A few weeks ago, Shayleigh joined some other local homeschoolers at
Seneca Schoolhouse Museum for a 4 hour school day. Prior to her visit, they sent us a 10 page packet laying out the way the day was going to be run, how to dress, what was going on in 1880 Maryland, and a cast of characters. A cast of characters? Shayleigh was given the character "Lena." Her father was a glazier and made all the windows for the buildings in town. Shayleigh read the packet and was a little apprehensive about going. Back then, if a child misbehaved, he or she would have to stand in a corner wearing a dunce cap. Oh goodness! The anxiety started to set in. What if she spoke without raising her hand? What if she couldn't stop talking to her neighbor? What if she got the answer wrong? She would have to think about this.
She woke up that morning and decided she would give it a go. So she dressed up as Lena. We gave her character a back story. She decided that her dad's name was George. Her mom's Martha (haha). She had siblings Lucy and Charlie who were babies. And she decided that if she got in trouble, it wasn't "Shayleigh" who got in trouble- it would be "Lena."
The schoolhouse is out there, right on the Potomac River. As I was driving, she was reading out loud the other characters stories. Many of the other students were involved in the canal and I realized that she had no reference of the canal and the river and hoped it didn't come up much in school. I wasn't sure exactly where the school was, but as we passed by the massive houses, many from this century, I knew the school would stick out.
Here it is:
We got there just as Miss Darby rang the bell. The other children were really in character, and I started to worry Shayleigh would feel left out. She spun around in her dress and smiled. No, she looked fabulous. The children lined up shortest to tallest. Being the youngest, I was not surprised she was at the front of the line.
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| Peeking out from the door. |
I managed to stay around for 20 minutes to take some pictures.
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| Singing the "Star Spangled Banner" |
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| She checked their nails for cleanliness. |
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| Presenting their "homework" to Miss Darby. |
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Right before I left. The children were called to lineup and present their homework to Miss Darby. I started to worry as I didn't remember seeing homework in the packet. Shayleigh was first in line, so I was afraid she would panic. Miss Darby said the children could recite a poem, share an arithmetic fact, or spell a word. When she turned to Shayleigh, she replied "3+3= 6!" Miss Darby said "That is correct" and Shayleigh beamed with joy and returned to her seat. WHEW! The next girl in line didn't have it so easy. When questioned about her homework the little girl replied she wasn't prepared- and off to the corner with a dunce cap. I glanced in Shayleigh's direction. She was a little concerned for the girl, but smiled at me and let me know she would be okay for the day.
3 and a half hours later I returned and found her like this:
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| A big tree had fallen and she was Queen of the land. |
I went back into the school house and snapped a few more pictures:
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| The boys sat on this side of the schoolhouse. |
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| View from Miss Darby's desk. |
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| In her seat. |
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| The girl's side of the schoolhouse. |
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| Outside with her slate. |
Shayleigh told me that she liked playing with the boys better than the girls. They had a spelling bee, which she did not win. They wrote on a slate. And read from the McGuffey Readers- level 3. She had a great time. I asked her if she would do it again, she said absolutely!
