Percolating

I should be writing a birthday post for the February birthdays, or recapping Beauty and the Beast, the show we just finished up, or posting pictures of my house (I know, I know, some of you have been waiting!!!), plus I have videos I want to put up...--but I have too many other things I want to capture!

There are so many exciting things percolating in my life right now.

(I love that verb, but I realize it may not mean much to some who aren't familiar with a percolator. My mom still uses hers to make coffee for a crowd. I don't know much about it how it works, except that when it gets hot, it boils and bubbles and "perks" as the bubbles break against the little glass window on top. You have to let it perk for awhile while you wait for the coffee to brew. That's how I envision things happening in my life sometimes--bubbling up, heating up, requiring a little more time before they're fully brewed and ready to serve. :)

The newest thing is that I just was asked to teach a 10-week class on Shakespeare for the youth theater program we participate in! It will be Shakespeare education and appreciation as much as it is performance, and I have more ideas than thou couldst waggle a cudgel at! I'm so psyched. It's not in Kenosha; it's in Lake County, one of our sister areas. I'm excited to meet my new students!

In other teaching news, I proposed wrapping up the grammar and writing classes I've been teaching for our classical co-op. We were supposed to go seven more weeks, but we will end in just two more weeks. This feels so freeing to me! As much as Chicklet and I enjoy this group, it hasn't felt like the right fit for us for awhile now. Between the time we spend there, my prep time, and the time we spend on writing homework for MY CLASS, it takes up 2+ days out of our week. I have plans for those two days we'll be getting back!

I think the other moms are happy to get some extra time in their weeks this spring too. One said that the local middle school told her that their 8th graders will have written two 5-paragraph essays in language arts this year. Since my 4th-6th graders have been writing one every week or so, for a couple months now...I feel we are safe to wrap up writing class and spend our spring concentrating on other subjects we haven't been hitting as hard!

At church, I am excited about our healing services on Wednesday nights during Lent. I will be speaking at one of them. We are full of expectation that God is going to work powerfully through these times set aside to listen for his words of life and healing.  And Holy Week will be here before we know it, so as soon as my Shakespeare lesson plans are set, I have to channel my creativity into readers and readings for Easter Vigil.

We are also resurrecting our youth group this spring. It's a small group, mostly boys, but we're going to get them together once a month at our house for worship and prayer with their Sunday School teacher, a wonderful man they all love--and see what happens! We're asking them to lead the group in a simplified evening prayer service, with a couple songs accompanied by those who play guitar and piano. We'll start with a meal--the key to the teenage male heart, right?--and they will also warm up with improv, led by themselves (including B16, who's on a competitive improv team again this spring). We met once already. It was an extra small group, but they all participated and had fun, yet took it seriously too.

B10, B16 and Chicklet have auditions coming up on Friday, for a show that might get cancelled for low turnout. If it does, they want to audition on the same night for a show in Lake County. So that's more exciting and suspenseful than usual! On Saturday, which will be callbacks, B16 has two solos and is singing in three ensembles at Solo and Ensemble competition in Kenosha. So that will be interesting to work out if he's called back. His voice has really been developing nicely this year, and his very experienced voice teacher has been most encouraging.

I'm excited about some house projects I have finally managed to make time for...but perhaps I should put those in a post of their own.

And most exciting of all--Chicklet12 and I have vacation plans for after Easter! But I'm going to save those too. I have Shakespeare scenes to select for tomorrow night, and seven weeks of grammar to condense into two weeks. So I'm going to go give some thought to that before the day gets completely away from me...!