soap carvings

Carvings of soap or radishes was a big part of "Becoming Naomi Leon" by Pam Munoz Ryan. Apparently, reading about Oazacan wood carvings was where Ryan had her inspiration to write the book in the first place. She says, "I came across a one-line reference to the Night of the Radishes. The event sounded so magical I knew I had to see it. In 1997, on the 100th Anniversary of La Noche de los Rabanos, I visited the romantic and mysterious Oaxaca City, a feast of colors, tastes, pageantry, and festivals. When I began writing Naomi's story and she evolved into a soap carver, my imagination rushed me back to Oaxaca. Or was it Oaxaca's spell that first mesmerized me, and inspired the lioness, Naomi León?"

source: http://www.pammunozryan.com/naomi.html

I personally have never carved anything out of soap or radishes or.. out of material. I've thought about it before. I think it would be really cool. But I wouldn't even know where to begin. It actually seems really hard, and rather intimidating. So I looked up how to do it. The Ivory soap website really breaks it down for newbies.

What You’ll Need to Begin
Soap carving can be simple and inexpensive. You’ll need:
• A large bar of Ivory soap – Ivory's shape and texture are ideal for carving
• A paring knife
• 1-2 orangewood sticks used for manicures
• Pencil and paper for sketching
• Optional – Large tray to hold soap chips from carving Unwrap the soap and let it dry for a day. Scrape off the lettering and any raised edges before beginning.

1. Developing Your Design
Begin with a simple design. Start with solid, basic shapes with simple cuts or extensions. Sketch your idea on paper first.

2. From Design to Soap Carving
• If you have a clear mental picture of your idea or have carved before, you can begin by carving directly on the soap.
• Or, you can use the orangewood stick to outline a rough sketch on each surface before you carve.
• Beginners may want to sketch or use a pre-existing pattern on paper and trace it onto the soap.

3. Begin with Rough Cuts
The actual carvings begin with rough cuts that remove the large parts of the soap not necessary for your design.
• Place the soap on the table or tray.
• If you are right-handed, hold the soap with your left hand and start cutting at the upper right-hard corner. (If left-handed, use the opposite hand.)
• Leave about 1/4" margin beyond your outlined sketch to allow for mistakes and more detailed work later.
• Cut clear through the bar, removing excess soap all the way around.
• ALWAYS CUT AWAY ONLY SMALL PIECES OR SLICES. Soap often breaks if cut in big chunks.
4. Adding the Details
• After the first cuts, you may find it more comfortable to use the knife as if peeling a potato. Continue to stay 1/8" to 1/4" away from your sketch guidelines to allow for finer work later.
• As you work, keep turning the soap, always keeping the shape of the piece in mind. Step back from time to time to look at the entire piece.
• Watch your high points -- those that jut out farthest from the surface -- and your low points -- those farthest in.
• Carve gradually from the high points toward the deepest cuts. Your knife point is useful for this.
• Don't try to finish any one part in detail before another.
• When the piece is almost finished, smooth rough edges with the knife’s edge and mark in details like eyes or ears with the knife tip or an orangewood stick.


5. Polishing
• Allow your sculpture to dry for a day or two.
• Then, rub it with a soft paper napkin, being careful not to break off corners or high points.
• Finish by rubbing it gently with finger tops or palm.


SOURCE: http://www.ivory.com/PureFun_IvoryProjects_SoapCarvingTips.htm

Project Mulberry

After reading Project Mulberry, I noticed how much of an influence other children have on students. From my understanding, the only reason Julia did not want to do Silkworms as her project was because it was 'too Korean.' The children had already called her different names and had even been rude when it came to the different smells of her house. When one of Julia's friends came over her house she boldly asked Julia what that sick smell was. "The first time she came over to play, she stopped dead in the entryway and said, 'Eww! What's that smell (Pg. 2)?" All because of this girl and two of her other friends Julia began despising her own culture. It just goes to show you how just one simple sentence a friend says can make children question their own identity. It's impressive how much an impact children have on other children. I thought the book showed a good representation of how she overcame the negative comments told to her.

talking about diversity

I found this website about talking diversity issues with children (when you feel most uncomfortable).

Don’t assume that the statement isn’t coming from an experiential basis.

