A little update on the goings on in Y2's world. I wonder if he sometimes feels overshadowed by Y1. I wonder if he sees it as us playing favorites...or if he sees when the balances swing back to his favor and realizes that he is just as loved, just as important and just as neccessary to our lives. Without him, goodness....life would be missing a certain zing and I just can't even fathom a life without that.
He's having a great year in school. His favorite thing about 5th grade...he got a teacher who doesn't give a lot of homework! That's all well and good...I just hope he'll be ready for 6th grade! He had a recent assignment in his Social Studies class that really sparked his imagination. Each student was assigned an American explorer and a report had to be presented about the assigned explorer. The students had to create an poster to introduce the explorers and then do their presentations. In typical boyo fashion, he waited until the night before the poster was due to tell me about it. Thank God we had a half sheet of posterboard left from an assignment Y1 had to do for Theatre! (BTW, that particular project was also sprung on me....are you sitting down...the night before it was due!) We rummaged through my collection of scrapbook paper (it becomes a collection when there is no longer time and space to use it)and found a piece that looked like a map and another piece that was also travel themed. It had "Are We There Yet?" across the top of it. PERFECT! It made him laugh...it made me laugh. Maybe he'll get bonus points for his sense of humor!
There were a few options for the actual presentation. He could do a Power Point show, write a journal based on the explorer's life, write a piece of historical fiction based on the explorer, or he could dress up as the explorer and give a short oral report. We eliminated the journal because there are archived journals of Clark's adventures. Seemed like a waste of time to rewrite history. The historical fiction concept didn't really strike a chord with him. He liked the idea of a Power Point, but it seemed to be the popular choice. We decided on the oral report because it would stand out and since he could read from note cards, he didn't have to memorize his speech. Putting the costume together was fairly simple. He already had a coonskin hat (he bought it at summer camp...and wore it at summer camp...it now actually smells rather like a dead animal after being his cap of choice in the 90+ degree heat!)and some necklaces that looked like what an early explorer might get in a trade with native peoples. We bought a buckskin colored shirt at WallyWorld and shredded the tail and cuffs of it to look like a buckskin shirt. I'd insert a picture of that...but we didn't take one....not to say that we can't recreate the moment and make a little revision to history!
He worked hard on his note cards; although he REALLY didn't want to but that's what happens when your Mama used to teach and understands what the teacher wants out of a project like this. Neatness was part of the grading scale, which meant that he had to be deliberate and purposeful with every stroke of the pen. Neither of The Boyos will ever be lauded for their penmanship. It's bad. I'm not joking. I was helping Y1 with his Spanish the other night...helping him review. I don't speak Spanish; I took French and the most it has EVER helped me do is order a medium coffee and croissant in DeGaulle airport. I was plodding through Y1's review sheet and I was puzzled by his response to the conjugation of a certain verb...I handed him the paper and HE, HIMSELF, THE ONE WHO WROTE IT, couldn't read it! That's bad, right? By the time Y2 finished the note cards, that poor pen was pleading for it's life. Still no word on his grade...but I hope it will be reflective of the work and effort he gave.
Other news from the world of Y2 comes out of his Wednesday night Bible Drill class. I stuck my head in to speak to him one night...just to let him know that I was back on the main campus and to come to the choir room when he was finished with class. One of his teachers followed me out and said that she'd been wanting to speak to me for a few weeks. Now, I love this lady. She always has the most serene look upon her face and always has something sweet to say. She was very shocked that I had made the assumption that Y2 had done something that needed correction. He's MY angel...but he's not perfect. She proceeded to share with me about how much she loves Y2. She went on about how wonderful he is in class...how much she's seen him mature from last year and how he is so surprising with his answers and what he shares in class. She informed me that my child has a deep and real understanding about who God is and how He moves in his life and in the world around him. She said that my child speaks these things with confidence that is beyond his years. She loves his wit and his wacky perspective...and she loves him.
I was just stunned! Not everyone gets him. His personality and perspective on life are something of an acquired taste. There have been a handful of leaders/teachers/church program directors who hear his inner drum beat. The standout would have to be Mrs. Tammy...she was his preschool AWANA and preschool worship teacher at our church in Rolling Hills, GA. I was afraid that she wouldn't let us take him with us when we moved from there to here! Seriously...that's just how much she LOVED my child. She saw him...she really saw him. She saw through the zany, the wacky, the oddball, the noise (dear heavens...but he is/has been/probably always will be the noisiest thing) to the beautiful uniqueness that God created in him. Second only to Mrs. Tammy would be none other than Hester the Great. Of course, being that she raised a son who was very much like Y2, she has an inside edge over the rest of us. I remember at what was probably Y2's most difficult stage...between 4 and 5 years old...I BEGGED her to come live with us so she could help me tame the little beasty! So, it's nearly monumental to hear someone speak such loving and beautiful things about my brown eyed boyo. She also said that she sees God having a very special plan for this child's life...even so far as him becoming a preacher! How, now, brown cow! Wouldn't that be something? I know what he'd be like...he'd be just like our friend, Bro. Youth Pastor! Y'all that know Bro. Youth Pastor and Y2...tell me I'm wrong! To be no blood kin, they are CRAZY simpatico!
