Ka Nalu. Malia Rossetti. Story and Art by. Mālama Honua Digital Storybook Series Gloria Y. Niles, Ph.D. (Editor) University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu

Transcription

1 Ka Nalu Story and Art by Malia Rossetti Mālama Honua Digital Storybook Series Gloria Y. Niles, Ph.D. (Editor) University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu

2 Summary Finally old enough to join his uncle in the water, Kaleo receives a surfboard to enjoy the waves. But surfing turns out to be harder than it looks. With the help of his Uncle Kawika and the skills Uncle Kawika teaches him, Kaleo is able to learn how to surf and how to keep the beach safe for everyone. This story was written with the Nā Hopena Aʻo Framework in mind. In this story, you will read about values related to Belonging, Responsibility, Excellence, Aloha, Total Well-Being, and Hawaiʻi.

3 Mom, please tell me what my surprise is! Hurrying us into the car, mom put Nani, my little sister, into her car seat and buckled her in. If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it? She always said stuff like that.

4 We drove past all the fun places to go: the arcade, the mall, even the movie theater. Tall coconut trees appeared outside the car window. Mom rolled down the window and I could smell salt in the air. The beach! I cried out. I bet today we re spending all day at the beach, just the three of us.

5 Mom parked the car and I ran around to the other side where Mom was getting out of the car. She went and stood next to Nani s open window, and when I looked at them, I saw that they weren t wearing clothes to swim in. I was the only one wearing clothes for swimming.

6 I asked, Are you leaving me at the beach today? Mom giggled and said, No, son. You re going to be spending the day with-- A shout interrupted her from the beach.

7 Eh, Kaleo! Why you giving me that side eye for? Come here, give me hugs! It was Uncle Kawika, Mom s brother. I ran up to him and gave him a hug. For once, he wasn t wet. Didn t you get in the water, Uncle?

8 He patted my head and said, I would have, but there was something I had to watch on the beach for you. Go check um out. I looked at mom and she nodded, so I hugged her goodbye and I took off down the beach.

9 Not too far from the parking lot were two surfboards lying on the sand. One belonged to Uncle Kawika, and the other one was much smaller. I had never seen it before. So, what do you think, boy? Do you like it? Go, pick it up and see how it feels!

10 I had been waiting for this day forever. Mom always told me that I wasn t big enough to surf with Uncle Kawika. I ran to the board, picked it up, and immediately ran into the water.

11 The board hit the water hard and I flopped on top of it, hitting my chin. I started paddling the way I always see Uncle Kawika do, and for the first few seconds, I didn t move. No matter how hard I moved my arms, I couldn t move the board through the water.

12 I heard splashing behind me, and Uncle Kawika paddled next to me. How s it, Kaleo? he said, pulling the board towards him. It looks like you re having a difficult time.

13 Why can t I paddle forward? I asked him, feeling defeated. Well, what are you thinking about? asked my Uncle. Paddling forward and getting closer to the waves! I exclaimed. I didn t know why Uncle was asking me all of these questions. He was the one that got the board for me. He knows what needs to be done to really surf.

14 Uncle Kawika turned the board towards him, looked me in the eye, and said, Kaleo, instead of being focusing only on moving forward, you have to focus the things around you to truly surf.

15 There are many different things you need to look at to get to the waves. First, before we even get into the water, we have to watch the top of it and watch how the wind makes it move. This will help us find the easiest path to the waves. Since we didn t do that before you got in, you ended up getting stuck because of how the water is moving here.

16 As he spoke, Uncle Kawika pulled the board into a calmer area of water. If you don t do this before getting into the water, you make it dangerous for you and the people around you.

17 I looked around us and didn t see any other surfers nearby. In fact, the only other people at the beach were just swimming and playing in the sand. But Uncle, there aren t any other people around us. The beach is totally empty, I said. Uncle Kawika laughed.

18 Kaleo, you didn t even notice the diver that was swimming around the reef! That red floating thing means that someone is diving there, so we have to be careful not to accidentally hit them. I looked at where Uncle was pointing and saw something red floating on the water. Before I looked away, a man s head popped out of the water. Uncle was right.

19 For the rest of the time I spent with Uncle, I made sure to pay attention to the things he said. I learned how to watch the water to make sure it was safe to surf. I learned how to paddle out to the waves with his uncle. I learned how to stand on his board and balance. And finally, I caught my first wave.

20 Once I finished riding the wave, I paddled back to Uncle Kawika. I was proud of how well he did riding the wave, and Uncle Kawika was too. You re a natural! He exclaimed. Then, we surfed a little while longer.

21 Uncle Kawika decided it was time to take a break, so we brought our boards out of the water and laid them on the sand. Uncle grabbed a water bottle and a musubi out of his bag and handed them to me, and we ate lunch. As we ate, I noticed some younger kids playing in the shallow waters.

22 They splashed and jumped and laughed together. But suddenly, I saw the top of the water change. Instead of getting stuck like I did, one of the kids drifted away on his floaty. I pointed and shouted, Uncle, look! The water! And before I knew it, Uncle was in the water, swimming towards the floaty.

23 Although she did not drift very far, the girl that had been in the floaty was crying by the time she and Uncle Kawika got back to the sand. He brought her to her parents, who were very thankful that their daughter was safe. When we got back to our spot on the beach, Uncle seemed happy.

24 Kaleo, you did very well today, and not just because you learned how to surf. You helped keep the beach and the people on the beach safe. You saw a dangerous situation and got the right help for the job. You know, nephew, I don t think today could have been any better.

25 When we were finished with lunch, mom came back to the beach to come pick me up. As we drove away, Mom asked me about my day, and I told her all about the new things I learned about the ocean, surfing, and safety. On the way home, I fell asleep and dreamt of riding the waves with Uncle Kawika again.

26 Standards HCPS III Standards: 3 and 5 Topics: Mental and Emotional Health, Personal Health and Wellness, Promoting Safety and Preventing Violence and Unintended Injury HCPS III GLO s National Health Education Standards: 4 and 7 HE Use appropriate strategies for effective verbal and nonverbal communication in formal and informal settings HE Use strategies to avoid inappropriate communication (e.g., name-calling, put-downs, and harassment) HE Know how to use appropriate non-violent strategies to deal with conflict and dispute

27 Activities Activity 1 Activity 2 Next time you and your learner go out (to the mall, the beach, hiking, where-ever), have your learner look around for potential hazards. If they find one, have them think of possible solutions on the spot. This will get them into the habit of both identifying dangerous situations and remedying dangerous situations. As a class, come together and brainstorm different situations that can make school more dangerous. Make sure to remind students that they should stop themselves from letting their imagination run rampant; we want to look at examples that are likely to happen at any time. After brainstorming hazards, have students brainstorm possible solutions/remedies to the problem. Then, have students pair up and practice notifying someone of a dangerous situation happening at school. This activity is better suited for 1 on 1 interactions outside of the classroom.