When No One is Looking...

On Friday of the first week of camp, thunder storms were rolling through Chicago and Evanston, so we couldn't go to the beach. Although we were disappointed, we were ready with games, writing, and a good book (The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish). For our writing time, we looked at Andrew Fusek's Last Night I Saw the City Breathing, and talked about what he says happens when most of the city isn't paying attention. I asked the students to write their own stories or poems about one room in their house, and what happens in there when no one is looking! The results were magical; maybe even worth missing the beach!

This Afternoon, My Den Came to Life
by Zinnia S.

This afternoon, my den came
to life. The TV burst out
singing. This afternoon, my
chair walked its dog (the
couch) around a village of
people and magical
creatures. The door rocked
its baby Windows to sleep.
And the pictures on the
wall had a conversation. The
birds were watching the
radiator do hula hooping.
This afternoon, my den came
to life when I went to
camp.


My Bathroom Breathing
by Ronni L.

My bathtub would come
to life. A scary shark
would come out of my
bathtub. Potato
bugs would come
crawling out of the
toilet. Buckets come
running out of
the drain in the
sink. Water comes
pouring out of the
sink pipes. The shower
would automatically
grow a body!


At Midday, I Saw the Kitchen Laughing
by Caelen B.

At midday, I saw the
kitchen laughing, sinks spraying
water with joy, towels waving
in the air, the lights
flickering on and off,
off and on, and off and on,
the tiles telling jokes to
the legs of the island,
the PB and J spreads itself
on bread with giggles, the fridge
smiles at the microwave
the banana threatens
the apple with
laughs and tickles.


Last Night, I Saw My Bedroom Breathing
by Tilda S.

Last night, my bed was talking in a low voice and my rocking chair was talking back to it in a high and low voice. The chair that goes with the art table was spinning in circles, dancing. The table was sleeping. The little pink dresser on top of the dresser was opening its drawers showing what’s inside: in the bottom drawer, there are lots of fake dollars and coins; in the top drawer, there is my special silver necklace that my Grandma gave me; in the middle drawer, half of my friendship eraser. Danny’s bed was fast asleep. My pillows were bending and stretching. When I go inside my closet to hide, my clothes were dancing. The lights were talking in flashes.


If My Room Came to Life
by Cecilia G.

If my room came alive
my rocking chair would rock.
The bunk beds I share with my sister
would be dancing.
The pillows would be having
their own pillow fight.
The sheets would be waving
like the waves.

The closet door would be
opening and closing.
The dress up chest would
be popping up at the end.


My Bedroom, ALIVE!
by Madeline D.

It all started out when I was in my room with Marcy, my dog, on my bed. It was thunder storming. Then I went downstairs to get a snack. But everybody was gone. “Mom, Dad, Sammy – where are you?” I said, actually kind of yelled. “You don’t need ya old Papa, or ya old Mama,” a voice said from upstairs. “Who is that?” I said. “Your old bedroom door,” it said. I charged upstairs to see who it was. I thought maybe it was Sammy playing a trick on me. But it wasn’t.

It was my bedroom door. “Hi. I’m your uncle.” it said. “No, you’re not,” I said. My door had eyes and a nose and big mouth. “Angus, what do you think we should – oh, you have that little girl that always sleeps on me,” said my bed. “You talk too!” I said. “We can too! We can too!” said my pillows.

Then, I actually looked in my room. All of my things were jumping around! Even the dog bed! then my windows said, “They’re coming!” Everything was still. Absolutely still. The pillows stopped automatically pillow fighting. My desk chair stopped spinning. My dog bed stopped jumping around. the front door opened. It was my mom, dad, and Sammy. When I told them about the party in my bedroom, none of them believed me! Then I walked to my room, and my bedroom door winked.