At school with Miss Sawyer

Tonight, after dinner, Sawyer and I were helping Sebastian clean up a GIANT mess in his room. 

One of his "obsessions" is laying out his pictures, movies, books and comics in what is, to him anyway, a very deliberate pattern.  It looks random to me, but yesterday, after he created this 6ft by 4 ft collage of everything he loves, he knew, with a one second glance, that someone had touched his pictures. (It was Sawyer, but I took the fall for it.  I'm a good mom that way). 

I let him keep it out all day yesterday and today, as long as he promised to clean it up, BY HIMSELF, tonight.  He agreed.

Of course, when it came time tonight to do that, he just started bulldozing everything around.  My own OCD couldn't handle that, so I pitched in to help.  Sawyer did too.

So, I put away books, Sebastian put away pictures.  Sawyer flitted around, touching this and that.  She did offer to make Sebastian's bed, but only because it's a bunk bed, and she wanted to climb up.  When I said no, she moved from this to that, and eventually found a book that she wanted to read. 

And thus began "school time with Miss Sawyer."

She plunked herself down on Sebastian's toy box, with her book.  She turned to Bastian and I, who were busy sorting and stacking. 

"Class, you know what book this is?  Class, what name this book?"

We looked up, not sure if we were the class, or if there were some other, mysterious class lingering there as well. She lowered her head and looked at me, like she was looking over the top of eyeglasses.

"Class, you needs to sit and listen.  Mommy, come sit in your square."  She pointed imperially towards a section of carpet.  I didn't see a square, but I know better than to argue. 

"Ima read the book now.  The book's name Cars 1.  BASTIAN! (she yelled this) I tole you cri-cross sauce.  (She had told him no such thing, but I helped him move to criss-cross-apple-sauce as quickly as possible.)  That better.  Now, class.  Listen."

She began to read.  The book was Cars, one of the Disney hardcover movie adaptation books.  We got it from a kid's book club, a couple of years ago.  The following is as close as I can get to a play by play of the reading we attended.

"Cars 1.  It's a book" (opens the cover)
"There's Light M'Keen.  (turns the page)
"There's a car friend." (turns the page)
"M'Keen talks to a friend." (turns the page)
"Another car." (heavy sigh, and another turn of the page)
"AHH!  A peece car (aka police car).  Mommy, is the peece car looking....(turns page)
"No more peece.  Just M'Keen. (turns about 3 pages)
"Racing..." (turn)
"Racing..." (turn)
"Racing..." (turn)
"Nothing happen here."
"mmmphmph....(indistinguishable mumbling)
"THE END!" (again, yelled and punctuated with a slammed book)

She looked around, waiting.  Bastian and I, while a little slow on the upswing, gradually caught on and applauded with appreciation. 

We moved on to show and tell from the special helper (Bastian presented his Mickey and Minnie pictures he found on Grandma's computer).  We then had to wait for our names to be called before we could line up (she was only a little put out that Axle didn't wait his turn, but got up with me.)  We even had to pretend to go for our bathroom break (I thought we were lining up again, but she pushed me in the butt, and said, "you are done peeing now.")

It was very impromptu, and very fun.  I got to see school from Sawyer's point of view- very structured, with every step in the process so important.  She liked being the one in charge, the one knowing what was going on, and what was coming next. 

I liked learning with Miss Sawyer.

Rosie N. Grey
The N stands for "new school day".