the intruders out. It also
climbed with ropes by the internal protection fence and managed to get to the
garden...
He was willing to eat the fruits that had grown so
carefully.
The destruction was imminent!, but then all dogs of the neighborhood
received instant messages from the Moon, all at the same time, and gathered outside
the school and they so frightened the raccoon, who left a little shit on its way
of escape...
Shit is not a very... correct word...
Do you prefer saying that it pooped in pants? He asked
Mita...
Perhaps we should say that it left a poop trace!, shouted
Salvatore
No guys, it's just sounding a bit... violent, but okay,
that give drama to the story, let’s take that version.
All vegetables survived and were so big and juicy that
they fed all the children of Africa, but caregivers, kept a seed of each plant,
especially of the tomato, which was dropped in the garden so the Moon could care of it, and the Moon was so happy that one
night, lost any fear and jumped, free, beautifully illuminated trying to
embrace the seed.
But the Moon was in those days when it eats a lot and it
was s very fat, so it bounced like ball, poing!, and as if it has strings that
bind it back to the sky, after kissing
the seed on the nose...
How do you explain when you watch someone running and
making pirouettes really high and landing on one foot?... I felt like that.
Children are immensely creative, if we give them the opportunity, if they are
capable of doing the Moon Kiss to a tomato seed on the nose... Where are their limits?.