Education stuff here, there, everywhere
Brrr, chilly out. We barely cleared 60F/15.5C today - it's almost JUNE!!
It's been a quick week, pretty busy overall. This is good, as Will's been away at an annual conference since dawn on Wed, and being busy means there's less time to miss him. Keep in mind we came home late on Mon night, so he had only one day to be at work, then get packed up and leave again. Meanwhile, I was at Two's field trip (more below) most of the day on Tues, with multiple after-school activities as well. Thank goodness he left work early in order to do his own laundry and packing because I really did not have time. (Will + packing = there's a reason why I almost always do the packing. But he hasn't complained of forgetting anything, so I guess I should turn a blind eye to the way everything got shoved into his bag. :P)
Field trip #1: Fourth grade's field trip this year was to The Crayola Experience. We've been there several times in the past, but they recently underwent an expansion/remodeling, and this was the first time Two and I had seen it since then. Because this trip involved having a lot of kids (~73 kids split amongst 3 classes) roaming rather freely all at the same time, each class was allowed to have just about as many chaperones as wanted to come, as long as the parents paid for their own ticket. (Normally, any outings have allowances for a maximum of two chaperones per classroom, and spots are awarded on a lottery basis.) This is, in fact, the first field trip I've chaperoned for the elementary school, for either child - I never seem to get chosen. *shrug* Ironically, I wasn't really that keen on chaperoning this one, but Two begged, so I acquiesced. Chaperones were numerous enough that each parent was in charge of 4 kids, which wasn't too bad (I got Two, of course, and his BFF, plus two others - although one of those other girls was prone to wandering off a bit). Still, it was only barely controlled chaos at times, keeping track of everyone, and making sure the classroom teacher knew where we were - he was trying to at least make sure the entire class stayed on the same floor and the same approximate area, even if not on the same craft.
When you arrive at Crayola, you get a clear plastic bag and some tokens; the bag is used to hold your art projects as you make them, and the three tokens are for three different spots where you get to make or collect merchandise to take home - a crayon with a label you get to design/name the crayon color, a marker you get to watch being made in a machine before it spits it out, and a packet of Model Magic clay that you can play with before taking home. Anyway, halfway through, Two's BFF misplaced her bag and even though I went back and asked employees if they'd seen it, no dice. I gave her my bag - at least even if she hadn't made some of the projects herself, she could show her parents what sorts of things they COULD make. And she got my remaining two tokens, so she could still have fun with the marker and Model Magic.
We were there a total of three hours, the final bit of which was just sitting and having lunch in their lunchroom next to the cafeteria. But they had time to shop in the gift shop, too - Two came home with an overpriced plush crayon, because I'm a soft-hearted sucker. :P We were back at the school by 2pm; I stayed a bit to help in the library - it was my usual day for a shift, but of course I hadn't otherwise been able to come - before grabbing a quick snack at home and rushing back out to pick up MiniPlu. Overall, a good experience, if somewhat nuts at times.
I didn't have to rush back to the elementary school QUITE as much as usual this week, because Two has been doing safety patrol training: At the elementary school, select 5th-graders (the eldest grade) serve on safety patrol and bus duty. The safety patrol support the (adult) crossing guard by keeping kids from crossing at inappropriate times on the school side of the intersection, and preventing unauthorized vehicles from pulling into the visitor's lot or circular drive during arrival and dismissal - it's only for buses or those visitors who have actual legitimate business IN the school, and aren't merely trying to get a better parking spot so they can drop off their kid. Bus duty students monitor the bus riders while they sit in the hall at the end of the day, waiting for their bus, and make sure kids sit quickly and don't cause trouble on the bus itself.
At the end of 4th grade, interested students submit their name to the 4th-grade teacher who supervises the system, and she chooses those who seem the most responsible. Two decided to put his hat in for safety patrol (since we're the closest bus stop to school, and he only rides inbound, not outbound); he got in, and has spent Tues-Thurs afternoon and Wed-Thurs morning learning the ropes. (The incoming patrol/monitor kids each serve a few scheduled days with the outgoing 5th graders, learning what they do. When fifth grade goes on their all-day field trip in the final week of school, the 4th graders take over.) Next year, they will each serve one week per month, or thereabouts.
I admit I can easily envision Two getting tired of doing this within a couple of months, but I hope he'll have some pride in doing it, too. It's going to be the first of many 5th-grade privileges that MiniPlu missed out on, as she spent 5th grade at the parochial school.
