Thursday, March 4, 2021

Celosia's Latest Form - Micro School

 Guess who is back to public school today? 

Kitty. 

Racoon went back awhile ago, as soon as school reopened. I kept Kitty at Celosia, its most recent form a COVID micro-school at my mother's house, because it has been so fun and she is doing so well. I figured that we would keep going until the end of the year, then a spring day came when I heard her and her one classmate reminiscing about school. She sounded a bit wistful and I decided to look into it. I should know that some things are like a chemical reaction. Once it starts to go there is no turning back.

So here I sit in our empty classroom, wondering what exactly have I done. Kitty sat at a desk with her name on it. The minute the teacher started passing out school supplies and her friends said hello, I knew they had her heart. It is bittersweet. There are things that are better for her about our micro-school, lots of snacks since she's a grazer, an encouraging atmosphere for growth, and two wonderful, highly invested teachers (my mom and myself), if I may say so.  :) I've found some lovely materials and curriculum that I love, so I am sad to not be able to finish that out. It is very quiet.

But there is a part of me that missed the quiet. I loved the excitement of creating our micro-school and the energy we had with our students. I've loved the projects and the freedom and the fun. There have been challenges and personality quirks and hard days too. I don't quite know how to take it all in. I have to go check on Kitty at lunch, so part of me is not sure what I'll find and if this is really it. 

Seven children were part of Celosia School during this year of COVID craziness. We started out with a pod of two little girls, Bunny and Ducky, Kitty, and Racoon at my house with my mother coming there to help with pre-K, two in first, and one in fourth. Then over the summer we decided to switch to my mom's and step things up for the fall. Celosia became a second grade and fifth grade micro-school, with just Bunny coming in and out, S as Caleb's classmate, then switching things out to H and J. 

Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat, and I probably wouldn't hesitate to have slightly larger classes, maybe 3 and 3, or even 4 and 4 if the space lent itself to that many. I think a 1:2 and 1:4 ratio of teachers to children are perfect in a micro-school. Recess with mixed ages was hard. Getting started and moving through the schedule on time was hard. Watching the kids grow and bloom, that was great.

Thank you, Celosia. Until we meet again.

P.S. Apparently Microsoft Bing knows something that I don't. I switched out the banner today for more pictures of Celosia and the description from Wikipedia, along with our school motto, "Burning yet not consumed... I must go see it!" from Exodus 3:2-3. As I was searching to see what came up, this did... :0