Worm Farms, Chimps and Greenday
Radiation Level: Deep Seeded
Listening To: Black Coffee in Bed by Squeeze
New Movie Reviews: Hunger Games
This week has been something strange. I find myself constantly doing things I never imagined I would be doing. I guess this is exciting, however I’m not doing many of the things I really want to be doing. I have three new screenplay ideas and one takes place in the 19th century…OH YEAH!
Monday: I made a worm farm with kids. Yes, a farm of earthworms. At 8am, I took a large styrofoam container out of a science lab fridge and opened it to find it packed with squirmy, blood red worms. The sight was pretty gross. But I soon came to terms with these earth-makers and, after letting the kids harass them for a while, we made a farm with broccoli and newspaper.
Because I believe in the power of stories, myths and legends, I insisted on naming the farm. Most kids suggested calling it “The Worm Farm.” One particularly rowdy kid suggested “The Cowboy Worm Farm” and I thought that was perfect. What stories may grow from this fabled farm of Cowboy worms? I told the kids to think about the worms as they lie in bed and fall asleep.
Or, The Cowboy Worm From? Love it.
After teaching, I went to see The Hunger Games. I hadn’t read the books, but I was excited to see it. Jennifer Lawrence was amazing in Winter’s Bone and it was as if her character Ree was magically transported into the dystopian world of Panem. Though the film was no Sparticus, it was pretty darn good. And, oh, those eyelashes! FalloutGirl has a new obsession. Anyone know where I can get the ones Katniss wore?
Tuesday: I programmed a Lego robot to walk. Yes, using a computer. Now, having said that, I’m not exactly confident I can actually teach someone else to do it. I’m really, really hoping the kids already know how to do this kind of thing.
I then taught a class on Leonardo Da Vinci’s Golden Horn Bridge. I must have a Zome tool in the pocket of every pair of pants I own.
Wednesday: I taught neuroscience at 8am. My own neural pathways don’t fully function so early in the morning, so it was an interesting class. I then dressed up as Ada Lovelace for an educational event. So. Loving. The. DRESS!
Then I taught a class on math in music. Ugh. These are gifted kids and almost all of them play an instrument and are experts in music theory. Filling up bottles with water and blowing on them (GERMS!!) didn’t go over so well, especially when they decided to start spilling the water on each other. Luckily, one tiny little pipsqueak of a girl said she could play the piano that was in the room. I took off the front panel of the ancient upright, so they could see the guts (I remember being fascinated by this as a child) and let her play. Mozart, no less! She was concert quality! Thank you, dear. You saved my class…
Thursday: Taught 5 garden science classes in a row. This kids are great, they have tons of energy and will literally eat ANYTHING you put in front of them. I can’t tell if they are underfed or just growing and hungry to feed their cells as they expand. I did a lesson on seaweed and then we made veggie sushi rolls. They devoured them. One kid even drank two containers of soy sauce. They wanted more. They want to make sushi again next week. I was shocked. I didn’t try sushi until I was 25 and had to learn to like it. Go figure.
I then met up with RosieGirl and AmishGirl for Pinot Noir and pizza. There’s nothing like having great friends.
Friday: I’m going to see a screening of Chimpanzee, and after that, I’m going to see American Idiot with LutheranGirl. Looking forward to both!
Saturday: CPR training and certification.
Sunday: Write Bar Mitzvah screenplay.
Yeah, that’s a strange week. Even for me…
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