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Mahbuba loves recess. Sitting in front of an overstuffed toy bin, the 6-year-old Afghan girl picks out a small collection of wooden dolls. She gives each doll a name that she signs with her hands.
A year ago, this level of play was unthinkable. Pushing back her royal blue headscarf, Mahbuba begins moving the dolls across a two-dimensional playground that she’s sketched on a notepad. In a busy daytime scene, two dolls fight over the swingset, a drama she relates through pantomime. Another kid sits on the bench. Mahbuba, who was born deaf, is fastidious in her telling — every character is introduced and their plot arc complete.
Mahbuba moves two figurines across the page and places them on a series of drawn squares meant to represent a school climbing wall. Oops, one falls, a fumble she illustrates by plopping the doll face first on the page. She then holds her hands up to her eyes and shimmies her fingers down her face. The boy, she communicates with a mournful look in her eyes, is crying.
A year ago, this level of play was unthinkable. Pushing back her royal blue headscarf, Mahbuba begins moving the dolls across a two-dimensional playground that she’s sketched on a notepad. In a busy daytime scene, two dolls fight over the swingset, a drama she relates through pantomime. Another kid sits on the bench. Mahbuba, who was born deaf, is fastidious in her telling — every character is introduced and their plot arc complete.
Mahbuba moves two figurines across the page and places them on a series of drawn squares meant to represent a school climbing wall. Oops, one falls, a fumble she illustrates by plopping the doll face first on the page. She then holds her hands up to her eyes and shimmies her fingers down her face. The boy, she communicates with a mournful look in her eyes, is crying.
The year Mahbuba found her voice
Posted from wbez.org
Afghanistan
Immigration
Refugees
Children
Chicago
Posted 5 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel thanks for sharing...
..."Mahbuba moves two figurines across the page and places them on a series of drawn squares meant to represent a school climbing wall. Oops, one falls, a fumble she illustrates by plopping the doll face first on the page. She then holds her hands up to her eyes and shimmies her fingers down her face. The boy, she communicates with a mournful look in her eyes, is crying.
As she narrates, Mahbuba dexterously weaves between drawing, imaginative play and American Sign Language (ASL), building a theatrical, pocket-sized world that is both exacting and slightly berserk. The 45-minute saga ends when a pink doll, one she’s chosen as her own avatar, gets on the bus home.
When she finishes, Mahbuba leans back in her chair. She holds up both her hands and spreads her fingers apart, the sign for “finished.”
In a matter of seconds, she’s returned to her storyboard and delves into another tale, one that unfolds in the lunchroom. While the insatiable second grader has a seemingly limitless appetite for story, Mahbuba’s ability to tell them is relatively new. Before landing in Chicago, Mahbuba had never told such a story. She’d never recited any kind of story at all."...
..."Mahbuba moves two figurines across the page and places them on a series of drawn squares meant to represent a school climbing wall. Oops, one falls, a fumble she illustrates by plopping the doll face first on the page. She then holds her hands up to her eyes and shimmies her fingers down her face. The boy, she communicates with a mournful look in her eyes, is crying.
As she narrates, Mahbuba dexterously weaves between drawing, imaginative play and American Sign Language (ASL), building a theatrical, pocket-sized world that is both exacting and slightly berserk. The 45-minute saga ends when a pink doll, one she’s chosen as her own avatar, gets on the bus home.
When she finishes, Mahbuba leans back in her chair. She holds up both her hands and spreads her fingers apart, the sign for “finished.”
In a matter of seconds, she’s returned to her storyboard and delves into another tale, one that unfolds in the lunchroom. While the insatiable second grader has a seemingly limitless appetite for story, Mahbuba’s ability to tell them is relatively new. Before landing in Chicago, Mahbuba had never told such a story. She’d never recited any kind of story at all."...
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