Speaking of fifth grade, we're pleased by the upcoming teacher shuffle. Normally, there's 3 classes per grade at our school. However, last year's kindergarten required four classes, and last year's 2nd grade classes were really small; this year there were again four classes for the now-1st-graders, and 3rd grade was condensed into two classes. The extra 3rd grade teacher moved up to 4th to replace a teacher who retired at the end of last year. Continuing in this pattern, next year we will need four 2nd grades and only two 4th grades, while 3rd grade will go back to having three teachers again. You follow, so far?
The 4th grade teacher who has volunteered to vacate (in order to leave only two classes for the small grade) is Two's current homeroom teacher. Where is he going? Fifth grade. This means we'll get him again - yay! (In all seriousness. He's a really nice guy, very caring, good at what he does. Both my kids liked him, as did Will and I; he was MiniPlu's homeroom teacher in 4th grade as well.) In 4th grade he teaches math and social studies, and will continue to do the same in 5th. The math/social studies teacher he is replacing is going down to 3rd grade, since they're currently short one teacher for next year. (And to finish the circle, one of the four 1st grade teachers is moving up to be the necessary fourth 2nd-grade teacher for next year.) The 5th grade teacher Mr M is replacing is known to be somewhat strict; I was a bit nervous about Two being under her thumb next year, and how well he'd cope with that strictness. Yes, discipline is good, but too much inflexibility will work against Two as a learning environment. The new situation will be much MUCH better, I think, and Two is very happy to already know one of next year's teachers.
I've also had a chance to interact a little with next year's principal. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but our elementary principal is retiring next month. I won't miss her, to be honest. She cared for the kids' welfare, but she wasn't terribly personal, to either kids or adults, and she was never very supportive of the library, either. (How can a principal not want to support a LIBRARY?) I also know she's a devout Catholic, and I was nervous about whether personal feelings might get in the way of our getting Two the support he's going to need next year. I really did NOT want to deal with her for that.
Anyway, her replacement was announced last week. I Googled the new lady, and learned she was currently an elementary principal in the next town/district. I gave her a week, and then emailed her yesterday to give her a heads' up as to what we wanted to sit down and discuss before school started again in the fall. (I told her, straight out: "Yep, I'm welcoming you to [schoolname] with a loaded bombshell. :P.") Her response was brief but prompt, and warm-sounding; it was a "I don't have time for a full response right now" sort of letter, but not in a brush-off way, and she sounded quite willing to work with us. Definitely a good start. Also, unbeknownst to me, she met with our staff and toured the school this morning - the day of the spring music concert. I had the chance to shake her hand and briefly introduce myself, just so she could put a name to a face (not to otherwise occupy any of her time), and all the kids all got to see what she looked like, too. She seems pretty nice so far. Fingers crossed!
Going back a day, Wed was field trip #2: All of 6th grade went to Medieval Times in NJ on Wed. MiniPlu got off to a rough start when her bus-buddy ditched her and then the bus with MiniPlu's class was supposedly full, and she was shunted off to another bus where she hardly knew anyone well, and she had to sit by herself. (She was sending me several mournful texts as the buses set off.) However, as it transpired, once they arrived at the venue, she met up with one of her good friends from elementary school, and they got to sit together while there, so MiniPlu was in a much better mood once she got home. The bus was 25 mins late coming back (parents did get a warning phone call) which meant I was late picking up Two from safety patrol - I had called the school so Two could be warned and could just sit in the office to wait once safety patrol duty ended, but apparently he was never told - or somehow missed the memo - about going back into the office afterwards. He was standing, lonely and nervous, on the curb when I finally pulled up.
