The inspection we had a while ago, in which they were supposed to look at the work we actually do, got me thinking.  Because the sorts of things children do when left largely to their own devices never look quite like the things they do when they’re guided by an adult.

French children are supposed to learn poems, then copy them out (don’t ask me why, since they already know them), then illustrate them.  Antonia doesn’t know this, but for some reason, she decided to copy out and illustrate her favorite poem:

This isn’t quite how these things turn out when the schoolkids are forced to do them.  It’s a bit more original and a whole lot less polished.  Plus, it shows initiative and is an accurate reflection of the amount of time and effort that Little Miss thought the enterprise worthy of.  Even this little figurine, for which I provided some of the brute force, is a bit eccentric.  I believe it’s supposed to be a butterfly angel.

I imagined that the school inspectors wouldn’t really grasp this.  They are used to assessing children’s performance on adult-directed activities. Never mind.  They chose to set her a two-hour exam instead.