Week 4
Here I am in transition week: last week ended the 6-9 training, and my 16 classmates went through closure – lots of tears, some group hand holding, and four verses of “Make New Friends But Keep the Old”. I shouldn’t mock, I did get a little teary when I said goodbye to Gray, who’s been my favorite of the group. Last summer I ended up getting to know the people outside my group, so those were more my friends.
I spent the long weekend trying to ration out the provisions I’d hoarded on Thursday, and wrapping my mind around the 6-9 curriculum. I was trying to secure my understanding of it before trying to grasp the 9-12 session. Here’s a line of what I did:
Subject: Geography
Section: Parts of a River
Age: all
Quarter: 4th
Group Size: all
Time Spent: 3-4 wks?
Extensions: Maps of St Joe river, canoe trip down St Joe River
Curriculum Connections: Work of Water
Notes: Read Paddle to the Sea
Satisfying, but pretty intense brain-work, I found. Sunday I took a walk to Glenn Island, and ran into a Greek wedding party taking pictures: 14 bridesmaids, 14 groomsmen, and about 4 little old ladies in white head scarves hovering around. Across the lagoon, 200+ Indians were having a get together, complete with vibrant saris and a singer. Nobody was dancing, but I just might have joined them if they had been! Then I got my supper (the rationing wasn’t entirely successful) at a grimy little grocery store called Angelo & Joes. It was great! Huge pickles in a tub, gnochi in the pasta isle, 8 different kinds of clam sauce, vodka sauce, etc, and recognizably biological organisms in little jars by the tuna. I got a big kick out of it. Ended up buying a can of clams in red sauce. It wasn’t very clammy, which I don’t really know whether is good or bad.
My new group is comparatively huge – 32 of us. Most of them have spent the last three weeks skimming over what I’d spent ten weeks learning in 6-9, so they mostly know each other. They’ve been very welcoming, though, and I’d already met and talked to many of them. There are nine men, which is different from my other group – we were all women. We’ll see what kind of difference that makes.
The subject matter so far has been very similar, which I think might be more of a challenge to me than if it were totally different. For one, I’m worried that I’ll confuse the two curricula, and for another, I just feel like my brain is at explosion point with more of the same stuff. But I’ll keep ramming it in, and the brain will adapt, I have no fear.
Thanks for all y’all’s prayers for my relationship with Naomi, who’s going to be my assistant this fall. She’s here for the 6-9 training, and is really great. I like her a lot, and we’ve done several expeditions together, and had fun. She really loves the Lord, and really is loving Montessori, so it’s going to be good.
Maybe some of you other grad students (9of.users) could post a little of what you’re up to? I would read it, and even comment!
God bless,
Claire