Homeschooling looks different for each family. Around here, it looks different depending on the day of the week. We have days when we stay home and work on projects, read together, paint, draw and (on occasion) open a math textbook.
We typically devote most of our Fridays to the performing arts – acting, voice and music.
Here’s what we did today:
5:00 – The Butterfly (9) wakes up. Then she wakes me up to tell me she’s going to watch videos because she heard a weird noise and can’t go back to sleep.
5:15 – I hear Dave’s alarm go off, then I promptly fall back to sleep.
7:00 – My alarm doesn’t go off as planned.
8:00 – I wake up in a panic and immediately start rushing around like an idiot.
9:45 – Following much pleading, snack packing and begging, everyone is in the car. We head to rehearsal for The Wizard of Oz. I speed (but will deny it) down the back roads to the center of Newtown.
9:58 – I score a space in front of Town Hall, saving us the five minutes it takes to pull around back and climb two flights of stairs to the auditorium. We’re on time!
11:00 – The Princess and I leave to
pick up lunch because (although I packed snacks) I’m never prepared with a full lunch for everyone. We chat along the way. We stop to admire daffodils blooming on the side of the road.
12 noon -We enjoy a few minutes of sunshine before going back inside. The Princess plays Reading Eggs and Math Blaster on the iPad (because she wants to, not because I suggested it). She pauses to watch the flying monkeys perform and laughs loudly every time the Mayor of Munchkinland speaks. A few of her friends are rehearsing today and she plays with them when they aren’t on stage.
2:30 – Rehearsal is finally over. The Butterfly is exhausted from playing Toto for 4 hours. The Adventurer is still smiling. The drama was mostly contained to the stage today, so I am happy.
2:45 – Back at home, I drop the snack bag, backpacks, scripts and handbag on the kitchen floor and go directly to the stove to put on the tea kettle. The girls go their separate ways to decompress. One listens to music, one plays on the computer, one reads for a little bit.
3:00 – I take my tea out on the back deck and sit in the sun by myself. It’s 63 degrees and sunny. It’s heavenly. When my tea is finished, I come back inside to catch up on email. I hope that I’ll have time to write something witty and fun. Instead, I write this.
4:45 – I’m forced out of my daze by the words “I’m hungry!” Oh, crap. It’s almost dinner time. I don’t have a plan. I decide to have another cup of tea while I think about it.
5:01-5:14 – I debate with myself over ordering take-out. Should I or shouldn’t I? It’s Friday, so I should, right? But I ordered take-out on Tuesday. I stand in front of the fridge with the door open. I close the door and look through all the cabinets for the next few minutes and decide that I will…I can make dinner…right after I do a quick check of email and switch the laundry (from this morning) to the dryer and maybe catch a few more minutes of sun with my tea.
5:45 -I cook for the kids, set aside food for Dave (who won’t be home for hours) and start chopping whatever veggies are left in the fridge for my salad. My arms ache from chopping and I wonder if I remember to take my Lyme meds this morning.
I know what you are wondering. Where’s the “school” work? Where’s the learning? Well, it’s been happening all day, if you look closely.
While I’m speeding down the windy back roads of Connecticut, we are usually listening to a book on tape. We just finished a 5 CD set on Greek Mythology. Now we are starting Treasure Island. While they’re at rehearsal, they are learning about performing, of course, but also about working collaboratively, keeping commitments and getting along with their peers.
And they’re having fun.
They’re learning to be comfortable on stage.
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players –Shakespeare
They’re learning to make entrances and exits. They’re tapping in to their creativity. The Butterfly has become Toto. The Adventurer is in the process of recreating Oz as a female character. It’s good work for them. They love it.
As our ordinary day winds down, we may watch a little TV or play Wii. Baths might be taken, stories will be read and the girls will settle down for the night. There could be arguing among sisters, but there will be laughter too.
*No textbooks were opened in the making of this day.
This post is a part of Finish the Sentence Friday Blog Hop. You can check out the other entries at Janine’s Confessions.
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