Jane and I put the twins on the bus. Ean and Kate were at school and it was just the eleven year old and myself. A chance to really talk. What a rarity in our house! Jane's at the age where she doesn't always reveal herself either. We're in the rocky ground of respecting her sense of self and privacy while still wanting to maintain that communication and dialog that is so vital for teens.
I called my mom and invited her on a walk, so Jane and I went over and picked her up. We walked a good forty minutes and while walking discussed what makes a good writer. We talked about shaping your writing (Jane wants to be an author), reworking your words, shaping your ideas.
Jane then told us about a book she read and she mentioned a girl that was a slave because she was poor. This led to a fascinating discussion on how being poor can make someone a slave. We discussed what real poverty is and how cruel slavery is. After our walk Jane and I watched a PBS show on slavery and how slavery started in the U.S. It was very interesting.
I volunteered at head start and Jane worked on a letter for her pen pal followed by some math games on the computer. It was a very fulfilling day.
Jane said she enjoyed discussing things without someone behind her flicking rubber bands on her head. So there you go. Day two.
Yay! Sounds like both a great learning and a great parenting situation at the same time. The movie sounds fascinating. What is it called?
ReplyDeleteIt's a four disk series called "Slavery and the Making of America". It's blunt, frankly narrating the early colonization and development of the U.S from the slaves perspective. There is no sugar coating as each generation of slave is put into a tighter and tighter grip of oppression. We've had some wonderful discussions from watching it together.
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