But, anyway, it sounded like MiniPlu had a good time. Food required eating with hands, and they watched jousting and foot-based tournaments (swordplay and the like) and were all taught a little bit about swordplay. I had given MiniPlu some spending money, since I had bought Two a souvenir on HIS field trip, and she came home with a wooden sword (as well as a free Burger King-like paper crown and a little flag-banner they used to cheer on "their" man during the tournaments - each competitor wore a different-colored tabard, and the little flag-banners were in corresponding colors at each place setting throughout the arena). I'd had to give MiniPlu's frenemy, S, a ride home after the tournament, since they got back late and thus all bus riders missed their buses, and it sounded like MiniPlu and S had very different views on what was good or bad. MiniPlu didn't mind eating chicken and corn with her hands, S thought it was gross. S loved the (not very medieval chocolate chip cookies), a dessert MiniPlu doesn't like at all. Both agreed it was sad when their favorite guy "died" at the end, but MiniPlu thought it would have been fun if there'd been fake blood involved, while S was appalled at the thought. :P
Although I didn't have to chaperone MiniPlu's field trip, I was really busy that day, with a pile of stuff to do at home, errands to run, TKD + private sparring lesson, etc. Miraculously, by the time I went to bed, I'd managed to get to almost everything on my list. Today, too. Of course, what really needs doing is cleaning the house, but you can't have everything. :-P
The spring music concert was today; because I was at school this morning for my usual library shift, I went to the morning concert - usually only for the student body and a.m. kindergarten parents - rather than the afternoon concert the parents were supposed to attend. Grades 1, 2 and 3 went in December, so this time was grades K, 4 and 5. In past years, the instrumental concert (which is spring-only) has been in the evening, with just one performance. This year, the new instrumental teacher (the old one having taken over the post at MiniPlu's middle school this year) wanted to have a joint concert, so the two teachers took turns: K singers, 4th grade orchestra, 4th grade singers, 5th grade orchestra, band (both 4th and 5th together), and then 5th grade singers. Two didn't play in band, having not progressed very far (because he refused to practice - as I forecast a YEAR ago), but I had anticipated that, so it didn't bother me. And now he's off the hook for the flute - I only made him commit to the school year, once he'd signed up and made that initial commitment in the first place.
These being kids, no performance is perfect, but overall I thought they did well. The kindergarteners sang an absolutely adorable song about riding the school bus. Fourth grade did a hilarious song about couch potatoes. Fifth grade did some standards that are done for 5th every year, plus a couple of different ones. (Each grade sang 5 songs.) I used my phone to video the performance so Will can see it when he gets home.
On a somewhat different note, after a great deal of thought, I decided not to teach 2nd-grade PREP next year. My kids this year were just too space-cadet-y. Sweet, well-meaning, but space-cadets. And, honestly, I always kind of hated Wed, and was relieved when class was over, even though it's not like the job was really that difficult. And seeing the reward of First Communion, such a big moment for them, that I helped bring about, WAS pretty awesome. I did dither, truly, but in the end, decided to just substitute for Wed teachers, instead.
MiniPlu had to take a PREP test after school on Tues. (We were both pretty nervous - we were cramming an awful lot of Old Testament books/stories/history into her head, but her grade came today - she got an A, phew!) After she was done, the religious ed director - who is ALSO retiring around my birthday - asked if I would consider teaching MiniPlu's PREP class next year. This is actually a two-year commitment, as Confirmation preparation is a two-year process at our church, and the 7th-grade teachers loop up with their class into 8th grade, for consistency. Apparently the previous teacher had some unexpected personal/emergency issues, and had to drop out. Now, as it turns out, my co-teacher in 2nd grade ALSO teaches the 7th/8th-grade loop (K-5 goes on Wed, grades 6-8 on Mon), and suggested my name as the replacement, since she felt I did a good job with 2nd grade. (Um, thanks?)
I was trying to get OUT of this, not more INTO it. But I said I'd think about it - and I will. I might (probably) still say "no", but I want to be fair. I've asked to borrow the 7th and 8th grade texts for the weekend - will pick those up tomorrow - and talk to my co-teacher when she comes back from vacation in 2 weeks, to have a better sense of what is involved. Because, aside from the binder of extracurricular Confirmation requirements MiniPlu brought home two weeks ago (service hours, kind deeds, an essay, etc), I have NO idea what they do or learn in those grades. I'm an adult convert, recall and have never done what these kids do, going through the "normal" channels as younglings. And if I'm going to reject the offer, I want to do it knowing what exactly I'm rejecting, and not just dismissing the idea out of hand. (Yes, I have a hard time turning down people in need of volunteers, especially if I don't have a really pressing reason not to.)
I'm also aware that talking to 7-8 year-olds is a lot different than talking to jaded 12-14 year-olds. And I can't use the promise of stickers and a prize bin as a reward system for homework and good behavior. :-P Plus, there's MiniPlu's embarrassment levels to consider. :P
Anyway, I'm not committing to this, not by a long shot, not yet, but I'm ... trying to keep an open mind. [Insert your higher power here] help me. :P
Tomorrow, another full day: bloodwork, need to pick up the textbooks, taking a friend's mildly-dementia-ed mother out for a birthday lunch, couple of errands, meeting Two's tutor/Two for frozen yogurt after tutoring (last-session-of-the-year reward), maybe TKD in the evening. Which means I really need to get to bed. TGIF.
