Karen E. Carazo
I will begin this section with three contrasting poems about motherhood since mothers are at the core of every family: Nikki Giovanni's "Mommies" from her book
Spin a Soft Black Song
, which for the most part describes a traditional mom who is very loving and nurturing; Nikki Grimes' "Mom and Me Only" from
Meet Danitra Brown
, which addresses single-parenthood; and a poem,"She Sent Me Out To Play Again", written by Nikki Grimes from her book
Something On My Mind
, which depicts a less traditional mom who for whatever reason would rather not deal with her children and therefore sends them away. Although it's sad to say, many children are living with adults who instead of dealing with their children, send them away like the mother in the poem.
"Mommies" tells of the different things traditional moms do like making children clean their rooms, making them put old clothes on before going out to play, making them brush their teeth, tucking them in and kissing them good-night. In "Mom and Me Only", a girl complains that she only has "a mom and me only" while others have a mom and dad, until a friend points out that it really isn't so bad. " ‘You've got it good,' Danitra says when I am sad. ‘Your mama loves you twice as much. Is that so bad?' " 6 "She Sent Me Out to Play Again" describes a young child's desire for the love and attention of his mother. "She sent me out to play again . . . I wanted to talk/about school, about how much I like to read,/ about how scared I am of the big boy down the block,/ about what I want to be . . ./ just talk. / Or to sit, just sit in the same room/ and watch her watch TV." 7
Another poem that addresses this issue is Eloise Greenfield's "Aunt Roberta" from her book
Honey, I Love and other love poems
. In this poem, a young girl is not seen or heard until she slams a door. Again, showing how children are often ignored by adults. This poem also depicts one way children attempt to get someone's attention.
Nikki Grimes' poem "Seems I'm Never Old Enough" from
Something On My Mind
further illustrates this point. The adults in the poem ignore the young girl because they say she wouldn't understand. " But when I'm wrong,/ you hear them shout,/ Girl, you should have known!"8
We will then read
Daddy
by Jeanette Caines. This is the story of a little girl and the special bond she shares with her father despite the fact that they don't live together. I chose this book because fathers, especially African-American fathers, are often viewed by society as irresponsible when it comes to caring for and raising their children. I think it's important for children to realize that this is not true of all fathers.
Eloise Greenfield's "Fambly Time" from her book
Night on Neighborhood Street
is a poem about a family spending some quality time together in what the youngest refers to as "Fambly time!" Again, I feel it's important for students to realize that families should be made up of people who love each other and do special things together.
This poem will be followed by
Dinner At Aunt Connie's House
by Faith Ringgold, which celebrates family unity. It's the story of Melody, who visits her Aunt Connie and Uncle Bates and cousin Lonnie at their home on Long Island every year with her parents,and the special "treat" they receive at this year's family gathering. This book combines family tradition with a dose of history and an adaptation of the book will be performed as part of the culminating activity. This book lends itself nicely to discussions of family traditions, adoption, and a more in-depth study of the famous African-American women depicted in the story as well as others.
The issue of sibling rivalry will be examined using
She Come Bringing Me This Little Baby Girl
by Eloise Greenfield,
Peter's Chair
by Ezra Jack Keats,
Two and Too Much
by Mildred Pitts Walter, and
My Brother Fine With Me
by Lucille Clifton. Each of these books tells the story of an older sibling who feels jealous of a younger sibling at first but eventually learns to love their brother or sister.
We'll explore children's relationships to their grandparents and other extended family members in
The Patchwork Quilt
by Valerie Flournoy,
Grandmama's Joy
and
Grandpa's Face
by Eloise Greenfield,
When I'm Old With You
by Angela Johnson, and
The Hundred Penny Box
by Sharon Bell Mathis. All of these books, with the exception of
The Hundred Penny Box
, which shows a boy's love for his great-aunt, portray the special love a child feels for a grandparent. Grandparents are so important to the family because of the strength, wisdom, and love they bring to the family unit.
Possible activities for this section include creating Family Portraits, writing essays and poems about family or specific family members, a "Family Tea" in which families will be invited in to hear the essays/poems written by the students and afterwards "tea" and cookies will be served, "Adopt-a-Grandparent" in which students will be paired with senior citizens at a local home, and a performance of "Dinner At Aunt Connie's House". The following Project Charlie lessons from the Primary Relationship section will complement this section: # 1, 2, 3.
