weekend time

Today Tom took Riley with him. I think he wanted Riley to have some activity also out of the house. It was game day. Once a month Tom gets together with some male friends and they try to reenact history with the role of a dice. Each man plays a country and battles. Its a fun time and involves quite a bit of strategies, like a giant chess game. Riley loves board games and is quite good himself. They were gone all day.

Trevor and I attended my niece's play. She had the role of Frenchie in Grease. There was a solo acting part, Beauty school drop out. She was wonderful and so expressive. She reminds me of my sister in New York who also has that same love of the theater. Its such a small world that one of my niece's theater instructors went to school with my sister. They know each other. We couldn't take Riley as there would be many children and it was at a school with lots of people in the audience. So I was pleased Riley had an alternative activity today.

Riley has a lot of home work to do. Friday he was not fully finished. He has a book he doesn't want to read. In school he would have just got it done regardless. Now he balks at the reading like his brother does. I read the book. It was not bad, an easy afternoon read. He just has to get it done then write a summary. He asked the teacher to choose more sophisticated material for him. He was honest with her and said he found some of the work childish and too youthful. He had a valid argument. He is a sharp student. Often the middle school materials are geared toward less talented students. This book was a bit youthful, but I told him he still had to get it done. The next book she told him she would try to pick one more to his liking.

Riley likes fantasy. Maybe we should try the Odyssey with all the Gods and monsters, just like Peirce Jackson and the Curse of the Titans. At least then its educational literature. I read a couple of the chapters aloud to see if I could get Riley started on the book he was assigned. He liked that, but it didn't hold him enough to read it alone. I may just have to read the whole thing aloud. I wouldn't mind especially if Trevor can sit and listen also. At least then I can educate both boys and feel its time well spent.

I have tried to rent movies on Netflix to tie in with what the boys are studying. We watched last of the Mohawk ins the other night. Every one liked it, and it was about history, the French and British fighting for the East and getting the Indians to take sides. I had another movie lined up in the ques, but Riley got on line and had them send a Jim Carry movie Bruce Almighty instead. I told him every other movie needed to be educational. I told him he would like my picks, and to trust my picks. So, the next movie is Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man. I remember watching that one at school myself. Its about the Army's cruel treatment of the Indians and their response at Little Big Horn, from the Indian perspective. The way I see it is Riley doesn't get to hear a classroom lecture or discussion anymore, so watching a good movie on the subject fills that gap a little bit. It helps to see different movies on the same subject from the various perspectives.
He still has to read his text books, but the movies bring it alive. Netflix has been great to browse for material.

Any Movie recommendations are welcome. Humanities is supposed to run up through the Civil war this year. We already watched Roots, The Patriot, Gettiesburg. Book recommendations would help also. Its hard to find that balance between not childish and not too mature. I didn't think the Teacher's pick was that bad, but Riley balked. The problem also is he doesn't want to read anything too disturbing, which is hard not to do when you are studying wars and slavery and the persecution of minorities. We have had great success with some documentaries. The Railroad, about the Continental Railroad was wonderful. Riley found it fascinating that the Chinese played such a pivotal role in the building of the western branch. He does love learning something totally new and factual. So, The teacher and I muddle on with school work and try to make the best of it.