We have some very dear friends in Germany and we've spent quite a bit of time with them here in San Diego and in Europe. I followed the children to school . . . I couldn't help myself. Once a teacher, always a teacher! I walked with the girls to the bus stop, rode the bus to school and sat in on their classes on two separate days, jumped rope to American jingles and completed the same assignments they were given (or tried to). Even though I could only understand some of the language, I came to the realization that no matter where we are, children are children, delightfully so! Since then we've been back several times and I've been invited to teach in their English classes and design some materials for their program. Such fun! Thought I'd share this poem that I wrote after visiting the classrooms in 2004. While spending a week in Tuscany and another on the Danish coastline, I taught the girls American jump rope jingles. I was surprised to find later that they had shared them with their German school chums. I was talked into going outside for recess and being one of the rope turners!
Children Are Children
Children are children wherever you go.
They act the same from head to toe!
The boisterous boys with skinned-up knees,
Who love to laugh, to tickle and tease;
They twirl their fingers in their hair
And weave their daydreams in the air.
They play a game of tag and chase,
Or have a rowdy running race.
The patched-up jeans and baseball caps
Belong to boys and chummy chaps!
The giggly girls with bows in their hair,
Who skip and jump from here to there;
Dainty dresses and frilly frocks,
Shiny shoes and slippery socks;
Barrettes and braids and freckled faces,
The missing teeth with smiley spaces;
Bracelets, braces, shiny glasses . . .
We love them all, the girls and lasses!
Children are children wherever you go.
They act the same from head to toe!
(Written For
Frau von Heyden and Frau Domnick)
Tuttendorf, Germany
April 21, 2004
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Travelling is my life
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