Another crazy school day....

As I step out my front door to walk to our schoolroom, one of the woman I know was waiting for me.  Her child is sick again and last time the medicine I gave worked.  Well the problem may be the same or it may be completely different and I always need wisdom in these situations.  When do I treat?  When do I wait?  When do I say no? 

I managed to get 1.5 hours of school completed before someone was peering in the window.  It was Wotak and he was beaming!   He especially takes a liking to Joel and spent some time watching him do Math. 

I wasn’t surprised when Wotak came through the front door and sat down beside Joel.  He then picked up a crayon and started scribbling on Joel’s binder.

We decided to help Wotak with his first day of school.  Joel gave him a pencil and paper and the kids each drew a picture for him.  It was really sweet to watch them interact with him.

Kalia drew a picture of a sheep on the paper and then yelled “Jaaja!”  Wotak was thrilled.  I doubt he would have interpreted the picture without a little help (not because of Kalia’s drawing) because the Gumuz do not have access to pictures.

He spend another 10 minutes watching and encouraged the kids and then went to sleep on the porch and wait for lunch.  I can’t help but chuckle at our life sometimes.

Next some boys came by with their bows and arrows.  I am not sure if they were skipping school and going hunting or if they don’t go to school.

What do you want?  “Belash” was the answer.  Nothing.  Boys with nothing to do.  I am sure Joel was jealous.

Sonia decided not to sleep and so the last hour of school felt rather wild.   Sonia is in the stage of curiousity so began pulling things off of shelves and pulling papers out of the garbage. 

Finally, school was done and after the kids did their cleanup, I decided to do a bit more since we had a rat in the school room recently.  I pulled away a small table and found his stash of dominoes, ½ eaten glue bottles, part of a candy wrapper that I had accidently left after our class on fractions and several balls of fur.  It looked like some babies had died awhile ago and mostly decomposed.

I am always amazed at what the kids and I do accomplish considering all the extra distractions.