The activity in class today was very interesting. We popcorned reading a few sentences from our chosen letters. The first time we were told to just listen. But the second time, the goal was to find similarities or connections between what we were reading. The first thing that came to mind was how similar it was to attending camp. Going to camp, for 7 summers straight, for two months at a time was the best “yes” ever. There were activities, clubs, sport teams with competitions, arts and crafts, even trends. I remember a few letters mentioning how the newest craze was creating artificial flowers.
Contrary to what I initially thought the letters’ tone would be, the children wrote with a predominately animated tone. Occasionally, the children would briefly mention a boring task that was more or less their job. For example, my child, Tetsuzo (Ted) Hirasaki, worked as a barber. Another instance is when Ted was writing about his “Block” making it to the top 4 with the League in softball, then briefly mentioned a severe dust storm that “blotted out the stars above” later that night. Why did the children all collectively talk about the cheerful moments in great detail, but vaguely talk about the bad? Was it to not worry Miss Breed? Themselves? Or both?
I think that my “aha” moment was the shared gratitude by the children for Miss Breed sending them gifts like candy, books, or things that they specifically asked for, with the inclusion of money in the envelope. Not my child specifically, but I heard a couple other classmates’ children apologizing for being so reliant and needy. They were constantly expressing how grateful they were for Miss Breed.
