Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?
Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?
By Kate Chamberlin
Blind teacher Kate Chamberlin photographed by Kevin Rivoli for “Blind Ambition” written by Michele Locastro Rivoli, Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper, December 30, 1998.
“Dream it. Write it. Read it.
Copyright © 1996 and July 20, 2016 All Rights Reserved
by Kate Chamberlin
Walworth, NY 14568
Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?
By Kate Chamberlin
As Grace grows up, some of her stories are happy, some trying, some enlightening, and a few themes are sad, but, they’re all the warp and woof of what goes into the tapestry of life we call Family. The daily living skills and techniques demonstrated by the fictional characters in these stories are valid, tried and true.
Book I: The Early Years
#1. If you can’t see
“What do you like about your Teddy Bear Trail Nursery School?” Grandpa asked 4-year old Grace as they waited for Sunday dinner.
“I like the smell of paste, crayons, and peanut butter sandwiches,” she said
“Do you like your teacher?” he asked with a wink.
“Yes. Her curly hair tickles my cheek when she hugs me!” Grace said. “She waits for me to feel my way from chair, to table, to carpet without rushing me. Now I know my way around the room all by myself.”
“Do you like having your Mom come in to help the teacher?” he prompted.
“Yup,” was Grace’s quick answer.
“Some of the children are curious about how you do things, since you can’t see,” Miss Holmberg asked Grace in nursery school on Monday. “Would it be okay if we talk about how you use your other senses?”
“Sure,” Grace said, so, at circle time, the questions started flying.
“If you can’t see, how can you tell who is your mother?” Zack asked.
“I can tell my mother by her voice,” Grace said.
“We have a game we can play,” Miss Holmberg said. “When you feel my tap on your shoulder, say: Hello. The rest of the children can guess who said : Hello or at least, where it came from. Ready? Close your eyes now. No peeking!”
“If you can’t see, how can you know what you’re wearing?” Suzie wanted to know.
“I can tell what I’m wearing by touching my clothes,” Grace said.
“I have three boxes,” Miss Holmberg said, placing them in the middle of the circle. “Each one has something in it that you can wear. Who would like to reach into the first box to tell us what’s inside? Okay, Savannah and thank you for raising your hand.”
Savannah reached into the box with a very serious look on her face. Then, she flipped her long blonde hair, grinned and said, “It’s a sock.”
David squinted his eyes and reached into the second box and said, “I found somebody’s jeans!”
“I think it is a shirt.” Janey said with her arm up to her elbow in the third box. “I feel buttons.”
“Very good, “ Miss Holmberg said. “Now, each of you feel your clothes. Do you feel the difference from your shirt to your socks?
“If you can’t see, how can you know what you’re eating?” Yolanda asked during Circle Time on Tuesday.
“I can tell it’s a jelly sandwich by tasting it.”
”I’m going to have Grace’s Mom give you a paper plate with a small sandwich on it,” Miss Holmberg explained. “But, first you must close your eyes and use your sense of taste to tell us what it is.”
“I have a honey sandwich,” Tommy said, licking his fingers.
“Mine is grape jelly,” Jackie said.
“Yuk! I don’t like this peanut butter ,” Holly said. “It has chunks in it.”
”If you can’t see, how can you tell if there is a fire?” Tyler asked at Wednesday’s Circle Time.
“I can tell there is fire by smelling the smoke.”
“Well, I’m not going to light a fire here in school,” Miss Holmberg chuckled. Instead, Grace’s Mom is going to pass around jars for you to smell. Remember, to breath into your body to smell something.”
“This one is mint,” Sarah said. “Is it somebody’s chewing gum?”
“Mine is a flower. Maybe a rose,” Janey said.
“Hey,” Fred yelled and sniffed again. “I got dog food!”
“If you are blind, how can you read the letter from your Grandma?” Barbara asked as they walked to the Circle Time carpet on Thursday.
“I can read Grandma Kate’s letter because she uses Braille.” Grace said as they sat down side by side.
Grace’s Mom handed her a stack of cards. At the top, Grandma Kate had Brailled each friend’s name.
“I can feel the bumps that make up the abc’s, Grace said and she called out the letters for each friend’s name until all the Braille alphabet cards had been passed out.
“If you are blind, how will you get to school?” Matthew asked on Friday.
“I can get to school by tapping my long, white cane to the bus stop.”
“I tap the tip of my long, white cane left and right,” Grace said as she moved her cane ahead of her feet to show the children. “When the tip hits something, I feel around the thing to know which way to keep going.”
Miss Holmberg and Grace’s Mom helped everyone use Grace’s long, white cane to go from a desk to the door, to the carpet.
Suddenly, Fred started to laugh, saying, “I’m trapped in the bathroom!” All the children laughed with him as Miss Holmberg guided him back to the circle.
“If you are blind, how can you tell we are your friends?” All the children wanted to know.
“I can tell you are my friends by the way you love me just as I am.”
“Children,” Miss Holmberg said. “Please stand up and hold hands. As we march around the circle carpet, we’ll learn a new song.”
As they marched, she sang:
Make new friends, but keep the old.
One is silver and the other’s gold.