Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Where has it gone?

I can’t believe I haven’t been back to write since the weekend. Guess that’s some indication of how time has been flying around here. Between running here and there, I haven’t had much time for more than the basics: school, laundry, church (not necessarily in that order).

Math is the big hit here this week. All of the kids are diving into new lessons with eagerness. We’re still in the ancient Middle East (Assyrians and Babylonians) this week in history. The boys were quite interested in the bloodthirsty Assyrian kings and liked the story of Sennacherib’s and his army dying mysteriously in their sleep. We finished up a study of birds and began mammals today, with our first lesson on apes. Everyone now knows how to tell the difference between a monkey and an ape. Our read-aloud book is about an English missionary to China named Gladys Aylward. Of course, the boys’ favorite parts so far have been the beheadings. Boys.

Tuesday night I attended another Parent Information Night held by Emily’s English teacher. I’d love to join a book club with this lady. She would be so much fun, not to mention a fount of knowledge. The kids have just begun reading William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies. I remember reading it my senior year in high school. It rather surprises me that the kids are reading it as freshmen, but from all I learned last night, they will get so much more out of it than I ever did (and I *loved* lit class). Because she can teach from a Christian perspective, there is just so much more her students will get to discuss and process.

Tonight was praise team rehearsal. Now that we are short a tenor, I have been filling in that spot. Some songs are a bit tough for me, as they are just a tad low. I’m missing singing alto, but all this low singing is actually helping out my higher range. I should be able to sub for just about any part but bass now.

Meanwhile, when I get a chance, I try to read a few pages (or more of some books I got in the mail over the weekend: The Sisters Grimm: Fairytale Detectives (actually, I already finished this one), The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects, The Lambkins (finished), and Contagious Joy (that one is one I got as part of my membership in the Women of Faith Association).

2 comments:

Thumper said...

I got Lord Of The Flies in 7th grade. It didn't mean a thing to me then, just a bunch of boys being viciously stupid on an island.

My senior year an English teacher asked for a show of hands on who had read it--there were 2 of us. She was horrified, so it was assigned and I got to read it again. Talk about a huge difference in perspective...taught by a die hard, hard core feminist who obviously thought all men belonged on an island.

I hope Emily gets more out of it!

Anne said...

I sang alto in college and occassionally the director would put some of us with the tenors. It felt kind of strange, but I suppose one could get used to it. There seem to never be enough men in choirs.

Sounds like you are reading some good books. Now you've got me all curious about the army dying mysteriously in their sleep!

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