On my first day of school I was "absent"--that is, Ms Judy was not there. Instead, I sent Ms Zelda, the gypsy storyteller from Romania to take my place. (I am a librarian in a PK3-8th grade Catholic school.)
So what does a gypsy wear? Anything that looks the part according to my imagination, faulty or not. Initially, I intended going as Mother Goose. I went to my favorite fabric store to look at costume patterns. Would you believe there are NO Mother Goose costumes!! I did find bonnets from prairie days that I thought would suffice, but that meant a pinafore and in this weather (fringes of H....) a pinafore plus a long skirt plus a slip--oh my! My fabric store friend, also mother of one of my students, then suggested a gypsy costume! Yes! I have clothes that could be accessorized to look gypsy. So back home I went!
It was so much fun finding all the parts to my costume: long skirt with little reflective pieces of medal and tiny little bells attached to each piece, making the tiniest jingle sound as I walked--no, no, not that loud--tinier, yet tinier, barely audible, but enough to exude magic. Then I added a long-sleeve matching blouse--oh, did I say the skirt is yellow-orange? The blouse also but a clashing non-match. Too hot for long sleeves anyway!
Aha! Found it--the perfect top--a little lace and nylon number in beige. Perfect! The lacy cap sleeves made it acceptable (we cannot wear sleeveless blouses in my school, unless, of course, we wear a jacket of some sort over it). I tied a long sparkly brown and white gauzy scarf around my waist/hips to let the fringe dangle. Then jewelry: about seven necklaces of matching browns, oranges, gold, green, and finally, long gold hoop earrings.
Reaction of the four-year-olds, most of whom I had as three-year-olds. "You're not Ms Zuba. You're Ms Judy!" "No, no, darlings. I not Ms Judy. I'm Ms Zelda from Romania."
They finally let me pretend to be Ms Zelda, all the while letting me know they were on to me.
I fared no better with second-grade boys (Boys and girls alternate every other week with Art and Library to keep classes smaller for those two subjects). "You're Ms Judy, not Ms Zelda." "Aw, come on boys, use your imaginations." So they did (but they wanted Ms Judy. I guess I should be flattered.)
One boy kept looking all around. "What are you looking for, Thomas?" I asked him. He replied: "We haven't been here all summer and I just want to take it all in." What a lovely response!
Same story with third grade boys. They simply did not want me to be Ms Zelda on their first time back in the library after a summer's vacation. I'll do this again later when they maybe need a change in routine, but for now, I am touched that they wanted the real Ms Judy.
One final note: One middle school teacher told me the middle school girls LOVED my outfit (I never wear dresses), so on Friday when my middle school classes come to the library, I will wear another gypsy-look outfit. For now, though, I will remain Ms Judy.
I plan to book-talk some of our new books, read an excerpt from Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech, and, oh, of course, show a book on Romania!
Almost anything related to reading, writing, libraries, books, film, art, cats, gardening, sewing, quilting, and other quiet joys, and the occasional rant or two
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
A favorite souvenir
Judy's shared items
- Bangkok, Thailand
- London, UK
- Paris, France
- Salzburg, Austria
- Napa, CA, USA
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Washington DC, DC, USA
- New Orleans, LA, USA
- Create your own travel map or travel blog
- Great vacation rentals at TripAdvisor
Books on my very ambitious TBR list (*denotes read)
- *Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox
- The Odd Women by George Gissing
- The Zen of Fish by Trevor Corson
- How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme Raji Codell
- The Cod Tale by Mark Kurlansky
- In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
- *Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
- Dag Hammarskjold by Elizabeth Rider Montgomery
- The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet by Rabbi Michael L. Munk
- Children of Strangers by Lyle Saxon
- Spiritual Writings by Flannery O'Connor
- Nightmares and Visions: Flannery O'Connor and the Catholic Grotesque by Gilbert H. Muller
- The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O'Connor
- Flannery O'Connor's South by Robert Coles
- Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
- Sylvanus Now by Donna Morrissey
- *Vincent de Paul by Margaret Ann Hubbard
- Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
- A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking
- The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel
- Readicide by Kelly Gallagher
- *Ruined by Paula Morris
- Say You're Not One of Them by Uwem Akpan
- Wandering Star by J.M.G. Le Clezio
- Silence by Shusaku Endo
- *The Assault by Harry Mulisch
- Kari's Saga by Robert Jansson
- *The German Mujahid by Boualem Sansal
- Western Skies by Joseph Conrad
- *The Giver by Lois Lowery
- *Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski
No comments:
Post a Comment