One month later . . .

OMG, it's been a month since my initial post to my new blog. Even in the Peace Corps, I generated a post at least twice a month. I'm not sure why that was, but I suspect that back here in America I am distracted by too things before I sit down to write. Like many, I flit from thing to thing in a state of perpetual distraction. No wonder I can't focus: my world is filled with inconsequential things.

The upshot is that I don't make time to write let alone contemplate what I'd like to write about. So when I do sit at my computer, I have a hard time trying to pull together diverse thoughts.

The simplest place to start is my day at Lyndale Community School. This morning I worked with some 3rd graders who were working on biographies and that meant reading, taking notes, writing a synopsis, creating a poster, and then reciting the key points in character. Two boys had chosen Michael Jordan, so I worked with them reviewing the notes they had previously taken about him. That is, when he was born, where did he live, what did he do, and why was he successful.

These 2 boys were so excited about Michael Jordan that they missed a key point: that he play basketball! They talked about his birth date, where he played, that he was MVP, but they never mentioned what sport! Once we got that cleared up, they put on their posters and practiced, practiced, practiced for a parent program on Monday. Good luck Hassan and Yasir!

Next I coached 2 girls about their chosen persons, Rosa Parks and Frederick Douglas.

I asked each of the 4 students to tell me about themselves as a way of comparing biographies with auto-biographies. Each of them comes from a large family, i.e. at least 4 siblings. One proceeded to tell me how a grandmother is white so mother is fair-skinned. I find it interesting that of the 4 students, dogs are not highly regarded as pets. One girl gave me a list of the names of her stuffed animals - and their birthdays!

Later I moved to a 1st grade classroom and discovered one little boy with shoes too big and no socks or undershirt on one of the coldest days of the Winter. I often wonder who teaches immigrants how to dress for cold weather. 

Thank goodness for "indoor recess." That announcement was welcomed excitedly by students today - a far cry from last month when they were most unhappy when told that is was too cold to play outside. I find myself admiring the teachers for their day-long energy and ability to maintain the interest of children.