Tuesday 13 September 2011

Open Thread - Tuesday

Today is Roald Dahl's anniversary and this year James and the Giant Peach is 50 years old.

Many years ago I offered to help in the classroom in our sons' primary school. I was to assist the children with sewing. Their projects had to be linked to a topic they were studying at the time and it happened to be James and the Giant Peach. The school's sewing kits were hopeless, so we resorted to collages using different fabrics.

Some of the children had not read enough of the book at that point, so I suggested changing the project to their favourite Roald Dahl book. The teacher agreed.

The results were fantastic and showed the children's creativity. Roald Dahl wasn't a particularly nice person, but his books are very present in children's lives in the UK. They like a tale with a twist and seem to enjoy being frightened!

I miss having contact with young people. Having a mixed bunch of 8-year-olds mobbing you with their ideas definitely keeps you young!

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of their artwork. These were the most popular books:

James and the Giant Peach

The Big Friendly Giant

The Enormous Crocodile

George's Marvellous Medicine

Dirty Beasts