I'm here, I'm still fine. Life just got busy and stressful and a wee bit overwhelming. (I think this actually happened last Semester too, that the month was crazy and I wondered, "What happened?!" Which makes me wonder if it really happens every September and I'm just not that good at remembering.) But overall things are good. So let me make a quick post about what's been going on!
That sums up a lot.
; )
Our first LitWits "Master Class" workshop was this past Friday. It took me about 6 weeks of a LOT of writing to plan & prepare all the handouts. I am working for my dear Becky and her lovely sister Jenny, and they will "own" the handouts at the end, so we had a lot of ongoing dialogue over those weeks trying to figure out what was important to do, what wasn't, how best to say it, etc. It was not easy for any of us, but I fear it was hardest on Jenny, who had the job of actually editing and formatting the handouts, which we did not end up finishing until the day before the workshop! Too much good information, too much fun stuff to share, but trying to pare it down for 4 hours of lit/writing instruction with very specific goals--hard!
But also rewarding. Last Fri was the first time I ever worked specifically with just high school students, and they were fabulous kids. Seriously awesome kids. It was hard wondering what they were thinking, if they hated the class, were bored, etc. because they were much more quiet than I expected, and it made discussion like pulling teeth at a few moments. ; ) But we've already heard back from two families who said their kids really liked it, and I am already planning how to make our second week of Dandelion Wine productive but hopefully even more fun!
I teach lit for the first hour, then we work on writing for the second. And then the third hour the instructor at The Art Factory (where we meet--adorable little art studio just a few minutes from my house) led the students in an art project related to the theme of the novel. For this first workshop it was a still life of a bottle and dandelions, done in pastels. It looked like so much fun I asked Yvette if I could do it too, and she said yes. : ) So I sat there with the kids and did art too, and it was SO therapeutic after 2 stressful weeks, and it was fun to relate with the kids when not trying to engage them in my agenda as their teacher.
So, the Master Classes are a big part of my life right now. And if the workshops keep being well-attended (we had 10 this time, which was great!) then doing them will be a steady job. And the writing will get easier as we go, because we will have created the overall structure for the handouts, etc. And because we will know the kinds of things that are most important to teach and how best to do them (that's the hope at least). But I will still need to figure out how to get regular writing and thinking time in my weeks, and that's the part that is tricky.
Esp. because of course this was the month during which we were also transitioning back into Full School--and oh, it has been hard. It seems almost impossible to fit into the week all the things we want/need to do. But that's why we have the whole month to transition and figure out how this is going to work. : ) The BEST thing, though--my girls have done such a fantastic job starting up school and returning to the grind without grumbling! Their attitudes have been wonderful, and I am truly thankful for that.
The boy. . . let's just say he coasted along much of last year, which was bad on my part. But I figured, eh, he's in kindergarten. He'd be playing most of the day there anyway. ; ) And as long as he did some school every day, it was fine. But now he is in first grade and so needs to start being more focused and self-disciplined. Which means Mommy needs to carve time to just be with him and help him stay focused and learn self-discipline. In the past we did it first thing in the morning, with him sitting here at my elbow at the desk working while I had my morning tea and blog time. But recently it has been harder to make that happen, maybe just because I have been trying to actually work on my own writing so much, or maybe because our morning routine has shifted so I'm helping his sisters at the time he and I used to work together. . . anyway, Smiley is more than happy for Mommy to put off his school time. I am so fortunate at this point that he has so many willing sisters to help him with reading, math games, science stuff, etc. So even when I feel like I am failing him, he is doing school every day, and learning!
But I still can't wait for September to be over.
There was more I'd love to share, but this is already taking longer than I planned. : ) And has been interrupted by children, breakfast, reading and writing for the next workshop. . . if I'm not careful I'll get completely sidetracked and never post this!
So, final thoughts:
Susanna, mother of Tommy, has shared a few more posts since Tommy's death. If you are interested in their story, I encourage you to read them. Please pray for this family, and especially this momma. And if you can leave a word of encouragement, I am sure it would really bless them.
Susanna's account of what happened, and how she is choosing to focus on Truth.
Susanna missing Tommy.
Shabbat Shalom, everyone.
