Becky and Onyx Visit with Brooke

It was apparent at the end of Brooke's visit on Tuesday that the children were extremely interested in learning more of how blind people handle everyday activities. Our initial plan was that Brooke would be returning on the following day, Wednesday, with a blind student of hers and their guide dog. We felt that this would be a very valuable experience for the children to gain a deeper understanding of this disability. After Brooke's visit, we sensed that the children needed more time to explore the materials Brooke had presented and more time to ask questions and engage in conversation. Fortunately, the following day, Brooke was able to clear her whole morning schedule and spend a few hours in the classroom with the children prior to picking up Becky at the train station. We recognize how fortunate we are to be able to have the flexibility in our program which enables us to honor and truly support the interests and energy that emerges from our children.

A few of the questions that were bubbling over were:

How do blind people get places if they can't see?

Can blind people make pictures and do art?

How can they read?

Do blind children go to school?

How can they learn thier letters ?

Brooke decided to address some of the areas that the children seemed most interested in by engaging them in a few creative, interactive activities.

How do blind people get around?

Walking Canes: We learned that blind people use a walking cane to help them get around. They sweep the areas in front of them as they walk and this tells them information about where they can walk. If your cane bumps into something when you are sweeping that area, you know that you need to turn and go in a different direction. The children had the opportunity to wear a bind fold over their eyes and tried walking with the walking cane. This activity involved some level of risk taking for the children which facilities growth in self confidence and trust. This activity helped the children develop an awareness too our sense of sight as well as gaining insight into how it may feel for a blind child to move around a classroom or playground.

Can blind people create art?

Blind people use materials that have texture and dimension when they are creating a picture. They use objects and various materials that feel differently from each other to create their art work. The children used foam boards, sandpaper, buttons, features , colored pasta and small pieces of paper to create collage art . Some of the children tried closing their eyes during the activity as they became more comfortable and trusting of the situation. We all discovered that we relied heavily on the words and directions of those around us when our eyes were closed. This was a really amazing activity that helped the children relate to blindness by engaging in an activity they all are comfortable with and love dearly. Again, this experience helped develop compassion and sensitivity for those that do not have sight.

Can blind people read?

Brooke helped children as they experimented with the braille readers. We learned that the keys make dots and the dots are the letters of the alphabet. This is called braille. All of the children had the opportunity to use the braille writers and Brooke and Becky wrote each of their names in braille.

The braille readers have raised pictures and are written in both braille and for sighted readers. The children explored these books and had the opportunity to close their eyes and try to guess what the pictures were. The children really enjoyed the different readers that were offered at the reading table.

Becky and Onyx visited our classroom. We had a very special circle meeting with Becky and the children respectfully asked questions and engaged in conversation about her disability. Initially the children seemed a little nervous in our circle conversation , but within a very short time the children appeared at ease and were extremely welcoming and inviting. Several of the children asked questions about Becky's everyday life and the warmth and openness that Becky shared with us helped to create meaningful connections with the children. Interest in Onyx was especially high and Becky and Brooke planed a really amazing activity for the children to glean a sense of what it feels like to be a use a guide dog as well as what it feels like for Onyx.

Onyx is a guide dog who knows it's work time when her harness is on. When she is working , she is helping to keep Becky safe. When she is working we cannot pet Onyx and she knows to listen only to Becky. Onyx has to go to school for two years before she is able to be a guide dog. She has a very important role in Becky's life in that her job is to help her get around and stay safe. At her home, Becky takes off the harness and then Onyx is just a regular, playful dog!

The children took turns being Becky and being Onyx. The children were bind folded and they had to give directions to the 'guide dog'. The only directions that Onyx will follow is forward, right, left , stop.

Becky worked with children using the braille writers.

Becky closed our visit by reading a story . The children who wanted to pet Onyx were invited to gently pat the dog one at a time. The visit was truly inspiring and the children seemed to connect with Becky in a meaningful way. We learned that one of her hobbies is cooking and our children wanted her to return for another visit where she could help us cook something in the classroom. We invited Becky to return for another visit and she said she would love to!