So as much as I struggled to find the time to add to the school blog last year, eventually giving up on it altogether, I really enjoyed reading through the posts we did manage to get in there. So this year I have resolved to get on the stick and make some consistent posts once again.
Just to give you a rundown of who we are this year...
We lost Alfie to the wilds of the UAE as his parents moved on to new jobs.
We also lost Hamid to a real school. We knew it was coming all along--as soon as he started here his mom made it very clear that he just needed to get his English up to snuff in order to move him on to something bigger and, well, bigger. We were successful on that front and so off he went.
And so, as the 2012-13 school year began, we were just four people. We did one whole week with just Tian, Silas, Tehva, and Cady. And then, before we knew it, J and Z moved in to those two empty spots and we were six once again. Or, I should say, we are six, because that's what we are.
In just one summer we went from being a wild and crazy boy school to being a subdued and sometimes angst-ridden girl school. It is a change to which I am still adjusting, although no one else seems too fussed by it.
I am finding, though, that it is harder to get buy-in from a group of girls than a group of boys. Anything hands-on was okay with the boys and they would attack it with a frightening zeal, so that I most days found myself scraping something or other off of the ceiling or walls by 3:30--something that had gone airborne in their enthusiasm.
Hands-on things with the girls result in cautious discussion and initial reticence. Comments like, "Ewww...do I really have to do this? Ewww...this is disgusting," often fly about before they will attempt anything that involves more than a pencil and paper. There is talk of nails breaking and things being unladylike. I am learning to ignore the talk and just get on with the lesson, but some days I am simply exhausted by their constant self-deprecation and chatter. Was I a girl like this at one point? I must have been. However, I think I have blocked it out as I quite likely traumatized myself with my girliness.
So as you follow along with this blog which we will post upon weekly (or maybe more if I can come up with a creative way to use it) please keep in mind that we are no longer who we were last year and I am no longer grasping my sanity firmly in two hands.
Enjoy.
Just to give you a rundown of who we are this year...
We lost Alfie to the wilds of the UAE as his parents moved on to new jobs.
We also lost Hamid to a real school. We knew it was coming all along--as soon as he started here his mom made it very clear that he just needed to get his English up to snuff in order to move him on to something bigger and, well, bigger. We were successful on that front and so off he went.
And so, as the 2012-13 school year began, we were just four people. We did one whole week with just Tian, Silas, Tehva, and Cady. And then, before we knew it, J and Z moved in to those two empty spots and we were six once again. Or, I should say, we are six, because that's what we are.
In just one summer we went from being a wild and crazy boy school to being a subdued and sometimes angst-ridden girl school. It is a change to which I am still adjusting, although no one else seems too fussed by it.
I am finding, though, that it is harder to get buy-in from a group of girls than a group of boys. Anything hands-on was okay with the boys and they would attack it with a frightening zeal, so that I most days found myself scraping something or other off of the ceiling or walls by 3:30--something that had gone airborne in their enthusiasm.
Hands-on things with the girls result in cautious discussion and initial reticence. Comments like, "Ewww...do I really have to do this? Ewww...this is disgusting," often fly about before they will attempt anything that involves more than a pencil and paper. There is talk of nails breaking and things being unladylike. I am learning to ignore the talk and just get on with the lesson, but some days I am simply exhausted by their constant self-deprecation and chatter. Was I a girl like this at one point? I must have been. However, I think I have blocked it out as I quite likely traumatized myself with my girliness.
So as you follow along with this blog which we will post upon weekly (or maybe more if I can come up with a creative way to use it) please keep in mind that we are no longer who we were last year and I am no longer grasping my sanity firmly in two hands.
Enjoy.
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