bits and pieces

Today was a St. Michael's School day for me, a Thursday, and usually presents a pretty challenging morning; today was no different. The teachers are very nice and friendly and the children are nice and friendly, in small groups or one-on-one, but Wed. was a holiday, and more holidays are coming next week, so these children are in the holiday spirit. Need I say more?
I will anyway. Planning for these classes is difficult because I am never sure what the teacher will be doing. I have a syllabus, but they are jumping around a bit in the syllabus. I planned for the arithmetic class, kinders, a matching number and number word activity (1-150), but when I walked into the room, I notice that times tables are on the board. Times tables in kindergarten? Yes indeed. The teacher, glad to have an opportunity to slip out, said, "Oh no problem, do whatever you want to do."
She gets the kids under control and I wonder how long that will last. Surprisingly the activity goes pretty well, but toward the end, the kids are getting restless and so we finish up. I sit down and the rest of the time is spent with 5 year olds going a little crazy while the teacher checks language books. I spen my time quizzing the little group who had gathered around me on nursery rhymes which they know by heart plus actions and number facts, which they also know. There are 60+ kids in this class. I'm always amazed at what they know.
After lunch, a nap, and a shower, I head to my favorite place, the center. The garden space is almost cleared. The clearing is being done by two young boys, teens I'd guess, with some very primitive tools: short handled diggers, machete, and things that look like hoes, only the tool part is bigger and the handle shorter. Oh my aching back.
I make arrangements to take four of the boys to the market to buy the tools we will need for tilling the soil. We're getting ready to gather when someone reminds me that the market is closed from 1:00 to 5:00, so we will go after school. In the meantime, I take the 5th-7th graders out to the space and they draw it in their notebooks. Then we measure the space so we can find the area. Even as we are engaged in this activity, Mrs. Dutta, Bunti (staff), and Bashu (staff) decide the space should be larger. So there is more measuring and staking. I take the kids back in and with the help of Ms. Lorraine, head teacher, the children do the math. I have to insist that the children do the math as Ms. Lorraine would like to do the math on the board for the children. She sees the value in this and lets them.
Now it is 5:00 and we can get ready to go to the market. There are five boys, Bunti, Bashu, and me. It is already getting dark and the walk is a lot farther than I thought. We have to walk all the way through the market which is bustling with holiday shoppers and dodge all the vehicles in our path, but finally we arrive at the hardware shop. We're not talking Home Depot here, we're talking small, barely room for the group of us, but we squeeze in and begin our business. I want the boys to do the shopping. It's hard to keep the adults in the background, but they fade back staying just close enough to assist when necessary. Each boy makes a purchase, getting the needed money from the bank, me, paying for the items and checking for the correct change. The shopkeeper is patient, even smiling, while we go through this process. I hand the receipt over to the boy I think is most responsible and tell him he will need to bring it to school on Friday. He says, "Thank you."
Then we're ready to weave our way back to the center, in the dark, and with our purchases which the boys are carrying.
When we arrive, the boys are glad to drop their loads and flex their muscles.
It's been a lot of fun, and I hope there are many more afternoons like this one to come.