The Power of the Pen

I loved Wednesday writing time at the Jeremiah Project this year! It was so very good for me and the JP kids.

It’s incredible how our relationships have changed. I feel like I have respected what they have written and that they have grown to trust me more and more with their ideas, even their own creative capacity.

I write comments on their work. My comments look for the good in their writing. My desire is that the comments would be true statements about them, that they believe what I have written about them to be true, that they are creative and capable, and good and that I love them, but REALLY love them. Just as I have believed as well. And to accept and promote their good traits/aspects has freed me up to accept my own as well.

Some JP kids said their writing had improved and their ability to express themselves and their ideas, opinions and emotions. That who they were came out in their writing, even how they were feeling. At some point in the later part of the year, I told the kids I would start correcting their spelling and punctuation.

At the end of the year, Petrona said she wasn’t a good writer because she didn’t spell very well. I was happy to tell her my opinion that her writing was good. That she is funny, creative and can incorporate dialogue in her stories very well. That her stories also follow a sequence and have a lesson to be learned. That she also had been very honest and communicated her experiences and opinions well. And that yes, her spelling could improve but that was only a minor part of her writing.

I enjoyed greatly reading their writing and making comments on their papers. I loved to see them run to their cubbies and pull out their folders to read what I had written. Some even wrote responses to my comments!

I remember the day Moises noticed the comments. He saw someone else reading my comment on their writing assignment from the week before and he immediately scolded me because he didn’t have comments on his. I told him he did have comments he just had to look his prior assignments to read them, as I came over to his table and pulled out his prior assignments. Then I big smile came across Moises’ face as read and realized, He too, had affirming comments on his work.

We wrote about the love languages one time. I found out Lesly’s love language is receiving gifts. I decided to give her a pair of ear rings. She was pleasantly surprised and ask me why the gift. I said, "Because I love you." She smiled and said, "No really, why?" I said, "That's it, just because I love you." Her eyes teared up a little and she gave me a big hug.