It's been a quick week, pretty busy overall. This is good, as Will's been away at an annual conference since dawn on Wed, and being busy means there's less time to miss him. Keep in mind we came home late on Mon night, so he had only one day to be at work, then get packed up and leave again. Meanwhile, I was at Two's field trip (more below) most of the day on Tues, with multiple after-school activities as well. Thank goodness he left work early in order to do his own laundry and packing because I really did not have time. (Will + packing = there's a reason why I almost always do the packing. But he hasn't complained of forgetting anything, so I guess I should turn a blind eye to the way everything got shoved into his bag. :P)
Field trip #1: Fourth grade's field trip this year was to The Crayola Experience. We've been there several times in the past, but they recently underwent an expansion/remodeling, and this was the first time Two and I had seen it since then. Because this trip involved having a lot of kids (~73 kids split amongst 3 classes) roaming rather freely all at the same time, each class was allowed to have just about as many chaperones as wanted to come, as long as the parents paid for their own ticket. (Normally, any outings have allowances for a maximum of two chaperones per classroom, and spots are awarded on a lottery basis.) This is, in fact, the first field trip I've chaperoned for the elementary school, for either child - I never seem to get chosen. *shrug* Ironically, I wasn't really that keen on chaperoning this one, but Two begged, so I acquiesced. Chaperones were numerous enough that each parent was in charge of 4 kids, which wasn't too bad (I got Two, of course, and his BFF, plus two others - although one of those other girls was prone to wandering off a bit). Still, it was only barely controlled chaos at times, keeping track of everyone, and making sure the classroom teacher knew where we were - he was trying to at least make sure the entire class stayed on the same floor and the same approximate area, even if not on the same craft.
When you arrive at Crayola, you get a clear plastic bag and some tokens; the bag is used to hold your art projects as you make them, and the three tokens are for three different spots where you get to make or collect merchandise to take home - a crayon with a label you get to design/name the crayon color, a marker you get to watch being made in a machine before it spits it out, and a packet of Model Magic clay that you can play with before taking home. Anyway, halfway through, Two's BFF misplaced her bag and even though I went back and asked employees if they'd seen it, no dice. I gave her my bag - at least even if she hadn't made some of the projects herself, she could show her parents what sorts of things they COULD make. And she got my remaining two tokens, so she could still have fun with the marker and Model Magic.
We were there a total of three hours, the final bit of which was just sitting and having lunch in their lunchroom next to the cafeteria. But they had time to shop in the gift shop, too - Two came home with an overpriced plush crayon, because I'm a soft-hearted sucker. :P We were back at the school by 2pm; I stayed a bit to help in the library - it was my usual day for a shift, but of course I hadn't otherwise been able to come - before grabbing a quick snack at home and rushing back out to pick up MiniPlu. Overall, a good experience, if somewhat nuts at times.
I didn't have to rush back to the elementary school QUITE as much as usual this week, because Two has been doing safety patrol training: At the elementary school, select 5th-graders (the eldest grade) serve on safety patrol and bus duty. The safety patrol support the (adult) crossing guard by keeping kids from crossing at inappropriate times on the school side of the intersection, and preventing unauthorized vehicles from pulling into the visitor's lot or circular drive during arrival and dismissal - it's only for buses or those visitors who have actual legitimate business IN the school, and aren't merely trying to get a better parking spot so they can drop off their kid. Bus duty students monitor the bus riders while they sit in the hall at the end of the day, waiting for their bus, and make sure kids sit quickly and don't cause trouble on the bus itself.
At the end of 4th grade, interested students submit their name to the 4th-grade teacher who supervises the system, and she chooses those who seem the most responsible. Two decided to put his hat in for safety patrol (since we're the closest bus stop to school, and he only rides inbound, not outbound); he got in, and has spent Tues-Thurs afternoon and Wed-Thurs morning learning the ropes. (The incoming patrol/monitor kids each serve a few scheduled days with the outgoing 5th graders, learning what they do. When fifth grade goes on their all-day field trip in the final week of school, the 4th graders take over.) Next year, they will each serve one week per month, or thereabouts.
I admit I can easily envision Two getting tired of doing this within a couple of months, but I hope he'll have some pride in doing it, too. It's going to be the first of many 5th-grade privileges that MiniPlu missed out on, as she spent 5th grade at the parochial school.
