Summer Vacation
Wow, and already homeschooling is over. Well, formal, keep-track-of-it, report-it-to-the-state homeschool is over. What I've come to appreciate is that so much of what we already do in our family is homeschooling, and that won't end just because it's summer vacation. We won't stop hiking our local parks and trails and noticing leaves, bugs, dirt, and poop and speculating on what is, where it came from, why it's there, and what it's all about. We won't stop reading books and watching documentaries and movies together and talking about our favorite parts. We won't stop asking big questions ("If the universe is flat, why aren't we?") and looking for answers. We won't stop doing math because we are huge nerds and we all love math. We definitely won't stop writing short stories, plays, and little comedy sketches (we can't help it). If anything, I think we're going to be doing a little more of this great stuff now that it's summer.
It's been a few weeks now since Ryan's last day at the school where he has been very happy the last four years. Having that behind us is a relief. I know it is the right decision to cut ties 100% with the school, but I also know that it is hard on him. Switching him this year means that he will have two years in his new elementary school before moving on to middle school, which I think is good. We celebrated his last day of school with ice-cream lunch at a nearby creamery. Then the whole family attended three hours of rehearsal of the Scottish play before that evening's performance.
As for the Scottish play (Macbeth--I can say it now that it's over), I ended up as back-stage manager, stage right (SR). This was a really difficult job, no joke. I was expected to keep track of all the actors' SR entrances, props, and costume changes. The first couple of weeks were overwhelming. I had a script with all of the stage directions scrawled in the margins, which were like hieroglyphics to me before I got used to it all. And the actors were aged 8-12 and the dialogue was in the original Shakespearean language. The director would yell every time a kid didn't make an entrance fast enough. The kids and backstage managers bonded over our shared fear of her. I guess she knew what she was doing, though, because it did all come together nicely. It took me a number of weeks to figure out that what I really needed to do was keep 100% track of the two youngest kids and trust the others with their entrances and the set changes. Once I had that under control, I started to love the job. The performance was great--the kids all did wonderfully. Being a part of the theater crew, getting to know these young actors, was one of the most rewarding experiences of my adult life. I'm seriously considering joining community theater, perhaps with Will, once school starts again in the fall. We'll see how everything goes.
Anyway, back to Ryan. His teacher came to the play and then to our house for dinner, which was the most magical, special treat for the kids. It was lovely. She is a tremendous person. She is a great teacher and also very understanding, with a refreshing sense of humor. She is experienced and wise and she appreciates the talent and quirks in kids, even when the good at times hides behind undesirable behavior. Depriving Ryan of one last year in her classroom makes this whole school situation so bitter. I realize it's not easy for her, either. She's losing her favorite student (according to Ryan), and she has to work at the school, colleague to toxic individuals, in an oppressive administration. None of this has been easy on us, but we get to leave and never look back.
It's been a few weeks now since Ryan's last day at the school where he has been very happy the last four years. Having that behind us is a relief. I know it is the right decision to cut ties 100% with the school, but I also know that it is hard on him. Switching him this year means that he will have two years in his new elementary school before moving on to middle school, which I think is good. We celebrated his last day of school with ice-cream lunch at a nearby creamery. Then the whole family attended three hours of rehearsal of the Scottish play before that evening's performance.
As for the Scottish play (Macbeth--I can say it now that it's over), I ended up as back-stage manager, stage right (SR). This was a really difficult job, no joke. I was expected to keep track of all the actors' SR entrances, props, and costume changes. The first couple of weeks were overwhelming. I had a script with all of the stage directions scrawled in the margins, which were like hieroglyphics to me before I got used to it all. And the actors were aged 8-12 and the dialogue was in the original Shakespearean language. The director would yell every time a kid didn't make an entrance fast enough. The kids and backstage managers bonded over our shared fear of her. I guess she knew what she was doing, though, because it did all come together nicely. It took me a number of weeks to figure out that what I really needed to do was keep 100% track of the two youngest kids and trust the others with their entrances and the set changes. Once I had that under control, I started to love the job. The performance was great--the kids all did wonderfully. Being a part of the theater crew, getting to know these young actors, was one of the most rewarding experiences of my adult life. I'm seriously considering joining community theater, perhaps with Will, once school starts again in the fall. We'll see how everything goes.
Anyway, back to Ryan. His teacher came to the play and then to our house for dinner, which was the most magical, special treat for the kids. It was lovely. She is a tremendous person. She is a great teacher and also very understanding, with a refreshing sense of humor. She is experienced and wise and she appreciates the talent and quirks in kids, even when the good at times hides behind undesirable behavior. Depriving Ryan of one last year in her classroom makes this whole school situation so bitter. I realize it's not easy for her, either. She's losing her favorite student (according to Ryan), and she has to work at the school, colleague to toxic individuals, in an oppressive administration. None of this has been easy on us, but we get to leave and never look back.
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