greek olympics

avery's sixth grade has been studying greek mythology, greece, and egypt.  they have written myths, read many myths, studied the geography of the areas, and finally...participated in a day of "greek olympics".  

i volunteered for the day, as there was a lot of action and the teachers needed help herding the children from one event to the next.  

it was a lot of fun and very, very exhausting!  i cannot tell you how much i admire all of those teachers for doing what they do every single day and do it with love, grace, humor, acceptance, and a whole lotta patience!  

some of the events that took place were...greek jeopardy, greektionary (greek spin on pictionary), greco (like bingo), penny drop, tongue twisters, and many more. there was a cafe where they had snacks...not many were greek, but some were.  

it was great for me to see what a day in the life of my middle schooler is like, for there is not many opportunities to volunteer like there was in elementary.  

he seems very happy in that crazy place and is respected and liked and is a good friend to all.  

middle school is such a weird place...like another planet, really.  these children (most) are still so eager to please, but yet are feeling their way around their own feelings, opinions, and perspectives of life.  they are not afraid to blurt out these opinions, not afraid to ask questions, even if they are silly.  and i was so impressed with their loyalty to one another...ready to offer a helping hand, to provide an answer to the silly question, even to agree or disagree, in a positive way, with the blurted opinions.

i always feared the middle school years (and there are still 2+ years left), but have found myself embracing them with a feeling of excitement for the future selves that these little people are figuring out for themselves everyday.