Shaken Up

Photo: America.gov

BRIDGING THE GAP: We started our school day by delving back into the Ruby Bridges story. Today, we read more about what her typical school day at William Frantz Elementary was like, and learned more about her remarkable teacher, Mrs. Henry. Mrs. Henry recently moved to New Orleans from Boston, and she had no idea what she was getting herself into when she applied for a teaching job.

After reading, we moved over to the computer, where we watched another 20 minutes or so of the movie dramatization of Ruby Bridges' experience. Both the book and the movie illustrated how hard the situation was for the Bridges' family. They were taking heat from all sides, not just the protesters outside the school. Local business owners, neighbors, (former) friends and more made their lives more difficult.

While we watched the movie, Annabelle did some doodling on a small notepad. I like how she turned the little bug in the lower lefthand corner into a positive protester with its "B & W" - for black and white - signs.

TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE: We're in the final pages of their math book. Today, the kids both got stuck on the same problem. Paraphrasing, it said that Mary and Sarah were going to share the cost of their friend's birthday present. The present was $16. How much did each girl contribute?

Upon reading it, I immediately knew what their trouble was. This was the first problem that didn't flat out give them both numbers they needed to complete the equation. Though it said the friends were going to split the cost, it didn't point blank say it was TWO friends (16/2 = 8).

CJ and Annabelle had both written 16 divided by ? = ? on their papers.

I suggested they talk amongst themselves and see if they could figure out what they were missing. They talked for a bit, but were still stumped. I asked them to consider something else - if we were going to order a pizza and it cost $9, how much would we three each have to pay? They immediately knew it was $3 apiece.

At that, I redirected them to the problem in the book and they both got that it was TWO friends and solved the problem lickety split.

HEADLINE NEWS: First thing I saw at 5:30 this morning was news of the devastating earthquake and resultant tsunamis in Japan. The kids saw me watching and reading about the disaster, and the video of the tsunami devastation was jarring. So, we spent a fair amount of time today talking about tsunamis. Fortunately, there were lots of good resources to draw from.

Though it's very cartoony, the NOAA's Tommy Tsunami and Ernie Earthquake coloring book is a non threatening way to ease into what is a pretty damn scary topic. In fact, the NOAA has a page where there are dozens of links to tsunami resources for parents and educators.

An animation from the PBS series "Savage Earth" was very helpful in explaining how tsunamis are generated. We also were fortunate to catch none other than Bill Nye the Science Guy live on MSNBC talking about tsunamis.

Afterward, the kids were upstairs playing with the trains and train table and listening in, I heard their play turned into a rescue operation for people struck by a tsunami. Guess that's one way kids work through things like this.AFTERNOON ERRANDS: I basically can't stand shopping in bricks and mortar stores any more, but this afternoon I pretty much forced myself (and the kids) to go to Ross, the Dollar Store and the Grocery Outlet. All are conveniently located in the same strip mall - on north Aurora. It's a pretty rough area.

We're in the middle of the Dollar Store and my arms are full of 'treasures' when CJ announces he has to go to the bathroom. AAAAAAAARGH. This is so definitely not a neighborhood where stores let shoppers use the bathroom. So, I have to cut short our shop there. After we cash out, I notice there's a Burger King across the parking lot. So we make a beeline over there, and I felt like I had to buy something since we used their bathroom, so I let the kids each get a small fry - a rare treat for them.
As I watched them polish off the fries, I half wondered if CJ's bathroom plea was a ruse.


UP AND AWAY: When Christian got home, we walked up to "hilltop playpark" or Ella Bailey Park. We haven't been there in months and it was good to be back!

As I looked out over the bay, I couldn't help but wonder what it would look like with a two story high wall of water racing across it.