I have another reason for getting the kids to color these drawings. It helps them to remember the names of these organs. If you just look at the drawings, the names of the parts may not stick in your mind. If you spend time coloring the parts, you have to pay attention. You're more likely to remember their names. These are important parts of the body. It's worth a little effort to learn their names. While everyone is coloring, we talk about slang words. People don't alwats use the medical names for these body parts. They sometimes use slang words.

The boys in the back row of my very first puberty class were walking dictionaries of slang. Whenever I said "penis'' or "vagina'' out loud, their brains would buzz and hum with dozens of slang words. It was too much for them to keep to themselves. Leaning out of their seats, they flapped their arms, playfully punching each other. Gleefully, they whispered these "bad'' words out loud proved into fits of wild giggling. Some of them were actually rolling around on the floor. Soon, the entire class was totally out of countrol. "Maybe,'' I thought, "I'm not cut out for this line of work.''

I might have given up teaching puberty classes then and there, but I had a sudden brainstorm. I turned to the blackboard and started to list all the slang words that were flying around the classroom. I encouraged the whole class to add to the list. Soon the blackboard was covered with slang words, and the clas was calm enough for us to go on. I'm not exactly sure why this works, but over the years, I've learned that it does. The best way to keep these words from disrupting the class is to bring them right out in the open. So while we're coloring, kids call out slang words and I list them on the blackboard. Here are some of them:

                Some Slang Words for the Penis and Testicles

Penis :

cock           peter        tool
dick            dong        frankfurter
prick           dingus     thing
schlong      dork         pecker
wee-wee    meat        dinky
wanger       pisser      penie

Testicles :

balls           cujones
nuts            things
eggs           bangers
rocks          hangers
jewels         stones
cubes         seeds
After we've listed them on the board, the class talks about these slang words. We discuss which words we'd use with a friend, with a doctor, or with our moms. We also talk about people's reactions to slang words. Some prople object to these words. They may get upset if they hear you using them. You may or may not care about upsetting people in this way. But you should at least be aware that many people find slang words offensive.