I don't know where he'll go in his life, but I can guarantee he'll have fun getting there!
He's having a great year in school. His favorite thing about 5th grade...he got a teacher who doesn't give a lot of homework! That's all well and good...I just hope he'll be ready for 6th grade! He had a recent assignment in his Social Studies class that really sparked his imagination. Each student was assigned an American explorer and a report had to be presented about the assigned explorer. The students had to create an poster to introduce the explorers and then do their presentations. In typical boyo fashion, he waited until the night before the poster was due to tell me about it. Thank God we had a half sheet of posterboard left from an assignment Y1 had to do for Theatre! (BTW, that particular project was also sprung on me....are you sitting down...the night before it was due!) We rummaged through my collection of scrapbook paper (it becomes a collection when there is no longer time and space to use it)and found a piece that looked like a map and another piece that was also travel themed. It had "Are We There Yet?" across the top of it. PERFECT! It made him laugh...it made me laugh. Maybe he'll get bonus points for his sense of humor!
There were a few options for the actual presentation. He could do a Power Point show, write a journal based on the explorer's life, write a piece of historical fiction based on the explorer, or he could dress up as the explorer and give a short oral report. We eliminated the journal because there are archived journals of Clark's adventures. Seemed like a waste of time to rewrite history. The historical fiction concept didn't really strike a chord with him. He liked the idea of a Power Point, but it seemed to be the popular choice. We decided on the oral report because it would stand out and since he could read from note cards, he didn't have to memorize his speech. Putting the costume together was fairly simple. He already had a coonskin hat (he bought it at summer camp...and wore it at summer camp...it now actually smells rather like a dead animal after being his cap of choice in the 90+ degree heat!)and some necklaces that looked like what an early explorer might get in a trade with native peoples. We bought a buckskin colored shirt at WallyWorld and shredded the tail and cuffs of it to look like a buckskin shirt. I'd insert a picture of that...but we didn't take one....not to say that we can't recreate the moment and make a little revision to history!
He worked hard on his note cards; although he REALLY didn't want to but that's what happens when your Mama used to teach and understands what the teacher wants out of a project like this. Neatness was part of the grading scale, which meant that he had to be deliberate and purposeful with every stroke of the pen. Neither of The Boyos will ever be lauded for their penmanship. It's bad. I'm not joking. I was helping Y1 with his Spanish the other night...helping him review. I don't speak Spanish; I took French and the most it has EVER helped me do is order a medium coffee and croissant in DeGaulle airport. I was plodding through Y1's review sheet and I was puzzled by his response to the conjugation of a certain verb...I handed him the paper and HE, HIMSELF, THE ONE WHO WROTE IT, couldn't read it! That's bad, right? By the time Y2 finished the note cards, that poor pen was pleading for it's life. Still no word on his grade...but I hope it will be reflective of the work and effort he gave.
Other news from the world of Y2 comes out of his Wednesday night Bible Drill class. I stuck my head in to speak to him one night...just to let him know that I was back on the main campus and to come to the choir room when he was finished with class. One of his teachers followed me out and said that she'd been wanting to speak to me for a few weeks. Now, I love this lady. She always has the most serene look upon her face and always has something sweet to say. She was very shocked that I had made the assumption that Y2 had done something that needed correction. He's MY angel...but he's not perfect. She proceeded to share with me about how much she loves Y2. She went on about how wonderful he is in class...how much she's seen him mature from last year and how he is so surprising with his answers and what he shares in class. She informed me that my child has a deep and real understanding about who God is and how He moves in his life and in the world around him. She said that my child speaks these things with confidence that is beyond his years. She loves his wit and his wacky perspective...and she loves him.
I was just stunned! Not everyone gets him. His personality and perspective on life are something of an acquired taste. There have been a handful of leaders/teachers/church program directors who hear his inner drum beat. The standout would have to be Mrs. Tammy...she was his preschool AWANA and preschool worship teacher at our church in Rolling Hills, GA. I was afraid that she wouldn't let us take him with us when we moved from there to here! Seriously...that's just how much she LOVED my child. She saw him...she really saw him. She saw through the zany, the wacky, the oddball, the noise (dear heavens...but he is/has been/probably always will be the noisiest thing) to the beautiful uniqueness that God created in him. Second only to Mrs. Tammy would be none other than Hester the Great. Of course, being that she raised a son who was very much like Y2, she has an inside edge over the rest of us. I remember at what was probably Y2's most difficult stage...between 4 and 5 years old...I BEGGED her to come live with us so she could help me tame the little beasty! So, it's nearly monumental to hear someone speak such loving and beautiful things about my brown eyed boyo. She also said that she sees God having a very special plan for this child's life...even so far as him becoming a preacher! How, now, brown cow! Wouldn't that be something? I know what he'd be like...he'd be just like our friend, Bro. Youth Pastor! Y'all that know Bro. Youth Pastor and Y2...tell me I'm wrong! To be no blood kin, they are CRAZY simpatico!
I don't know where he'll go in his life, but I can guarantee he'll have fun getting there!
It sounds like your Y2 and my Charlie may be twins at heart. The Lord has a sense of humor...but I know He will use these boys for something mighty. 'Cause that's what they are!
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