Jesus Mummy

Me: "How was Sunday School?"

Alice: "Great! We learned all about when Jesus died! He died on a cross and then, after, they prepared his body. They took out his organs and put them in jars and then they got a hook and took out his brain through his nose!"

Me: (long pause) "Did they tell you that in Sunday School?"

Alice: "Yeah! They really did that, Mom! Remember? We read it in that book."

Me: (the lightbulb coming on) "Alice, Jesus wasn't a mummy. They didn't take out his organs or his brain. You're thinking about the ancient Egyptians."

Alice: (greatly disappointed) "Oh."

Me: "Also, this is probably another one of those things you shouldn't talk about at school. I mean, you can talk about mummies and you can talk about Jesus, but you probably shouldn't talk about Jesus being a mummy...."

Alice: "Why?"

Me: (weighing the pros and cons of trying to explain the dark side of Southern religious culture -again- and deciding against it.) "Well, because it's just not true and you might confuse some people."

Alice: "Oh. Okay. But can I just pretend that Jesus was a mummy, you know, by myself?"

Me: "Absolutely."

This led to another very interesting conversation about what she plans to do with my body when I die. No cremation for me, apparently!

Note to self: next year we should not study ancient cultures during Lent.

Take Three...

Tim emailed the principal of Alice's current school to request an appointment to discuss enrichment activities for next year since we did not win the honors lottery. She emailed him back and told him that she had spoken with the head of Gifted / Talented for the county. Alice HAD been selected for the honors class next year.

Apparently the school was supposed to call the parents of children who were selected for the honors classes before the district sent home the transfer papers. They wound up doing it in reverse this year. The transfer paper we received only listed the school - not the honors program. The honors program and the school itself are two different options in the transfer lottery. It was all very confusing.

Although Tim talked to the G/T coordinator yesterday, we got the official phone call from the school this morning.

She's in! (For real this time!)

Back to Square One...

Here is a lesson in reading carefully.

Alice did NOT win a place in the honors class. She won a place in the school which houses the honors class. I mistook "magnet" to = honors. It doesn't. Thank GOD I didn't rush out and return the letter of intent! The honors program is great. The general school, not so much.

I am sick over this. I'm not sure what we'll be doing next year.

What do you do with a kid who is already working a few grades ahead of her peers with the gap widening every day?

Really. I'm asking. If anyone has advice I'd love to hear it.

We Won the Lottery!!!

Alice was accepted into the 2nd grade accelerated honors class at the magnet elementary for next year!

Phew.

Afterschooling - March 31

We have been agonizing over what to do next year for school. (I know - this is a dramatic way to put things, but its true.) 2nd grade is 2nd grade. I know that. My biggest concern is that sitting in a classroom day after day without sufficient challenge will start to erode the love of learning that Alice currently has.

We looked into private schools. There was one that was a good fit, but it was too expensive. Homeschooling is a possibility, but no one's first choice. Alice is in the running for the magnet school honor's program lottery - but there aren't many seats available.

A few days ago I discovered that Tennessee treats "intellectually gifted" as a subgroup under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). (Tennessee is the only state that does this. Suddenly I like living here a whole lot more...) This means that we can request an IEP (individualized education plan) solely because Alice is gifted! This could be a game-changer for us. An IEP is legally binding - the school would be required to make accommodations. Alice has already been identified as "intellectually gifted" by the district's own test.

Tim and I are planning to meet with the school sometime soon.

Anyhow, finding that out has been so exciting to me, I had to share.

Here is what we're working on with afterschooling this month:

Science: Plants - what do plants need to grow? Sprouting seeds. (Lima beans in wet paper towels, etc.) Different parts of the flower. Bees and pollination.

This is Alice's request. They are sprouting lima beans at school. She wanted to do the same thing at home, but made her request while I was in the middle of cooking dinner. I told her she needed to wait, but she could draw out the experiment if she wanted to. She stormed off to her room. A few minutes later I heard her reading a book about plants to her dolls. This is another great thing about afterschooling - you can take the curriculum that is being covered in school and explore it much further.

We will also probably start something with elements and the periodic table. She keeps asking me questions about it and is not satisfied with, "I don't know. We'll have to look that up later."

Math: Hammering addition and subtraction facts (always), telling time, counting money. (also supplementing school) I have a kid's clock kit with gears that I've been holding back since summer. That will probably come out this month as a daddy-daughter project.

Language Arts: Synonyms and Antonyms (school supplementation), letter writing.

History / read aloud: Little House in the Big Woods