My husband is a flight attendent and at times has to fly standby to get home after a few days of work. The other day, he came home and he had that “airplane” smell. It is kind of the smell of tin or metal mixed with a new car smell. As soon as I breathed in the scent, my memories floated to my first airplane trip when as a young girl, my family visited my aunt and uncle in Hawaii. My mind drifted back to the stories my Aunt told me of King Kamehameha, the first sovereign of the Hawaiin Islands, and the Legend of the Menehune.

The Menehune were a mischievious group of small people who lived in the forests and valleys of Hawaii,  before the first settlers arrived from Polynesia. I remember my aunt telling me how the Menehune would play tricks on people and even could shoot arrows into the hearts of angry people in order to change their anger to love. It was said that the Menehune disappeared after the islands were settled. However, my aunt said that sometimes traces of the Menehune can be seen throughout Hawaii….

When these memories came to mind, I smiled. They are fond memories and were all triggered by a certain smell. I wonder what types of memories and other sensations, are triggered for our students when they see, hear, touch, and smell certains things in school and in our classrooms. The sense of smell can be a powerful trigger. In addition, storytelling can be a powerful teacher.