Second days are tough, the getting up and moving through change without the adrenaline of first days. Our crew made it, all of them, Ruth, K.K. and Bob. Everybody's tired I think. but resilliant enough that Ruth, Liam, K.K. and I started dancing spontaneously during dinner preparations (to Might Be Giants science songs Ruth shared with Bob for use in his classroom. he didn't dance but was thrilled with the resource.) K.K. is finding the feel of Lamar, though nerves made her cry again this morning. Once again she was met by kindness and perked up and got through the day without mishap. I am such a freak. I ADORE the homework helper role, which having K.K. in the house allows me to reenter. I like her assignments for language arts and history, They are working on the meaning and importance of history before they start memorizing facts - an approach I approve of. She had to come up with a quote about the importance of history after reading a number of famous ones. Hers is "Yesterday is the seed of tomorrow.", She also was asked to pick four character trait words from a long list and apply them to herself in short paragraphs, which I think was a neat assignment which I might reframe a little the next time I assign prompts for my writers' group. K.K. picked "cheerful", "friendly", "talented", and ""nervous", all of which definitely apply. I'm loving having Bob home, just the quiet presence of him in the night, and being able to go to his classroom with him, even if I just keep him company and don't help much. He has a diverse group of kids, including refugees from the Congo and Burma, and he believes they have a lot to learn this year, especially in math. He is tired, but persevering. Ruth has large classes - always full because she is much desired as a professor at ACC, and is struggling with all the minutia of computer problems and parking permit hassles and such.
I think the whole household will appreciate the weekend.