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Not long ago, while I was enthusing about my students to a friend, I was stopped by a gently lifted hand and a question: "But don't you always love your students?"

But love, I wanted to say, is particular. Love is not an undifferentiated rush. Love happens because. Because of who these young people are, because of the community they've built, because they are working proof of the power of unshackled hearts and vulnerability and the kind of imagination that becomes another way of saying compassion. I love my students. I love these students.

Last week, while posting my HuffPo essay on My Spectaculars and their expectations regarding the memoirs they read, I promised that we would soon hear from Sarah Gelbard, my graduate student who slipped into our classroom as an auditor that first day and (we're so infinitely glad) stayed. A few Tuesdays ago, I asked Sarah, who works with the Friedreich Ataxia Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, to read to the class a piece she had written for Arts Connect International, where she was recently named content editor. I've been eager, ever since, to share this complete essay with you, especially in light of, well, everything. Including this.

Here is how Sarah's piece begins:

Disability is dealt arbitrarily; it is not a welcome present. Nobody goes to the gift shop, and says, “Ankylosing spondylitis— that sounds lovely!” Or, “I’ll take a brachial plexus injury for my brother on his birthday, with the red wrapping paper, please, and a free sampling of multiple sclerosis for me.” While I did not choose cerebral palsy, I do consider myself lucky to be a part of the disabled community. Through it, I have forged valuable connections with a great many, and we are allowed singular insight into the broad spectrum of human empathy. We encounter those who judge harshly, cruelly, fast to reject apparent otherness, and those who reach out seamlessly, kindly, fast to recognize apparent humanness.

Here is how it continues. Please read this. Please share it. It matters. So does Sarah.

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In the month of July, Please Touch Museum welcomed Child Life Specialist Interns from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to learn about our mission of learning through play. PTM’s Staff partners with the interns and teaches them how they can help to bring learning opportunities back to the hospital with them.

The interns had the chance to interact with our visitors while Painting with Emergency Vehicles in the Program Room. They helped to familiarize the children with emergency vehicles, the places these vehicles bring you to and explain that the people driving them are there to help. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot too!


Learning About Elements of Art Through Play: Texture refers to the way that the surface of an object appears and can also refer to the way in which different elements of artwork come together to create an overall texture. Children build up their spatial awareness by interacting and playing with the world around them. Invite your child to explore texture and their surroundings by printing with toy cars, trucks or other vehicles. Using non-traditional materials provides a creative outlet for your child to learn about new painting tools and to play with texture.

Here's how you can bring the experience into your home:

Painting with Vehicles VROOM VROOM!


Materials:
• 3-5 Toy Vehicles that can roll
• Baking Sheet to hold paint
• Sheet of Paper
• Newspaper or tablecloth to cover workspace

Directions:
• Place newspaper or table cloth over surface you are going to use to paint on

• Place a small amount of paint (about 2-4 tablespoons) onto the baking sheet and spread around to create a thin layer of paint. When printing remember the less paint you use, the better quality print you will come out with.

• Encourage your child to choose which vehicle they would like to paint with. Ask open-ended questions about the vehicle they have chosen: What kind of vehicle is it? Who drives in it? What kind of wheels does it have? Does each of the wheels have a texture that you can see? Can you feel the texture? Do you want to paint with this car/truck?

• Invite your child to drive the vehicle through the paint then drive the vehicle around their paper. Feel free to make different shapes, zig zag and move in different directions
• Repeat the process with all you

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Each year, Please Touch Museum partners with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to train Child Life Specialists interns on what we value most here at the Children's Museum of Philadelphia: Learning through play!

CHOP: We shadow a certified Child Life Specialist to develop our clinical skills, as well as implement therapeutic activities, encourage play and normal development in the hospital, provide preparation for procedures, distraction and coping during procedures and education about medical diagnosis. We use play with the patients to help normalize the hospital environment and make sure that the child does not regress. We work with the whole family to help all those affected by a hospitalization or diagnosis cope with their health care experience.

Pinky: During your time at the museum, how have you interpreted Please Touch Museum’s mission of "learning through play?"

CHOP: As Child Life interns, we recognize that children use play to express their thoughts and feelings. Children demonstrate their understanding of their environment through play; therefore, play is an ideal avenue for education. We have found that the mission of Please Touch Museum is very similar to the roles of a Child Life Specialist because we help patients and their families understand and learn about procedures and the hospital through play.

Pinky: What kinds of activities did you participate in at the museum and how have they helped you in your own work?

CHOP: We toured the museum, met with staff, interacted with visitors in the exhibits, facilitated activities in the Program Room and participated in dramatic play and puppetry. These activities gave us a chance to work with children in a way that has reinforced our knowledge of child development and the opportunity to use play to build rapport and promote learning in a new setting. The experiences we were able to engage in have helped us bring new play ideas back into the hospital to use with the patients to provide new opportunities for play.

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This past Saturday, I visited the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to read a selection from "Lymeria" to patients.
It was really fun to be there and play with the kids. (I can't believe I lost that Care-Bear Memory Matching Game twice!)
It made me happy to know that everyone was able, if for just a few moments, to travel with me to the magical world of Lymeria.
I would like to say thank you to everyone that was there: the administration of CHOP, the staff, but especially the kids.....you know who your are...for allowing me this opportunity. I hope you enjoy the rest of the book and that Lymeria becomes a special place for you as it is for me.
I hope to come back soon. (Maybe next time I'll win that game.....)
Kristina

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