This is really wordy as I document all my thoughts... feel free to skip to the pics! :)
Today was the 2nd co-op. The one that is secular and a little less conservative than the Tuesday co-op. Things are less structured and more laid back.
For comparison: At the Tuesday co-op, I am trying to find some of my summer maternity shirts that have sleeves, since sleeveless is not allowed per a strict dress code. At the Thursday co-op, an email had to go out regarding the students not being allowed to smoke on church grounds.
I get to be the "assistant" during his first class - the one about China. I guess I forgot how exhausting a group of children can be.
Maybe it's because I prefer things to be very orderly and structured. Maybe it's because I struggle with a chaotic classroom. Maybe it's because I'm used to being around a very obedient child. Maybe it's because I'm SO pregnant.
But it was exhausting.
I haven't been in a classroom setting in years. At my daycare, things were always so organized, I think the kids could have run it themselves if I wasn't there. But the China class was a bit different than that. Thankfully, it wasn't my show. So I just did what I was told.
The kids sure didn't do as they were told, though!
And I was glad I was there because at one point, Zac casually got up and whispered to me that he would do his work later, intending to join the other 2 boys who had been disobeying the whole time and were now on the floor playing with blocks during instruction time. I gladly stepped in his path and redirected him.
I talked to him after class about it. But it's hard to say what I wanted to say ("Please go be friends with the kids who are obeying the teacher"), because with kids you never know what they will repeat and I didn't want to embarrass either of us. And I don't want to insult other children. And there are only 3 boys in that class, and I know Zac would have rather played with the boys on the floor than sit and color neatly like the 9 girls were doing. (minus the one girl who got sent into the hallway for screaming)
I think he got what I was trying to say. And I plan to re-emphasize next Thursday morning. The thing about Zac is that he can be a follower. Oh, how I pray for him in that!!!
The China kids put together what will be a China portfolio today. Some of the children were very knowledgeable about China. And in true Zachariah fashion, he was listening FAR more than I realized and talked about it a lot on the way home. He remembered more than I did. I was very proud of his work (better than the stuff he does at home!) and I think he felt cool that he could read (most of them could - the class is ages 5-7). The portfolio looks really cute. He will bring it home at the end of the semester. I don't know if he enjoyed all the seat work, though. He asked to go home at the end of the hour.
He is a very quiet child in class. I don't know where he learned to raise his hand, but he is such a good little hand raiser. You know, the kid who will never speak out, but quietly raises his hand? That's Zac! And I know teachers really appreciate those kids. :)
Even though one of the times he raised his hand, it was only to tell why he had a bandaid on his wrist. Which was really just because we bought a new package of bandaids this week, meaning he searched his entire body for anything out of the ordinary and ended up with 4 bandaids today.
Anyways, I didn't get to see the science class because I had to volunteer in another class, but I peeked in at one point and he was enjoying a book that was being read. I was glad to see that the 2 boys in his first class weren't in his 2nd class. He didn't have a whole lot to say about the science class, but I think that the 2nd teacher had a better handle on the students.
Here is our sweetie pie, outside our apartment:
Here he is outside of the church where the 2nd co-op is held:
In his classroom:
And with his two teachers:
Hopefully I can find the camera cord for Tuesday's pics. He carries a backpack on Tuesdays and had a really cute All About Me poster he had to make. SO CUTE!!! :)
Hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday weekend. As usual, we have an entire weekend packed full, so it will fly by. But we are excited for the extra day with Daddy. :)
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