Home School Highlights

A week and 1/2 into our home school year, I am amazed at what's happened around this little apartment. Who knew so much life could be squeezed into a span of ten days when those days are spent in really, really close proximity to one another? My head is spinning with a menagerie of moments, so I'm just going to put down my thoughts, bullet-point style.

**Thank you to every teacher who ever worked with my girls in the past. Seriously. I feel like I'm cheating a little bit because I'm starting the home school journey with kids that will sit and listen. And finish a whole lesson. And ask me to please grade them more fairly, because really, it isn't right that I gave them 100% when I allowed them to correct a problem they originally missed...shouldn't I take an average of the two grades? (OK, that was just Abby.  Emma gladly takes the 100%). I'd like to take credit for these learning skills they've acquired, but I know that most of it comes from a slew of patient, loving, creative, giving, making-far-less-money-than-they-deserve teachers from our past. And I am truly grateful to each one of you.

**I am a music teacher by trade. I am supposed to have daughters that, by now, have been exposed to all kinds of musical genres and experiences, and have developed beautiful pitch, and can count any rhythm put in front of them. But guess what? I was usually so tired of music by the end of the school day, all I wanted was peace and quiet.  So with renewed energy, some of my favorite home school moments thus far have been very musical. I like to start the day off with rhythm and sight singing exercises, and we always end up doing them in canon (think Row, Row, Row Your Boat in a round) just because we're goofy that way. It feels good to share one of the greatest joys of my life with two of the greatest joys of my life.

**I speak from experience when I say that one of the greatest frustrations a teacher experiences is figuring out how to keep the right pace when you're teaching 20+ kids.  Because all of them work at a slightly different speed. And it can make you a crazy person when you realize that you can't possibly find a happy medium for that many children. So, there's been an unexpected sense of giddiness, both from my end and from the girls, when we realize that there's no need to wait for anyone else to move on. Emma, my word-lover, gets a kick out of seeing how fast she can take a spelling test. I will still be reading the example sentence when she wants to move on to the next word...and I'm OK with that, because she's my only spelling student! Abby has a daily goal of being through with school by 2:00, because she can move from subject to subject in the time it takes to walk from the table to the bookshelf. She often chooses to work as she eats her lunch. And again, that's fine with me...gives her more time to help me do afternoon laundry!

**Alternate learning environments. That's my new catch-phrase for the many places we've discovered to transfer our lessons during the day. Central Park still ranks as #1, but our apartment building's rooftop green space is coming in at a close second lately. The skinny apartment balcony is a close third, although high winds can quickly send you inside. And, believe it or not, our preferred method of transportation, the good ol' metro bus, is a great place to finish a book you've been working on, as long as you're lucky enough to find a seat. Standing + reading = disaster. Trust us.

**PE. That's right, physical education. The most dreaded part of the day for me when I was a kid. Suddenly, we live for PE. All three of us. Trips down to the workout room, walks around the block, weight-lifting by lugging as many bags of groceries as we can handle...that's my kind of PE. We decided to make PE the most important subject one day this week-we filled backpacks with books and water bottles and headed over to Central Park, walking the entire length-about 50 blocks. We did stop along the way to read, explore and climb a tree or two. And ending the trek at FAO Schwarz, the infamous toy store, didn't hurt. Even still, I enjoyed being called "Coach Hedrick" for a day.

**Extra-curricular opportunities abound here in the Big Apple. I love that we can rearrange our daily schedule for a voice lesson, or co-op classes, or play rehearsals. And if they happen to hit at 1:00 in the afternoon, no big deal. The social interaction that happens during these times is priceless, too-there's no shortage of friendships in the NYC home school community!

Now, I am not saying that home schooling is perfect. Or always easy. There are many mornings that the girls wish for different classmates. And a different teacher. And I sometimes wish for different students. But all in all, we are very happy for this season in our lives. I have seen facets of my children that I didn't know existed. And I'm extremely thankful for this opportunity. And for New York. And for dvd-based math lessons.