Talk to your child about the similarities and differences between themselves and others.

Educate yourself and model openness to learning about cultural assumptions and characteristics.

Pay attention to your own conscious and unconscious stereotypes and behaviors.

Expose your child to cultural traditions as part of their typical experience.

Don’t make or share assumptions based on media or isolated experiences alone.

Practice talking and explaining cultural characteristics and answers to your child.

source: http://www.alliancefordiversity.org/resources/handout_talkingwithchildren.shtml

I think this class is really amazing because it exposes us to books that we normally may have never been exposed to. During class there are topics that come up that make some of us uncomfortable. As teachers, we can't always know what topics are going to come up in the classroom. There is a very good chance a topic will come up that makes us uncomfortable, but I think that makes discussing such a topic all the more important. We need to be exposed to all sorts of topics on diversity, we need to research them and become knowledgeable on them, so that we can effectively talk about it with our children, our students. I think this list from the alliance ford diversity website is really helpful. I like how it points out that we need to pay attention to our own inner stereotypes and behaviors, unconscious or not. Lord forbid we pass on any stereotypes or negative behaviors to our children or students. The best way to expose our children/students to topics of diversity is by.. drum roll please... TALKING to them. By talking with them we can answer their questions, their doubts, and clear up any misconceptions before these things develop into negative stereotypes. Children watch tv and read magazines, and these forms of media can offer really negative/untrue images. These biased points of view need to be explained to our students/children so that they can identify these views as being untrue, and therefore be able challenge the views portrayed by the media on their own.

Salvador Late or Early

Salvador Late or Early, by Sandra Cisneros

"Salvador with eyes the color of caterpillar, Salvador of the crooked hair and crooked teeth, Salvador whose name the teacher cannot remember, is a boy who is no one’s friend, runs along somewhere in that vague direction where homes are the color of bad weather, lives behind a raw wood doorway, shakes the sleepy brothers awake, ties their shoes, combs their hair with water, feeds them milk and cornflakes from a tin cup in the dim dark of the morning. Salvador, late or early, sooner or later arrives with the string of younger brothers ready. Helps his mama, who is busy with the business of the baby. Tugs the arms of Cecilio, Arturito, makes them hurry, because today, like yesterday, Arturito has dropped the cigar box of crayons, has let go the hundred little fingers of red, green, yellow, blue, and nub of black sticks that tumble and spill over and beyond the asphalt puddles until the crossing-guard lady holds back the blur of traffic for Salvador to collect them again.Salvador inside that wrinkled shirt, inside the throat that must clear itself and apologize each time it speaks, inside that forty-pound body of boy with its geography of scars, its history of hurt, limbs stuffed with feathers and rags, in what part of the eyes, in what part of the heart, in that cage of the chest where something throbs with both fists and knows only what Salvador knows, inside that body too small to contain the hundred balloons of happiness, the single guitar of grief, is a boy like any other disappearing out the door, beside the schoolyard gate, where he has told his brothers they must wait. Collects the hands of Cecilio and Arturito, scuttles off dodging the many schoolyard colors, the elbows and wrists crisscrossing, the several shoes running. Grows small and smaller to the eye, dissolves into the bright horizon, flutters in the air before disappearing like a memory of kites. "

I really like this poem. To me it is about poverty, and how kids can get lost in the cracks of the education system. It is about how we as teachers don't always know the life of our students outside the classroom. To me, the crayons represent how Salvador is depended on to pick up all the pieces, the fallen pieces, of his family. Salvador bears scars but has "limbs stuffed with feathers". He is still fragile. Life is forcing him to mature fast, but he is still a child. Salvador wants happiness. His chest "throbs with both fists"- he's fighting to hold on to keep from falling further behind, into the cracks. Salvador is going to do his best to get that bright future, and he's taking his brothers with him. When I read the line, "Grows small and smaller to the eye, dissolves into the bright horizon, flutters in the air before disappearing like a memory of kites." it makes me feel like it is getting harder and harder to save Salvador, or kids like Salvador, with each day that passes. As teachers we want to give our students that bright future they deserve.. Is it too LATE to help kids like Salvador? Or by opening our eyes can we catch these students EARLY enough to save them from falling into the cracks.. I certainly pray it is the former.