Bananagrams and what I learned this week

This week I hemmed and hawed away at all of the things that my children are not getting by not going to school. Mental note to self; in the monthes of January and February you (me) pace the floors, toss and turn at night and write lists all around the house about the "S" word and all of our lacks and flaws. So this year is no different, phew.

I found out that we were missing out on the actual physical structure of the school building when I walked Sadie in for her first day of Basketball practice. The girls were all excited to see Sadie. She is a novelty because she does not attend school with these girls and so they are not sick of her and squealed in girlish delight at the sight of her.

I was too busy noticing all of the posters and pretty artwork.

We should be doing more art work, I thought.

We should  have pretty posters, I thought.

"Sadie, Sadie" They squealed.

Practice was fun and we drove home.

It was quiet in my home and I thought about all the friends.

Shouldn't she have more friends around her all the time??

Of course it is 6 pm and most kids are doing homework and Nora is knee deep in clay and Jonah is building something and Sadie is happy as a child on Christmas to curl up with her disabled Aunt to watch The Incredible Hulk.

Homework.

Gary told me this story about a student that he teaches who is so tired from all of his school work and always complaining about staying up late to do it.

He thought, how terrible.

I thought, we should be doing more.

What about all the spelling and the writing and the work that they do?

What if we are wrong?

Can Sadie spell anything??

Today we played a new game called Bananagrams.

It is a pretty fun game where you have to build words fast in a crossword.

Sadie's first word was SEGRAGATE. She was off by one letter, pretty good.

My first word was BRASS and so it went for two hours we played this game over and over again.

I guess Sadie knows how to spell.

In the doctor's office I looked around at all the families.

One woman is quizzing her kid on some science thing.

We should be doing more science.

So I open this really cool book I got this week from my Dad on basically a little bit of everything and start reading off the "important" things, facts, yawn.

Sadie turns away and starts asking me about vacinations and why that sign says we should all get them and we end up in this long discussion about the CDC and the history of vaccinations and somehow Pasteur got in there and by the time our names were called we had come full circle, confused and yet understanding a little bit more.

While I pined over notation and reading music, this week Sadie learned how to play two new Beatles songs on the piano and while I wondered over history we finished the American Girl series and discussed the suffrage movement so much that I had a dream about Susan B Anthony.

My children teach me so much and if I would only step out of their way a bit I may actually teach them a few things too.

Mostly by example.

A smile, a gentle pat and a loving presence.