The Beginning of the End of an Era

 

And just like that the last homeschool letter that we will ever recive has arrived. 

Senior year for Emma is almost officially here. xo 

In Honor of Grace's Last Recital Weekend

 

(This is the page that will be in the recital program in honor of her last recital). 

And we have reached the "last of the lasts". One show tonight, two tomrorow and then her dance recital days will have come to a close. 

I remember when Grace was borh how all the veteran parents would tell us to "enjoy. It goes by so fast" and I would just agree and somewhat laught it off. I am here to say they weren't wrong It seems like just yesterday I was waddling my very pregnant self up the stairs at JFK Middle School (now Quinn Middle School) in Hudson and counting the minutes until the end of the school year and the days until she was born, and yet, here we are headed into the dance recital that brings her senior year to a close. Time, you are a thief. 

I cannot wait to see her senior solo (which she choreographed) though based on Emma's report after seeing it at recital rehearsal last night I am not ready and should bring twice as many tissues as I was already planning to bring. xo 

On Graduation Day

Scenes from Grace's graduation. She wanted a small ceremony with only family (or those as close as family) followed by a gathering with her closest friends. Even though some were not able to joun us (and were very, very missed) and even though it was yet another rainy Saturday here in New England, everything yesterday was jsut so special!

In Waldorf education teachers always speak about how many classes they graduated (since grades teachers take a class all the way from first through eighth grade). With that in mind, and disregarding the two year break that was Parker (oh, how I wish I could get those two years back), I'm thrilled to have graduated my first class this year, and have already started to think about my next (and final) class next year! A grad ceremony for a class of one felt different, but it was so perfectly Grace, so perfectly us and such a special ending to a truly incredible experience. 

This homeschooling journey, even with it's occasional bumps and doubts (what if they aren't prepared enough? What if this was foolish to think I could pull off?) was my most favorite teaching job ever. And not just because they are my daughters (and like my most favorite people ever) but beacuase it was truly more amazing they we ever could ahve known it would be when we set out on this path and because it gave our girls the childhood and the kind of education that I believe all children in America should have. 

Grace, as I said yesterday in my opening remarks, getting to be not only your mama but also your teacher, principal, and guidance counselor has truly been a major highlight of my life! From the moment you arrived earthside, and every day since, I have been in awe of you. You have always been on your own time table, but was always been just the right time table for you, and ultimately for all of us. You would only do things when you were absolutely ready to do them, and as a result you were often succesful on the first try or shortly thereafter. Your kind and gentle ways, as well as your hard work and determination, and your incredible sense of humor have made you the incredible young woman you are today. I have no doubt that you wull indeed do something to make the world more beautiful, though to be honest you already have just by being you! I love you to the moon and stars and Saturn and back! 

xo, 

Mama

One Week From Today

 

It's hard to believe that one week from today we will gather for Grace's graduation. Therea are so many thoughts swirling around in my head as I rpepare to preside over my first ever graduation ceremony (of my first ever graduate)! As an educator (at the elementary level) I often had the pleasure of wathcing as my students moved from elementary to middle school (and the one year that I taught at the mddle school from middle to high school) but never before have I taken a student all the way from kindergarten to senior year and ultimately to graduation day. 

It has been the honor of a lifetime to be mother/teacher/principal/gudiance counselor and superintendent for my girls. As a way to "cap off: this experence of serving in all these capactities for Grace (and next year for Emma) I present to you one of her grad cap pictures from her senior session last August. 

I can't believe this time has come.....xo 

Senior Prom

 

It was a chilly, rainy night (becasue that seems to be our typical weather lately) but the rain simply meant that Grace got to accessorize with the perfect umbrella! She attended the prom with her friends from Parker, which was held at Wachusett Mountain. The food was great and the rain did stop enough that the chair lift was able run for a bit so that people could take a ride to the summit and back. xo

Scenes From Grace’s Psychology Block

 

One of Grace's final blocks of her senior year was a psychology block. It was a fun one to put together and we both really enjoyed it! It was fun to remember when I took psychology my senior year in high school and to think back on that class, as well as all the psychology classes I took in college. 

One night Grace comes to me and shares that she had just learned that in some AP Psych classes the students make rice babies (similar to the flour sack babies or the even older school egg babies) to learn what it's like to be responsible for a child but also to put all they had learned about the likes of Kholberg, Piaget, and Erikson (among others) into "practice: So we decided to add that into her block as well. 

Honestly, the five pound bag of rice was brilliant and actually felt alot like a real baby, especially if you held it on your hip like you would a little one. Grace used a pair of no longer needed dance tights to create her body, went to Savers and purchased the jammies you see in these pictures and I dug out the baby hat that she came home in from the hospital when she was born and she chose to name her Juliet Carolina (Carolina for the brand of rice she is)! 

Juliet went to dance every time Grace went to dance, and sometimes we took turns haning out with her. It was a really fun addition to her block and I am so glad she discovered this and wanted to incorporate it into what we were doing! xo 

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

 

After three weeks off it was back to lessons for the girls this week! xo 

Here We Go!

The new lesson year has begun!

I am not quite sure how it happend that it's Grace's senior year and Emma's junior year already but here we are. It truly feels like they were just entering the grades yesterday and yet here we are in their final high school years. I am grateful that we returned to life as a homeschool family last year, and honestly, I wish we did not give up those two years they were at Parker but I do think it served a purpose too. 

They have chosen some fabulous classes for this year and I am as excited to experience them as they are! I have no doubt it's going to be another fun year and, quite possibly, their best year yet! 

Wishing everyone, regardless on the type of schooling you do, whether it be homeschooling, unschooling or traditional schooling, the most fabulous of lesson years! xo