summer school

Well, four weeks of summer school is coming to an end today. It has been a great opportunity to share time and thoughts with a wider audience than usual. Students in my classes ranged from entering 5th grade to high school. Together we explored four different topics. My two previous posts explain some of the cool things we learned during the Orthography class. Besides Orthography, I read aloud, we all learned to write in script, and the students learned the technique used in Ukrainian Egg decorating.

In the “Stop, Drop, and Listen” class, I read Because of Mr. Terupt and Twerp. Both gave us moments in which we couldn’t keep silent about what was happening. Both made us laugh out loud, feel anger and frustration, and lower our eyes in profound shock and sadness. It’s definitely a sign of a great book when the listeners don’t really want to hear me say, “That’s it. The end.” But then, with a good book, it isn’t ever completely over. The characters are always there with you. Things they said and did will pop up in your mind to connect your life to theirs again and again.

In the “Real Script” class, we enjoyed using a new pen hold, a fountain pen, and writing on unlined paper! We learned interesting words like minuscule, majuscule, ligature, swash and flourish. The solid block of time each day to practice really made a difference in learning to make our pens dance! It is suddenly fun to write again!

In the “Ukrainian Egg Decorating” class, I was once again delightfully surprised at the beauty that was created. I have offered this class for at least 12 years now. Many of the participants have taken it two or more times. It’s one of those things that is both focused and relaxing. It requires one to slow down, think ahead, be flexible with any preconceived designs, and be ready for the final reveal as the beeswax is removed in the final stages. Yes, we lost a few eggs along the way, but that is also another one of those life lessons — things happen!