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Wednesday, September 29, 2004

School days 

I think I should declare this education week. Not only did I cover Bunnah's Sunday School class this past and will cover it this coming Sunday, but I also gave her the first local history lecture today. Okay, maybe that's not quite an accomplishment, seeing how she's in second grade. Basically, since I'm the history affecianado of the family and since I bought and read Seattle's Beacon Hill earlier this year, Noodles asked me to handle the local history unit of this year's curriculum. Now the real teachers I know always prepare for classes and have their materials in order. I've been meaning to do that all week. I managed to pull the book from the shelf and look at the pitures this weekend. But the actual selection and research of today's site occurred over breakfast this morning. But despite it all, we had a good lesson. We took our family walk by the Rizal bridge on the north end of Beacon Hill and I was able to show Bunnah (and Poodlepums, who was eavesdropping) the old pictures and describe how folks had cut a big gouge through the hill and extended Beacon Hill's "beach" into the sound. Now I've got to come up with 11 more sites to visit. That will be a challenge, since our neighborhood is not particularly notable. But I don't think it's an impossible task.

Wrangling the Sunday School class, now, that's another matter. I really appreciate my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. B, these days. She was a nice person, but had very little ability to control the class when we got bratty. I've discovered that I'm like her. One unruly child I can handle, but when I've got two or more creating mischief, teaching goes out the window and crowd control becomes the order of the day. And that's only with 4 kids in the class! I'm tempted to blame the bulk of it on the oldest kid, Mo, who seems to have a need to attract attention to her little misdeeds. Her sister, Laurie, is then quick to join in, either in imitation or by taking the mischief in a different direction. Ideally, we would have separate classes for the kids--one for Mo and Bunnah, one for the younger Laurie and Kylie--but teachers willing and/or capable of teaching the younger set are hard to come by. Ah, well. In some parts of the world, teachers are getting shot at, so I suppose I can't whine too loudly. I'll just gird my loins and prepare Sunday's lesson. (And pray fervently that nothing happens to the kids' regular teacher.)