Speaking of fifth grade, we're pleased by the upcoming teacher shuffle. Normally, there's 3 classes per grade at our school. However, last year's kindergarten required four classes, and last year's 2nd grade classes were really small; this year there were again four classes for the now-1st-graders, and 3rd grade was condensed into two classes. The extra 3rd grade teacher moved up to 4th to replace a teacher who retired at the end of last year. Continuing in this pattern, next year we will need four 2nd grades and only two 4th grades, while 3rd grade will go back to having three teachers again. You follow, so far?
The 4th grade teacher who has volunteered to vacate (in order to leave only two classes for the small grade) is Two's current homeroom teacher. Where is he going? Fifth grade. This means we'll get him again - yay! (In all seriousness. He's a really nice guy, very caring, good at what he does. Both my kids liked him, as did Will and I; he was MiniPlu's homeroom teacher in 4th grade as well.) In 4th grade he teaches math and social studies, and will continue to do the same in 5th. The math/social studies teacher he is replacing is going down to 3rd grade, since they're currently short one teacher for next year. (And to finish the circle, one of the four 1st grade teachers is moving up to be the necessary fourth 2nd-grade teacher for next year.) The 5th grade teacher Mr M is replacing is known to be somewhat strict; I was a bit nervous about Two being under her thumb next year, and how well he'd cope with that strictness. Yes, discipline is good, but too much inflexibility will work against Two as a learning environment. The new situation will be much MUCH better, I think, and Two is very happy to already know one of next year's teachers.
I've also had a chance to interact a little with next year's principal. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but our elementary principal is retiring next month. I won't miss her, to be honest. She cared for the kids' welfare, but she wasn't terribly personal, to either kids or adults, and she was never very supportive of the library, either. (How can a principal not want to support a LIBRARY?) I also know she's a devout Catholic, and I was nervous about whether personal feelings might get in the way of our getting Two the support he's going to need next year. I really did NOT want to deal with her for that.
Anyway, her replacement was announced last week. I Googled the new lady, and learned she was currently an elementary principal in the next town/district. I gave her a week, and then emailed her yesterday to give her a heads' up as to what we wanted to sit down and discuss before school started again in the fall. (I told her, straight out: "Yep, I'm welcoming you to [schoolname] with a loaded bombshell. :P.") Her response was brief but prompt, and warm-sounding; it was a "I don't have time for a full response right now" sort of letter, but not in a brush-off way, and she sounded quite willing to work with us. Definitely a good start. Also, unbeknownst to me, she met with our staff and toured the school this morning - the day of the spring music concert. I had the chance to shake her hand and briefly introduce myself, just so she could put a name to a face (not to otherwise occupy any of her time), and all the kids all got to see what she looked like, too. She seems pretty nice so far. Fingers crossed!
Going back a day, Wed was field trip #2: All of 6th grade went to Medieval Times in NJ on Wed. MiniPlu got off to a rough start when her bus-buddy ditched her and then the bus with MiniPlu's class was supposedly full, and she was shunted off to another bus where she hardly knew anyone well, and she had to sit by herself. (She was sending me several mournful texts as the buses set off.) However, as it transpired, once they arrived at the venue, she met up with one of her good friends from elementary school, and they got to sit together while there, so MiniPlu was in a much better mood once she got home. The bus was 25 mins late coming back (parents did get a warning phone call) which meant I was late picking up Two from safety patrol - I had called the school so Two could be warned and could just sit in the office to wait once safety patrol duty ended, but apparently he was never told - or somehow missed the memo - about going back into the office afterwards. He was standing, lonely and nervous, on the curb when I finally pulled up.
