After writing an extremely thorough essay of last Wednesday (and loosing it), I find that I am forcing myself to do it a second time around. Perfect in so many ways, the day deserves to be recorded, though.
Firstly, Mary, I laughed so hard at many of your “captions” for the photos, but my very favorite had me laughing out loud: “We showed the white man popcorn...he showed us juice in a bag. Ahhh...it warms the heart to make a good trade.”
As guessed, Grant had an American Indian event at school. His class has been studying many of the tribes culminating in last week’s Pow Wow with the first grade. Lucky me, this highly anticipated event was also open for parents to attend. Quite a bit of effort was put into the details: songs, dances, masks (raffia and paper plates), “wampum” belts (made of
rigatoni), beaded necklaces, painted faces, and fringed T-shirts painted with pictographs (“travel swiftly by night over the mountains and to the lake”). And it became evident rather quickly that they had actually learned while putting all of this together; the teachers quizzed their students verbally around the fire (“Where did the Iroquois live?” “What was the significance of the wampum belt?” …) and the responses were quick. It was so exciting for me to see the learning taking place and Grant absorbing it all independent of me.
How he acts at school is fascinating to me. I know him better than anyone, but haven’t a clue what his temperament is when I am not around. He can be really energetic; is he a distraction? He is a rather quick learner at home; does he get bored in a class with other kids? When I am around, he tends to mind his manners; does he remember to be polite without Mommy’s urging? He is a very good eater at our table; does he eat the “healthy stuff” if I don’t ask him to? I found that he does alright, certainly isn’t the most distracting child, but probably not the most serene either. He skips on some of the bits of his lunch, but not all the time. And my manners question was answered directly by the teacher’s assistant for his room. She sought me out at the Pow Wow for the specific purpose of telling me Grant is “always so polite and thankful”. She went on for a few minutes about how it warmed her heart that he had stopped while on the playground to walk up to her and thank her for something that happened earlier in the day. It probably goes without saying, but I felt so proud at that moment and I thanked her for telling me.
Doing the homeschool academy was a prayed through decision. NEVER did I think I would find myself in this position. Certain aspects of this arrangement made me nervous, and had me slightly scared. But, ultimately, in February I knew that it was the right thing for our family and for this child of mine for this year. So we jumped in and registered him just before the cutoff. And here we are “homeschooling” our child part-time. He is learning a great deal and it would appear to be going well. But that day, last Wednesday, I felt complete peace. God encouraged me at that Pow Wow, firming my resolve to go this route and confirming for me that this had been the perfect decision.
It wasn’t just the compliment about Grant’s manners, it was simply being there and watching and being allowed the privilege of participating in my child’s education. Having Dean and Lael, has made me feel limited in terms of volunteering and getting involved at the Academy. Surely they would be a distraction, I thought, and I would be quietly requested to stay at home or find a babysitter. I mean, I’ve heard stories about how “school” works. But this was amazing! Don’t get me wrong, I can’t be a Room Parent with two little ones in tow, but the siblings are treated with love just as the students are. People wanted to hold Lael. Dean was offered to taste some of the Indian food. I wasn’t scowled at when Lael made a peep- instead, she was smiled at and a staff member whispered to me “I love that stage”. After the Big Event was over, Dean and I swept up the crumbs together while the students went outside for photographs around one of the tipis. Later, Dean was invited to go play on the playground. It was so completely freeing that I nearly cried there in the gorgeous fall sunlight.
The early part of the day, before going to the Pow Wow, was pretty perfect also. We dropped Grant at school and ran around the Cool Springs area until it was time to drive back to the academy. Grant’s school days have become special for Dean and me; we get to have one on one time (plus Lael- but she is just so easygoing right now that it doesn’t really get in the way). I didn’t have any big errands, but stopped at Target for a few items. It was so nice to stroll without noise. When the boys are together, there is just more noise. We left there and went to
Krispy Kreme. He picked out a sprinkled doughnut (what kid doesn’t?!) and I asked for the seasonal Pumpkin Spice cake doughnut. We made sure to nab a table near the viewing window and enjoyed our selections. Dean was all smiles as he ate one sprinkle at a time and after about twenty individually consumed sprinkles, I suggested he take a bite. A real bite. He did, but then went back to the one sprinkle at a time thing. It was funny and cute and memorable. In the end, I had to help him with a few bites or we would have sat there for hours. The highlight was standing in front of the famous conveyor belt/ river/ waterfall setup and seeing his face as he put together what was happening. Clearly his favorite part was when the half-cooked doughnuts went through a tunnel and were flipped in the oil river to cook the other side. Each time, we’d anticipate the next circle of dough to go through (“here’s another one!”) and would say “sploop” and giggle as they splashed. We declined on the hot “samples” (seriously, a whole doughnut is not a “sample”.) but they smelled amazing. Next, we went to the mall and walked around. I’m not a mall person, but it was so nice to just stroll with my little guy holding my hand that I forgot where I was. Saw the animals in the pet store window ate lunch and then hit the road for school; both kids were asleep in the two minutes it took to get to
New Song. And we were a bit early so I knit on my
Ribbi Cardi (I only have one sleeve and some finishing to do!) while I allowed them some time to snooze in their carseats.
[Pow]Wow, what a perfect day!
