Tuesday, 10 June 2008 01:17 pm
(no subject)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deckardcanineYesterday I did another hour-long group babysitting job via Greater DC Cares, this time indoors at the House of Ruth. The adult-to-child ratio was high enough that I soon wondered if I was just taking up space. And there weren't enough little chairs for everyone. Fortunately, it didn't stay that way, especially once the toddlers moved to another room.
I attended primarily to a first-grader named Anthony. He worried me at first with his sometimes stern older cool guy impressions and mild behavioral issues (the organizer had to remind him of some rules in a stern voice), but he complied soon enough not to get in any big conflicts. I got reacquainted with the smell of Play-Doh as he used one container for the base of a yellow island volcano, complete with pink lava and blue water. He didn't want it to be taken apart, but he either got distracted or resigned himself to that inevitability.
Out of the board games, to my slight surprise, Anthony chose Brain Quest. The game features cards with questions numbered for the player's grade level, 1 to 6, so I thought I might not have too great an advantage (remember "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?"), but I still guessed all but one answer while he got about half. It didn't help that he tended to read, at his beginner pace, the grade 4 questions to me. I aimed to retain an air of modesty while not patronizing Anthony with fake ignorance.
Naturally, we weren't playing precisely by the rules. We just took turns rolling the die, moving our pieces, and getting questions. It made no difference whether we got it right or wrong; only the die rolls determined who reached the finish line first. That seemed to help Anthony's enjoyment when he won the second time.
Anthony took a look at some of the nearby books, including The Giving Tree, and declared, "Too easy!" They were indeed among the easiest on the shelf, but judging from his card reading, the Magic School Bus series would not be below his level. Nevertheless, he had started to semi-shuffle some picture cards labeled "Old Maid" and "Go Fish" before the hour was up.
The organizer seemed impressed at how much fun Anthony had with me. Perhaps she was mainly glad he didn't opt for more contrary ways to have fun. In any case, I can see coming back to the House of Ruth for more.
I attended primarily to a first-grader named Anthony. He worried me at first with his sometimes stern older cool guy impressions and mild behavioral issues (the organizer had to remind him of some rules in a stern voice), but he complied soon enough not to get in any big conflicts. I got reacquainted with the smell of Play-Doh as he used one container for the base of a yellow island volcano, complete with pink lava and blue water. He didn't want it to be taken apart, but he either got distracted or resigned himself to that inevitability.
Out of the board games, to my slight surprise, Anthony chose Brain Quest. The game features cards with questions numbered for the player's grade level, 1 to 6, so I thought I might not have too great an advantage (remember "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?"), but I still guessed all but one answer while he got about half. It didn't help that he tended to read, at his beginner pace, the grade 4 questions to me. I aimed to retain an air of modesty while not patronizing Anthony with fake ignorance.
Naturally, we weren't playing precisely by the rules. We just took turns rolling the die, moving our pieces, and getting questions. It made no difference whether we got it right or wrong; only the die rolls determined who reached the finish line first. That seemed to help Anthony's enjoyment when he won the second time.
Anthony took a look at some of the nearby books, including The Giving Tree, and declared, "Too easy!" They were indeed among the easiest on the shelf, but judging from his card reading, the Magic School Bus series would not be below his level. Nevertheless, he had started to semi-shuffle some picture cards labeled "Old Maid" and "Go Fish" before the hour was up.
The organizer seemed impressed at how much fun Anthony had with me. Perhaps she was mainly glad he didn't opt for more contrary ways to have fun. In any case, I can see coming back to the House of Ruth for more.