Ten children visited my yard yesterday to play games, eat snacks, and create what they coined “Unity Village of Africa.” Each child and adult had created an original miniature paper house with a unique roof, some with optional organic decoration. We only had one figurine, seen here carrying a bundle on top of her head. The dusty, rather barren-looking patches in the yard actually made for a perfect village-like setting. All the houses were gathered together with a central public lane for our African lady to saunter in style.
We started with Elizabeth (”Aunty Beth”) showing pictures of Botswana, round huts, and thatched roofs. We talked about the different ways people construct houses around the world and this is one way. She showed us pictures of roof frames made of sticks that can mount on top of the round huts to provide a structure for the thatch. No one seemed too interested in actually making a miniature thatched roof, but maybe they’ll go for it next week.
The kids went at it for a while, cutting pieces of paper and taping them in shapes more or less like a round hut with a door. Not everyone chose to make a round structure but most did, since it was simple and kind of different. The girls gathered on one blanket and the boys on another, of their own organization. With three adults, ten children, and only two rolls of tape, it was challenging to help everyone and take pictures at the same time, but we somehow managed.
After the village was set up, snack was served, which the kids had been asking for since we finished playing red rover on the front sidewalk. The delicious spread of fruit and chocolate chip cookies was dropped off earlier in the day by another teacher, Minoo, who had committed to bringing food but was unexpectedly unable to attend the class in the afternoon. She brought so much food and made the children so happy—they absolutely love eating fruit together and it all disappeared really fast. Several sticky fingers later, kids were gradually picked up and brought home in the haphazard way it usually works out. No one came to pick up Hieu, so she stayed for quite a while watching her Barbie video with my kids until River came home from work, and was able to drive her home (I was too lazy). Her dad didn’t seem to mind that she had been at our house all that time. Other days, he comes to pick her up too early. Aunty Beth said maybe he was trying to make up for that.
We had one additional new child yesterday, Jasmine, whose older brother usually picks her up from school. We told her early in the week that she had to bring a note from her mother in order for me to be able to pick her up instead—school policy. Apparently Jasmine wrote the note herself because the teacher wouldn’t allow her to leave with us. The brother and I had it worked out but school policy is school policy. So we ended up sort of all walking away together and that met the school’s needs; the brother then parted ways with us a block later and we agreed that he would come by to pick Jasmine up. I grilled him a few times about whether he knew my address. He said he was going to the library. When he came by my house later, 15 minutes early, he said he’d been at basketball practice, and this arrangement worked out pretty well for him. He said they lived nearby, but had to leave with Jasmine to catch a city bus somewhere. They apparently have busy afternoons. This brother looks to be about 13 years old. Many middle-school kids are responsible for picking up younger siblings at the elementary school; it seems very common, and they have to act adult at a young age. I try to be very respectful of that but I also feel sorry for them. It’s sort of a loss of childhood for them, in a way. We have so much time in life to act like adults. I wanted to invite Jasmine’s older brother to come make a round hut with us. But they had to go.