Do you know who said that a little foolishness now and then is relished by the wisest men? My friends and I never fdiscovered the name of the person who gave us that pithy statement. However, when it was time for pranks or fun, we basked in the idea that even wise men like foolishness. Do you agree?

But some people are serious and have no time for fun. Stand up comedians would have to work hard to get  even a  brief smile from their visage. But,ever since the day I stumbled across joie de vivre  I liked it, even though my knowledge of French is limited. Some contradict the idea that life is a game. But, I realize that laughter is good medicine whether you are a spectator or active participant in life. Thus, when I received a nonsense poem as an assignment years ago, I pulled out all the stops of my.creativity,grabbed a pen and worked feverishly to create a poem.

The Choodle

There was once a choodle

That is the cross between a poodle

And a hen. It was a funny dink

The deep rich color of sunrise pink.

It was so human and so tame

That it even walked with the aid of a cane.

And it possesed the special trait

Of knowing how to roller skate.

It was last seen at the mall

Where it had a fatal fall..

Now nonsense does not have to be stupidity, Do you know how many children grew up reading about green eggs and ham? The author is a respected person in literary circles. Thenm there is Ogden Nash  and others who use humor to stimulate thought. The rhythm,style and rhyme capture the attention so  much  that at the end you realize you have enjoyed nonsense! When I first tried my nonsense poem, it was with a class of students who were starved and needed to receive literary nourishment. Many of them were gifted in art; but getting them to write a clear grammatically correct sentence was a struggle. My teaching gift is focused on such students; and I will go to any extent to get them to achieve the goal of clear, precise and concise writing. getting them to become marathon writers would come later.The immediate goal was getting them to write something- even nonsense.

My Language lesson began with the choodle.Could they visualize such a hybrid animal? These hybrids are now called morphs, I am told. Thus, I provided each student with plain paper and sharpened pencils. They could have as much paper as was needed; and I had extra sharpeners if they could not find their own. A choodle creates pensive students.Was this creature more a poodle or a hen or more hen than poodle? Did it have a poodle head or the head of a hen? Since it could walk with a cane would it have four legs or two legs? Did it rollerskate while using a cane; or had it mastered that skill and needed no support? My student had to answer these questions; and they did it through art. Whole language saved me,providing a license.

Well, the choodle came alive in my classroom that day. No two students provided the same image though each drawing had common features. The choodle had to have hen's legs in order to roller skate or use a cane. Some preferred to have a predominantly poodle choodle while others tried the hen balance. The drawing that I liked best had the choodle  standing upright  like a proud creature. I have a folder of choodle  drawings, some from honour and college bound students as well as the reluctant average and below average artist.How I cherish each interpretation of my nonsense! I also encouraged more nonsense poetry as well as accompanying art. The choodle lesson proved to be the most popular and memorable lesson for each group. Surely, even foolishness can be  relished by all!