But, anyway, it sounded like MiniPlu had a good time. Food required eating with hands, and they watched jousting and foot-based tournaments (swordplay and the like) and were all taught a little bit about swordplay. I had given MiniPlu some spending money, since I had bought Two a souvenir on HIS field trip, and she came home with a wooden sword (as well as a free Burger King-like paper crown and a little flag-banner they used to cheer on "their" man during the tournaments - each competitor wore a different-colored tabard, and the little flag-banners were in corresponding colors at each place setting throughout the arena). I'd had to give MiniPlu's frenemy, S, a ride home after the tournament, since they got back late and thus all bus riders missed their buses, and it sounded like MiniPlu and S had very different views on what was good or bad. MiniPlu didn't mind eating chicken and corn with her hands, S thought it was gross. S loved the (not very medieval chocolate chip cookies), a dessert MiniPlu doesn't like at all. Both agreed it was sad when their favorite guy "died" at the end, but MiniPlu thought it would have been fun if there'd been fake blood involved, while S was appalled at the thought. :P
Although I didn't have to chaperone MiniPlu's field trip, I was really busy that day, with a pile of stuff to do at home, errands to run, TKD + private sparring lesson, etc. Miraculously, by the time I went to bed, I'd managed to get to almost everything on my list. Today, too. Of course, what really needs doing is cleaning the house, but you can't have everything. :-P
The spring music concert was today; because I was at school this morning for my usual library shift, I went to the morning concert - usually only for the student body and a.m. kindergarten parents - rather than the afternoon concert the parents were supposed to attend. Grades 1, 2 and 3 went in December, so this time was grades K, 4 and 5. In past years, the instrumental concert (which is spring-only) has been in the evening, with just one performance. This year, the new instrumental teacher (the old one having taken over the post at MiniPlu's middle school this year) wanted to have a joint concert, so the two teachers took turns: K singers, 4th grade orchestra, 4th grade singers, 5th grade orchestra, band (both 4th and 5th together), and then 5th grade singers. Two didn't play in band, having not progressed very far (because he refused to practice - as I forecast a YEAR ago), but I had anticipated that, so it didn't bother me. And now he's off the hook for the flute - I only made him commit to the school year, once he'd signed up and made that initial commitment in the first place.
These being kids, no performance is perfect, but overall I thought they did well. The kindergarteners sang an absolutely adorable song about riding the school bus. Fourth grade did a hilarious song about couch potatoes. Fifth grade did some standards that are done for 5th every year, plus a couple of different ones. (Each grade sang 5 songs.) I used my phone to video the performance so Will can see it when he gets home.
On a somewhat different note, after a great deal of thought, I decided not to teach 2nd-grade PREP next year. My kids this year were just too space-cadet-y. Sweet, well-meaning, but space-cadets. And, honestly, I always kind of hated Wed, and was relieved when class was over, even though it's not like the job was really that difficult. And seeing the reward of First Communion, such a big moment for them, that I helped bring about, WAS pretty awesome. I did dither, truly, but in the end, decided to just substitute for Wed teachers, instead.
MiniPlu had to take a PREP test after school on Tues. (We were both pretty nervous - we were cramming an awful lot of Old Testament books/stories/history into her head, but her grade came today - she got an A, phew!) After she was done, the religious ed director - who is ALSO retiring around my birthday - asked if I would consider teaching MiniPlu's PREP class next year. This is actually a two-year commitment, as Confirmation preparation is a two-year process at our church, and the 7th-grade teachers loop up with their class into 8th grade, for consistency. Apparently the previous teacher had some unexpected personal/emergency issues, and had to drop out. Now, as it turns out, my co-teacher in 2nd grade ALSO teaches the 7th/8th-grade loop (K-5 goes on Wed, grades 6-8 on Mon), and suggested my name as the replacement, since she felt I did a good job with 2nd grade. (Um, thanks?)
I was trying to get OUT of this, not more INTO it. But I said I'd think about it - and I will. I might (probably) still say "no", but I want to be fair. I've asked to borrow the 7th and 8th grade texts for the weekend - will pick those up tomorrow - and talk to my co-teacher when she comes back from vacation in 2 weeks, to have a better sense of what is involved. Because, aside from the binder of extracurricular Confirmation requirements MiniPlu brought home two weeks ago (service hours, kind deeds, an essay, etc), I have NO idea what they do or learn in those grades. I'm an adult convert, recall and have never done what these kids do, going through the "normal" channels as younglings. And if I'm going to reject the offer, I want to do it knowing what exactly I'm rejecting, and not just dismissing the idea out of hand. (Yes, I have a hard time turning down people in need of volunteers, especially if I don't have a really pressing reason not to.)
I'm also aware that talking to 7-8 year-olds is a lot different than talking to jaded 12-14 year-olds. And I can't use the promise of stickers and a prize bin as a reward system for homework and good behavior. :-P Plus, there's MiniPlu's embarrassment levels to consider. :P
Anyway, I'm not committing to this, not by a long shot, not yet, but I'm ... trying to keep an open mind. [Insert your higher power here] help me. :P
Tomorrow, another full day: bloodwork, need to pick up the textbooks, taking a friend's mildly-dementia-ed mother out for a birthday lunch, couple of errands, meeting Two's tutor/Two for frozen yogurt after tutoring (last-session-of-the-year reward), maybe TKD in the evening. Which means I really need to get to bed. TGIF.