Lesson Plans

Ever since Cael started school, it has been fun and sometimes interesting to see the "work" he completes.  As if I didn't have enough torn paper, twisted pipe cleaners and bits of what-exactly-is-that cluttering my countertops and hidden under my rugs, there is a near-constant supply returning home in his backpack for my review, and not all of it is refrigerator-worthy.



Most of the crumpled papers reveal partial sketches of... something and painted portraits of... someone.  But my favorites have been the handwritten papers used to practice reading and writing.  About once a month I receive a lined paper with three sentences written by the teacher but clearly conceived by the students about their lives or interests.  Through these papers I have learned that Cael "likes purple more than his brother Graham" and "eats peanut butter and jelly like a superhero".  But because there are three student's sentences on the page, I also get an insight into the lives of other children in Cael's class.



Did you know that Kaitlyn's sister had a birthday? Or that Emma thinks My Little Pony is her favorite toy?  I didn't know those things either because I was too stunned by one particular message on the page.



I don't believe that there was anything inappropriate going on in that scenario, but when laughed as I read it, I could imagine the embarrassment that this child's mother would certainly feel if she knew that her daughter's words were being shared with other parents.  Or, all over the internet.  (Uh, sorry...)

But the real shock was the realization that, adversely, some of those parents are seeing the statements Cael makes about his own life.  For all I know, there could be another local blogger out there posting pictures of her child's homework and staring wide-eyed at the words on the page.

"Sometimes my Mommy calls me Billy Buttcrack."

"My dog Oscar ate the arms off of Jesus."

"Once I ate a whole bag of candy and told my Mommy and Daddy that Graham did it, but actually I did it and stuffed the wrappers under the couch cushions and inside the floor vents."

Come to think of it, there are much more embarrassing things to reveal than a nap with Dad.  Maybe I shouldn't complain about those pipe cleaners after all...