The Beth Lists
  • Homepage
  • Little Bear's Adventures
  • Diverse Dining List
  • 90 Notable Nights
  • Happy List
  • Quilt Adventure Blog
  • Not So Happy List
  • The Texas Twenty List
  • Mom's Picnic List
  • 18+ Dance Adventures
  • 55 Strangers
  • The Barbie Bucket List
  • 60 Celebrations
  • 57 Celebrations of the Fifties!
 Quilt Adventures

Some School Stuff

10/23/2013

0 Comments

 
Jogging Memories with Props
Out of all the props I spread out on the quilt for a Back to School theme, this toy school
desk prompted the most stories.
Picture
My first group was at the Community Center. We were ready to get started when Mary, one of the most upbeat in the Tuesday group arrived late, looking shaken and worn.  "What's wrong, Mary?"  I put a hand on her back and she felt clammy, almost trembling. "The bus didn't stop for me."  I'd never seen this side of Mary. She looked broken, like she'd been abandoned.  She winced as she carefully sat down at the table and began to talk about her morning. "Every day I wait by the window for the senior bus. I was watching today and I saw it coming." She described how the bus raced around the corner as if the driver were running late. Before Mary could open her door the bus roared on.  This dear woman, whose voice usually booms out above the others, spoke almost in a whisper. "I called my son and he had to stop what he was doing and come drive me."  I actually saw a tear roll from her cheek to  the quilt.  The wonderful group sitting around the table offered hugs and supportive words but they  didn't seem to lift Mary at all. I was debating how to deal with this when suddenly the desk distracted Mary in a way that I couldn't. It was the oddest thing to see her face when she  suddenly caught sight of the wooden desk on the quilt.  Her watery eyes lit up and she pointed like a child surprised by an animal at the zoo.  "I had a desk just like that!" Mary laughed.  She sat up taller and studied the desk as she described the one she remembered in her one room school house.  Before long the whole group was sharing and laughing and talking over one another.  The desk managed to lift Mary from her miserable place...but it was actually a  recording of Chuck Berry's School Day a few minutes later, that ended up getting Mary out of her chair dancing!

The School Bell
Picture
This wobbly old school bell helped conjure up some memories when I joined another group at the hospital.  Genny picked up the bell and gave a couple clunky rings and told about her Sunday School teacher who had a bell just like it on her desk.  

But it wasn't until Margaret mentioned an old TV show that my own memory surfaced!
 
 

Picture
The image of this smiling face, posing with the lifted bell had long been forgotten until Margaret mentioned Mrs. Frances of Ding Dong School!  I vaguely remember her on a TV show, but mostly I remember the cover of an old child's 45 record.  Her record was in a stack along with Harry Belafonte and Burl Ives, next to a portable record player that provided hours of entertainment when I as a child. Picturing the wood paneled family room I played in until I was 10 brought back memories of playing school.  In our family room we actually had a set of antique desks that looked like the toy pictured above.  I remember fighting over who got to be teacher.  Being teacher gave you just about as much control as being leader for a game of Red Light, Green Light or Mother May I.  If I couldn't get my siblings to play school I might be able to talk them into Rock School.  The teacher in this game stood at the bottom of the stairs and only advanced students to the next grade (up a step) if they guessed correctly which hand held the rock.  

I was surprised at how many of my own memories surfaced once we focused on that silly bell.  I didn't have time to share them with all the other stories going around, but I found myself remembering those thoughts for the rest of the day.

Reminded by a Ruler
Picture
It was the ruler in a box of school supplies that steered our conversation with the Silverado group towards discipline. Luckily there were no horror stories of cruelty, but I had a moment of concern when the punishment discussion reminded Betty of a hospital school where she lived when she was quite young.

Picture
Betty's upbeat voice set me at ease as she talked about the hospital that cared for TB patients in a town called Sanatorium, Texas. "I was sent there for 6 months and slept in a ward with other children and we had school lessons in the day." She said she didn't have TB, but was sent for preventative reasons, possibly because she had spent so much time with a dear uncle who did.   Although the thought of a child in such a place sounds eerie, Betty's face lit up as remembered her time there.  She admitted her home life had been rigid, due to a very strict stepfather.  She seemed amused by the notion that she could enjoy getting into a little mischief with other children thanks to the fact they were in a hospital with more gentle ways of disciplining children.

What I learned:  Obviously I already know that props can trigger memories. That's why I bring them.  But it was especially nice to witness how the desk prop not only triggered Mary's memory, but wiped out (at least briefly) her memory of her bad morning!  
 What I also learned: Some of the simplest props (a ruler) can bring up rather complicated or detailed memories. As I listened to Betty with her story of Sanatorium, TX, I didn't worry about how much was true or changed by dementia. I was only concerned that her sharing was a positive experience and it seemed to be.  Curiosity did lead me to the computer that night and I learned that there was once a Sanatorium, TX (no longer) and a TB hospital that also cared for children who were at risk.  Betty was pleased the next week to know I'd found a postcard picture on the internet!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    The Quilt

    For 20+ years children have called it the Magic Quilt.  They've danced and pretended all over these colorful squares.  I've dragged it to schools, shelters and studios where children have climbed on top to hear Magic Quilt  Stories and to act them out.

    I still regularly use the story telling quilt with children at a nearby  Shelter, but 7 years ago I started using the quilt on a table with a group of Alzheimer's  folks.   I was blown away by what these incredible people could share and enjoy, so I started up "Quilt Groups" at other centers.  

    In 2013, motivated by the warmth and generosity of the friends I've made through this quilt, I decided to start taking the quilt with me, when I vacation. So far I have met some wonderful adults and children while traveling and sharing the quilt in Mexico, N. Carolina, Utah, California, Mississippi, Chile, Mexico, Guatemala New Mexico, Bermuda and Honduras.  

    In this blog I will share about some of the adventures I've had near and far with the help of the quilt.  Mostly, I'd like to share some of the things I've learned along the way.

    Archives

    April 2022
    September 2021
    May 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Homepage
  • Little Bear's Adventures
  • Diverse Dining List
  • 90 Notable Nights
  • Happy List
  • Quilt Adventure Blog
  • Not So Happy List
  • The Texas Twenty List
  • Mom's Picnic List
  • 18+ Dance Adventures
  • 55 Strangers
  • The Barbie Bucket List
  • 60 Celebrations
  • 57 Celebrations of the Fifties!