Life In Llama Land: Homework and Ancient of Days

I have to laugh at a homework experience that happened recently. Elizabeth brought home a homework assignment. Here's the assignment:

"Antiques Roadshow"

"In English and Language Arts and Social Studies we are studying what life was like in the past compared to now. We would like for the students to experience some of the past and compare it to today. For our purpose, an "antique" is anything older than your child. Please have your child bring the item or a picture of it and answer the questions attached."

At first, Elizabeth wanted to bring my very favorite baby doll. (An interesting fact, I got this doll when I was 8 and her name is Elizabeth, nick name Beth. I guess I have loved the name for a really long time.). I said she could bring the doll, but then mentioned she should take my old Walkman that I happen to still have. (Well, mine isn't a true Walkman, but close enough, and I still called it a Walkman.) It was in a box marked to go to Goodwill, but maybe I should hang onto it for projects like this. She asked, "WHAT is a 'walk man'?" Oh boy! I went downstairs to fetch it and the interaction was hilarious! She looked at it and still was clueless and asked, "But what IS it?" I explained this is what I listened to music with as a teenager when I went for a run. I showed her how you clip it on your pants with the big (and I mean BIG) clip on the back. She was appalled that I actually tried to RUN with such a bulky thing strapped to me. She asked if she could listen to it. I explained you needed headphones to listen. "Why can't you just used the speaker?" Um, because there is no speaker! Then I explained you need a cassette tape. I started digging through boxes and found some that Blake refuses to get rid of no matter how much I pester him. I handed her a cassette tape that was still in the case. She figured out how to open the Walkman and then tried to stick the whole thing - case AND tape - in the walkman! I laughed and she was all, "What? How do you work it?" I showed her that the tape was inside. She laughed too. I showed her how the tape moves from wheel to wheel. (Are they called "wheels"? I don't even know what they're called, but I showed her how it worked.) She later explained the whole process to the other kids and called it a "cassette thingy... what is it called again mom?" I showed her how you have to listen to all the songs in order, you can't just skip to the next or previous song, or that you can use the forward button if you want to skip to another song. She noted that there isn't a rewind button. Holy cow this thing is ancient!! There's not even a rewind button! I then showed her how you have to open it up, turn the tape over, FF it, hope you got it to the right spot, turn it back over, push play, see if you guessed right. Repeat. She was amazed! And she couldn't quite grasp the concept that rewind and forward were opposites, but were the same thing if you flip over the tape. She was laughing the whole time and so was I! We measured it against her mp3 player and her ipod and noted the difference in size (and a whole lot of other differences). We had such a fun time and I enjoyed the kids' amazement at what was "cool" back when I was a teenager. Awesome homework assignment imo.

I asked Nathan if he remembered them and he didn't. But he does remember portable CD players. Elizabeth was confused again, "What is a portable CD player?" Oh goodness! My kids don't know anything. ;)

Some pictures, just for fun. Here it is... the mysterious, ancient object from the past! (That's Depeche Mode btw, in case anyone appreciates good music. ;) )