The star that went to the sky

The star that went to the sky...

One day John showed a star in our morning meeting that he had created out of "melty" beads in the classroom. John had carefully arranged many tiny beads on a star-shaped template, which the teacher then ironed, resulting in a solid object that John strung onto a necklace. He was very proud of his star.

Jeremy saw the star and exclaimed, "Now it can go live in the sky!"

Seeing this comment as a foundation for a great story, I invited several children, including Jeremy and John, to write a story about a star going to live in the sky.

Here is the story that unfolded:

It started as a circle. 

And then it slowly started to melt...and it started to grow a circle... and it has points! 

It exploded into stardust!

Stars are made out of stardust!

It went all the way down to the bottom of the sky.

The star saw a man sinking into a river.
 

He saved his life!

The man bravely hugged the side of the river.

The star lifted him out.

The man was too heavy and he dropped him into the river!

The man lifted himself up.

The star made him into a constellation in the sky...because that's where people go from the river.

He's mad at the star.

He wanted to stay in his house with his family.

The end.
(By John, Jeremy, Logan, Pierce, and Tucker)

I love the complexity of this story: the authors begin their narrative with a creation story about the star, then add a human element with the man in danger in the river. The story concludes with the man feeling angry about being taken away from Earth (but perhaps the star was happy to have him in the sky?) Everyone was satisfied with the conclusion: after all, not all stories end happily. In fact, the authors utilize similar mechanics found in Greek or Roman mythology- a plot which includes human struggle, supernatural intervention, and a conflicted, bittersweet ending. Maybe ancient myths are actually stories invented by children, and amended by adults (because let's be honest, some myths have very grown-up themes!) It's not hard to tap into a child's deep understanding of the human condition; it's present and ready to be shared. We just have to take the time to listen.