Luna and I had a great time in Highland Park.
Any time I publish one of these “Questions Kids Ask” posts listing the questions I get at the school presentations I do with my Seeing Eye dogs, our friend and neighbor Mel Theobald hounds, excuse the pun, me to tell him what my answers were. And every time he asks, I come back with the same response: “Wanna hear the answers? You’ll have to come to a school presentation and find out!”
And guess what? Last Thursday he took the bait! He and Jan Devlin, another neighbor and friend, drove Luna and me to Highland Park, Illinois to visit third graders at Sherwood Elementary, a school that participates in an Educating Outside the Lines Disability Awareness Week program. Every day that week someone with a disability came to talk with Sherwood Elementary School students about their disability and the “helper tools” that let us do the things we like — or need — to do.
Luna guided me to two presentations for third graders Thursday morning. At each one I talked with the kids about being blind, what service dogs do, and how I use a talking computer to write books. As my Black Lab and I were readying ourselves for the question-and-answer part at one of the presentations , the teacher there gushed over Luna. “She’s sooooo pretty!” I took my cue, turned to the third-graders and told them I hear that a lot. “I just pretend they’re talking about me!” I laughed, then the questions started pouring in:
- Do you cook your own food?
- How do you, like make your breakfast and your cereal and stuff?
- How can you eat, then?
- How do you know where someone is if you can’t see them?
- Did you ever get robbed because you are blind?
- How do you know what earrings or necklace to wear when you’re getting dressed?
- Have you ever lost your dog when you were walking?
- Can you see in your dreams?
- Can you swim?
- What was the last thing you ever saw?
- How does your dog know where you are when you go on a walk?
- This is not a question, it’s a comment. You’re very pretty. And I mean you, not the dog.
- How old is your dog in people years?
- How can you ride a bike?
- Did your dog ever run away and you didn’t know where it went?
- Is it hard to know which way to go when your dog goes around a tree?
- How do you swim?
- How do you drive?
- When you call someone, are the numbers in Braille?
- Have you ever lost your dog when you were walking?
- How do you get on your bed?
- How does your dog know where you are when you go on a walk?
And with that, I picked up Luna’s harness, commanded, “Luna, Outside!” and the children cheered as my Seeing Eye dog guided me out of the classroom. “Good dog, Luna!”
Special thanks to Mel Theobald for acting as scribe and writing down all the questions the kids asked last Thursday. Dying to know me answers? Just ask Mel. Or Jan!
Beth, except for getting up at the crack of dawn, Jan and I had a great time and felt truly privileged for the invitation. Not only did the kids learn a lot, so did we. No one can fully appreciate how awesome they are until seeing their excitement when Luna enters the room with you. I’d like to add one more of their comments: One of the girls leaving the room eagerly reached out to pet Luna and blurted out, “I’ll have to wash my hands after this because my mom is allergic to dogs. But NOT ME!” So adorable.
Yeah, I think that “getting up at the crack of dawn” thing was hard on all three of us. But all was forgotten when we got to the classrooms, right? Your mention of the kids petting the dog compels me to add a little detail here: at the end of each presentation I have Luna lead me to the door to get outside of the classroom. Luna stops there, I turn around to face the kids again, and I take her harness off so she can receive pets from the kids as they exit the room. This helps them understand that when a Seeing Eye dog has their harness on, you can’t pet them. Harness off, though? they’re fair game!
“How do you drive?” That one almost always gets asked and it always makes me smile. Elementary aged kids are so smart but the whole concept of totally blind is difficult to grasp!
I suppose that’s true, but this “Educating Outside the Lines” program I work with is oh so good at choosing people with disabilities who aren’t shy (I’m one of them for sure!) to come to the schools and make it all more understandable.
My favorites: ‘Can you see in your dreams?’ and ‘what was the last thing you saw?’. I would love to hear your answers! How can I find Mel or Jan?
I love reading all of your blogs with kids questions. Have you thought of writing another children’s book…this time with Luna? You have a lot of material, and I can picture how great the illustrations would be of you, Luna, and the kids asking their questions.
you’re right, Joan. Publishing a children’s book with all the questions kids ask at school visits is a very good idea.
So good, in fact, that it’s already been done!
Rats.
The book is called “Do You Remember the Color Blue: The Questions Children Ask about Blindness.” It’s written by a blind woman named Sally Hobart Alexander,
she uses a Seeing Eye dog to get around. Here’s a description From School Library Journal:
“As she has done in past books, Alexander makes blindness clear to readers. Here, she responds to frequently asked questions, including how it feels to be blind and how blind people cope with daily living…Her discussion of remembering colors and dimensions will interest sighted readers. Small black-and-white photos appear throughout;
most are snapshots from the personal collections of the author and her friends.”
Back to me: I’ve never read this book, maybe if I did I’d find out there’s room for *two* books about the questions kids ask about blindness. I do know this: I can be mildly irreverent with some of my answers, but not sure that would make for enough difference to warrant another book with the same theme.
Thanks for the idea, though –keep ‘em coming!
I adore the curiosity of kids!
It was great fun to take Beth up to Highland Park last week, despite getting up earlier than I have since I retired! The kids were great, Beth was terrific, and traffic was actually pretty good that early in the morning. Beth, thanks for asking us!
Are you kidding? Thanks for driving Luna and me there and back, especially so early in the morning! .
Beth, do you have a favorite age group for these presentations?
These programs truly expand the awareness of different skills and abilities.
I am a fan and am so glad these sessions are “on” again! They were sorely missed.
Yay for Luna and her instruction about Guide Dog ettiquette!
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