My Day With The Ancient Greeks

Last week was a busy week!  It was hard to get back into the swing of school and regular life after our vacation.  The boys did their lessons, but I wasn't sure if I was getting through to them at all.  Until one morning, when I suddenly realized they'd at least been listening to their history and literature lessons.  As I sat at the breakfast table both boys walked in with wide eyes.  Mason stopped in front of the table, threw his hands up in the air, and proclaimed, "What are all these modern wonders?!  The gods and goddesses must have gone crazy!"  I wasn't really sure what was going on...but I'm kind of used to unusual outbursts.  So I waited to see how it would play out. 

Mason grabbed my arm and asked what year it was.  I calmly told him it was 2011.  "2011!," he exclaimed.  Then he turned to me, "Kind lady, we used to live in ancient Greece, and have now come back to life!  Please tell me what all these new things are!"  Connor nodded, "Yes, we are ancient Greeks!"  So my day began.  For hours the boys played their part.  I showed them the microwave, television, explained the Internet, and showed them pictures of what Greece now looks like.  Mason has been learning about ancient Greece in literature, and Connor has been learning about it in history.  Apparently it caught their fancy.  They both pretended to be in complete awe as they learned about all the "modern wonders."  It was really pretty hilarious, and I totally went along with it, only drawing the line once...when they asked me to demonstrate a toilet.  I was NOT about to do that!  Mason touched the toilet paper and asked what it did.  YOU try keeping a straight face when you have to tell an "ancient Greek" that toilet paper is to clean your bottom.  I should get brownie points for that.  Mason then asked what we did with the "waste" when we were done.  "Do you throw it out into the street?," he asked.  (Leave it to Mason to particularly remember when we talked about why Greeks developed a type of underground sewer!)  Connor pretty much just followed Mason's lead, though he did chime in once awhile to tell me that he heard a "monster" (the heater coming on) or to ask about an appliance.

After awhile, the game sort of petered out, which was kind of a relief.  They were so devout to the game that I had a hard time keeping up!  Maybe I was crazy for playing along, but who am I to stifle any one's creativity?  When people ask me how I do it all day long...how I do the whole homeschooling bit, how I handle two boys with special needs...I tell them that it's hard but very interesting.  I really mean it.  The boys amaze me with their creativity, and crack me up with their antics.  This gives me plenty of great memories to refer to when we have hard days, and keeps me on my toes every day!

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