Of Scientists and Water Balloons

Leslie and Concepcion decorate their posters.

The end of school is here, which means finishing up final projects. Several of our Capilla kids had the same project last week--an essay and a poster about a famous scientist.

The students were able to use the office computer to find information and images, and we provided some of the creative materials, such as foam letters, construction paper, and other art supplies. I found my role as a tutor was mostly one of emotional support: "Yes, I think that picture looks great there. Sure, you could use these letters to spell out her name. What a great idea! Go for it!" Turns out you need a lot of confidence and courage to put the first permanent mark on a clean, white poster board.

The educator in me has to laugh sometimes at how far these assignments in practice are removed from their ideal. When Concepcion told me her subject was Dr. Mae Jemison, my reaction, naturally, was "Who's that?"

Deztiny writes about Sir Isaac Newton

The first African-American woman astronaut to go into space, apparently. But Concepcion and her friend Deztiny were both flabbergasted that I, an adult who claimed to be smart and college educated, didn't know about Mae Jemison. Hands on her hips, Deztiny turned to me and demanded, "Well, do you know who Sir Isaac Newton is?"

So, context is still a work in progress. But who knows? Maybe Mae Jemison should be as important as Sir Isaac Newton.

Anyway, this week we celebrated the end of this year's homework club with cupcakes, ice cream, and water balloons. I spent most of the hour standing by the sink, trying to fill balloons faster than the kids could throw them at each other--a pretty hopeless endeavor.

I finally stepped out into the sun just in time to get a bucket of water over the head, courtesy of Alex. The rest of the kids were shocked that he'd dared to soak an adult, but he just looked at me smugly and said, "Mother Karen told me she's going to make you ride home in the trunk." 

Homework Club

The intersection of the communities of Grace Church and La Capilla is a special thing--one of the things that drew me to become a member of Grace Episcopal less than a year ago. It's rare for two congregations--separated by miles, languages, and even culture--to share fellowship and ministry, but it is deeply enriching for all of us who are lucky enough to be a part of it.

Lately, my biggest involvement at La Capilla has been the after-school homework club held twice a week at the church. Kids start trickling in after school lets out, and before long, the room is full of activity. Math worksheets, spelling lists, and reading are the most common, but occasionally a big project comes along--last week, Leslie got help with her shadow box project for history class.

Even when they don't have homework, the kids show up anyway. We've been collecting quite a stack of games, from Hi Ho Cherry-Oh for the little ones to spelling, math, and memory games for the big kids.  I have to confess, I got royally crushed in Toy Story Memory the other day by Maite, who has an uncanny knack for spatial recall. While the other kids and I were trying to decide whether or not we had seen that Buzz Lightyear card somewhere on the grid before, she calmly leaned across the table and flipped it over, then found the original, and added both cards to her stack with a satisfied smile. By the end of the game, she was giving us all hints. "That one? Oh, it's over here--somewhere in THIS area"--with a wide sweeping gesture across the cards. For my part, it didn't help. I still lost soundly.

We're having a good time, though--getting to know the kids as their personalities and individual gifts come out more and more. I for one will be a little disappointed when school lets out for the summer--but fall will come soon enough. And in the meantime, we'll have Adventure Club to keep us busy. But those are stories for another day...