When Chicky and I first started talking about sex and adolescence, she'd get very squirmy, scratch at her arms and legs, and generally avoid eye contact. It was, in a word, hilarious. Which I told her, of course! I asked if she was allergic to the conversation, if this was a common problem other 5th graders faced, and what her class would look like while they were studying sex ed in school. We envisioned rows of uncomfortable ten-year-olds scratching at themselves, and laughed.
From then on, we've referred to these uncomfortable subjects as "itchy" ones. More recently we've introduced some assonance, and now they're called "Itchy Issues." Catchy, huh?
Here's the list of "Itchy Issues" that are on the docket for discussion. We add more as we think of them. Yesterday, I told her what all I had on my list to talk about, and asked her which she thought were the most/least "itchy" ones. This is the order she chose:
Sex
Eating disorders/body image
Friends
Drugs/Alcohol
Boys*
Puberty
Can you tell we've talked about puberty ad nauseum? The girl could probably teach her own class on it at this point. I also want to include "emotions and feelings" on that list, but I kind of feel like it goes with just everything. It's something that is going in the "curriculum," but it doesn't have a place on the list yet... largely because I forgot about it as we were ordering things last night.
*I've been saying "boys or girls" every time we have a conversation about romantic interests. The other day she finally said, "You know, I like boys." And I had to reply, "Well, yes, I thought you probably did. But I would hate for you to feel like you HAD to, or that you couldn't change your mind." So I'm saying "boys" now... but talking about the range of sexuality, etc.
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