The Homework Pit

Last week, Aidan said to me (in reference to his mounting homework load), "I feel like I've fallen into a deep pit with only quicksand at the bottom."

I invited him to look around for a rope ladder.

He agreed there could be a rope ladder, but he was still pretty worried about the quicksand.

He later told me that there's only one small pocket of air under the quicksand, so anyone who falls in the pit would have to be pretty lucky to find that pocket to survive.

Too much MineCraft?

Quote of the Day

A2: "Earth wants to be close to death."

Around the table, there was an awkwardness ... I'm not sure if any of us were following his line of thinking.

A2 repeats: "Earth just wants to be close to death, because everyone really cares when someone is close to death."

Ok. I get it. Earth wants us all to really care. ... Yes.

A Greeting from the Soul

This morning, I reminded Aidan that today would be his great-grandfather's 100th birthday.

Aidan wondered aloud, "Do you think we could sing him Happy Birthday with our souls?"

Why we sometimes need sad endings

Aidan's class watched a French movie about children at war with each other. He doesn't remember the title, but thinks it is something like, "La Guerre des Enfants." Near the end of the movie, a large snow fort collapsed on a pet dog and the dog appeared to have died.

Aidan was struck by this event and told me about it after school. I could tell by the twitch in his eye that he was sympathizing and certainly moved.

He seemed to deliberate over this scene throughout the weekend. He was emotionally low and frequently mentioned that he misses Jazz, she was his best friend, and he's lonely without her.

On Monday at lunchtime, while we were driving back to school after Aidan's podiatrist appointment, Aidan surmised, "The dog had to die, so the children would learn that war only causes fighting, suffering and death. So don't do it."

Quote of the day

A2: "I feel like God wants me, but the Earth doesn't." 
M: "Don't you think God wants you on Earth?"
A2: "I know God wants me here."
M: "Aren't God and Earth the same?"
A2: "I think God and Earth are separate. Humans are destroying Earth and Earth just wants the humans to go away."

Painting

Tonight, Aidan invited me to paint with him. Together, we designed and painted on a small square of canvas. We plan to affix magnets to the back so we can hang it on the fridge.

It's fun to participate in the process of creating art with Aidan. He let me into his world a bit, so I could see how he selects colour and placement. He was so careful with his fine brush, outlining his drawing. And he was very generous with me, letting me know it was ok if I didn't stay within the lines of the cloud, because clouds have irregular shapes anyways.

Can you spot the hidden word?

Quote of the Day

A2: "We had a bunch of geometry tests today and none of the questions were about rocks! All I know about geometry is rocks."

M: "Geometry? Geology is about rocks. What questions were on your geology test?"

A2: "Oh, like provinces and cities."

M: "Oh, GEOGRAPHY! Those were geography tests."

A2 (looking bemused): "Anytime I hear 'geo,' I think 'geology.'"