I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when the following suddenly appeared on my Google calendar: 11a - 4p Roman Activity. I was fairly certain how it appeared - it just may have something to do with the fact that Karen has the username/password to my calendar, and every now and again things pop up without me scheduling them in myself.
Seeing as Karen is a home-schooling, part-time-working (little known fact.. I'm actually her supervisor at work bwa hahaha) , homemade bread-making mother of 4 spirited kids, I offer to help out on occasion, mainly doing school "projects" with the kids. This one had me stumped - an activity about ancient Rome for 4, 6 & 7 yr olds? Although a live demonstration of Christians being thrown in the arena with the lions may certainly make a strong impression on their young minds, and virtually guarantee that they not forget that particular school lesson, I was a little thrown off about the ethical implications. And the legal ones - those too. Plus, I like everyone involved and want them to live. Is that selfish of me?
So back to the "Roman Activity." I pondered it. I Googled it. I Googled it again. Nada. Nothing. My mind was was viciously stuck on the arena lions - that idea seemed to have taken up so much space in my brain that my thoughts had no room for anything else. I casually mentioned this "Roman Activity" to RW, and he said something that finally, finally sparked my dormant imagination. Roman communication. Sweet.
Armed with my great idea, I showed up and went to work. I ordered Karen to bring me 4 large white t-shirts. Ordered may not be exactly what I did, but I'd like to think I was channeling the leadership of Caesar. Appropriately dressed kids? Check.
Now for the absolute genius of my "project". I wanted to show the kids one method of delivering messages in the ancient Roman world... runners. I figured I could pretty much couch anything as being "fun" at this age, so I asked them, if they wanted to wear their shoes or go barefoot? There was a resounding "BAREFOOT", so I went with it. On their gravel driveway. Oh - I didn't say I was barefoot - I'm a little older than they are and understand the insanity of certain choices. They'll learn soon enough.
Not everyone can take the ancient game of Telephone along with bare feet on a gravel driveway and make it a school project about ancient Rome, now can they? Yup, uh huh. That's why I'm so in demand. It's that kind of brilliance that makes me so... popular with my students. If you'd like help on any of your kid's school projects, you can schedule me in anytime. Oh, except you'd need access to my Google calendar. Good luck with that one.
