Chomsky in bed (a Wednesday).

Pre-dawn geopolitics

A Wednesday - Stagewhispers, Russia, robbers, Joshua 1:9, surprise kitties

The sun had not yet put its face on for our hemisphere, and Becca lay a world away; separated by a combined total of eight years, the two boys stage-whispered dialogue that Noam Chomsky might have delighted to join in on.

Though the thought of sharing a bed with Noam Chomsky is, honestly, a little strange for me.

These two boys, one three, the other five, whispered in a level still understandable thirty feet away. As I was approximately six inches away, still trying to sleep, I did not have to strain to hear. Rather, the choice of to hear or not to hear was not an option.

My memory is a little hazy. Again, I was trying to rest my mind and body and soul in preparation for another cycle of life called Wednesday, and I remember that somewhere at the beginning they were discussing crime and theft and robbers in particular. I remember the beginning, and I vaguely remember a segue to geopolitics and an analogy the elder tried to make to the younger:

And so…he whispered softly, his voice carrying the length of a football field, that is why Russia is kind of like a robber, and also, that is why Russia is bad.

I rolled over in bed and groggily pondered the level of nuance five-year olds are capable of.

No, I murmured, the country of Russia is not bad.

He ignored me. They both did, and they rolled out of bed to go somewhere. Maybe St. Petersburg or Kyiv.

Bible

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
-Joshua 1:9

Mathematics

I helped half our children with math. I looked over the shoulders of the other half.

The 10th grader studied bisecting and angles.
The 7th grader studied scales and grids.
The 5-year old practiced adding, subtracting, and counting to 50.
The 3-year old practiced adding and counting to 20.

Geography

We looked at the continent of Africa and the different types of topography and shapes.

Science

We reviewed organ systems and discussed the concept of homeostasis.

Picture books

Horse Meets Dog by Elliott Kalan (2018)
Snappsy the Alligator by Julie Falatko, illustrated by Tim J. Miller (2016)

The music they make

They play songs, a variety of songs, on guitar and ukulele, and my favorite right now is Wondering by Julia Lester and Olivia Rodrigo from High School Musical. The sun catches their hair as they strum and sing together, and my heart bursts while I hum along; hum quietly so they don’t get self-conscious or irritated at me. But inevitably they catch me, and heads are shaken, eyes are rolled, and the music continues.

Other

We did puzzles

Two children watched PBS Kids’ The Odd Squad. I caught our Olders watching too.
“Childhood!” They said with big grins.

A boy waters dead grass. “It looks like it needs watering,” he explains. I look around at the acres of additional dying grass, and the size of his sprinkler can, and marvel at the idea of hope. One step, one can, one blade of grass at a time. Who am I to dash a dream? I mean, our well might run dry. Literally, it may.

Grocery shopping with four assistants. An ongoing opportunity that yields innumerable moments for learning the depth and breadth of knowledge.