I thought I would share this really cute story with you guys since 
there isn't much to chat about today.
	As some of you may know, my parental unit is a childrens librarian in 
a very underprivileged elementary school. Although it is in Maryland (but 
about 4 blocks from the DC border) it has 95% of their students on free or 
reduced lunch (translation to the non-Americans on the list....  Very 
destitute) Many of the students are recent arrivals from other countries and 
they are struggling very hard with learning a new language, culture etc. Many 
times there is one parent, many siblings, no money and therefore these kids 
sometimes have shoes 2 sizes too small and only 3 sets of clothes to wear. I 
never realized that most of these kids have never even seen a river or oceans 
up close. They want to learn and see these things so badly, yet, don't have 
the opportunity to go.  Well, enough about their situation, let's get to the 
good part grin*.  Last week I was asked to create a display in the library of 
sealife and shells. This is something they do every year, but many years, it 
has just involved fish, whales and a few various shells that they couldn't 
touch. Well this year I decided to change that a bit *grin*. On one of the 
tables, I dumped 2 bags of beach stuff that I collected the first time I ever 
went to Sanibel (ya know the feeling.... Pick Up EVERYTHNG you see *Grin*). 
Then I added a bunch of the "good stuff" from there, things with out holes, 
beautiful color, etc. It looked exactly like one of the shell mounds on the 
island. On other counter tops, I put a few large Busycons, Strombuses, 
Haliotises, and a variety of other stuff. I also put out a few seastars, 
urchins, coral pieces that I found on the beach and some sand from Ocean City 
NJ (good sand for the toes *grin*) 
	Well, to make a long story short, the kids went NUTS over these 
wonderful things they had never seen or felt before. I felt so bad because I 
didn't have enough to give them each a shell that was decent (i'll get it 
next year though) The amazing thing was that every single kid wanted to pick 
up a conch or large whelk and "hear the ocean" in it. This was so kewl. I was 
out of town all week, so my mother and some of the teachers kept a tally of 
the things that were said and heard. 
 
	Presenting:
 The Top Ten Things Overheard While 5-8 year olds "Listened" to Seashells. 
 
10)  OOOOOoooohhh you really can hear the ocean!
9)    I hear my heartbeat, Kewl.
8)    I hear Mrs. Houston's Class and they aren't using their indoor voices.
7)    That's not your heartbeat stupid, that's the ocean.  DUHHHHHH!!!
6)    I hear my cat scratching the furniture
5)    I hear leaves being raked
4) I don't hear anything. This sucks!!  {This was really said by a 5yr old]
3) I hear traffic going down the road at night.
2) I hear crying. [Well he did, some kid was screaming his head off in 
another part of the building]
 
And the Number 1 thing over heard while 5-8 year olds were listening to 
seashells….
 
1)   I hear the Toilet Flushing. (millions of giggles from the classmates 
followed) 
 
 
 
Have a good weekend.
 
- Sarah 
 
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Sarah Watson                               
Silver Spring MD                            
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" One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can only 
collect a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few. "
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh