What I found while cleaning out the school room

We wrapped up our 2010-2011 school year at Keystone Academy around the end of April.  This weekend, over six weeks later, I finally found the courage to begin cleaning out the school room and restocking it with curriculum and supplies for the upcoming school year.

As I packed up notebooks, I reflected on the previous school year.  Academically, spiritually and socially, our students surpassed my expectations.  My only real concern involved the pace at which my daughter worked independently.  She grasped most of the concepts and learned to speed read like her father.  I've seen her write efficiently and perform calculations quickly in her head.  So why did it take her so long to finish her work when I left her alone in the school room to work independently?   While cleaning out the school room this past weekend, I think I stumbled upon the answer.  Instead of doing her school work, she had been busy working on more interesting projects that better utilized her wild imagination.

Photo by Blink of an Eye Photography

Here is a condensed list of some of the things I found stuffed between the pages and bindings of her school notebooks or in and around her school desk: 

• A list of proper names she had given to each of the baby teeth that had fallen from her mouth
• A paper entitled, "My Secret", with something scribbled out underneath
• Lots of drawings of horses, hearts, stars, and people
• A short story she had written about a Bella Sara horse named Nimepue who was a "faithful friend"
• Another short story she had written and illustrated entitled, "The Mystery of the Missing Dog Collar"  

She included a table of contents and four chapters in this story.  At the end of this story, which is set in Cincinnati, the detective discovers that Uncle D stole the collar to pay the bank back for his house during the desperate times of the Great Depression.  Clearly, the American Girl book, Meet Kit, influenced the writing of this story.  Click here to read all about our Meet Kit book club meeting.

• A booklet about American Girl dolls she had written and illustrated
• A letter she had written to my uncle who had been in the hospital
• Another letter she had written to her cousin Kate
• A Christian flag she had made out of white and red felt with a hand drawn cross in the center
• A newspaper she had authored with headlines summarizing the key events that had taken place in our home that week
• A list of passwords for all her American Girl dolls
• A list of 26 secret codes for her girls club with each code beginning with the subsequent letter of the alphabet (a,b,c,d,e ...)
• A paper filled with hearts and loving sentiments about some boy named Davidson (Who is this boy?)
• Lyrics for three different songs she had composed for her horse club 

I do not ever recall playing rock music for her.  We mostly play/sing classical music, hymns, and contemporary Christian music.  Yet the songs she composed have a rock-n-roll feel.  I have copied her lyrics below. 

Horses.....What?

Mmmm...horses!

What?  Mmmm....where's that love?

Mmmm....    

Come, come on!

Where's your love for horses?

Come on!  Show it!  Prove it!

You can do it!

Horses are cute, kind, and many other things.

So why not be nice to them?

'Cause they rock!

Mmmm...

Horses Rock!

Horses rock and roll...

If they are still.

I have a feeling...

Horses rock!

Horses roll.

Horses rock!

Horses roll.

Oh yeah, come on!

Horses rock!

Horses roll.

Yeah!

Let's Ride

Come.  
Come on to me.
Come on; let's ride.
Oh-yeah, let's ride!
Because it rocks, rocks, rocks!
Come on. Let's ride!

Yeah!

Upon further searching, I found a CD containing music videos in which she had performed each song.  I'm sure that our young friend and recording artist,  Hi-Hat, would not approve of her unprofessional CD case, but she is no perfectionist, and most of her design work was done secretly while she was supposed to be doing her schoolwork.   I found her spelling error on the cover to be amusing and ironic considering that the CD features her singing voice!

Front cover for music video CD

Back cover

Improper punctuation and/or capitalization is a pet peeve of mine.  I have taught my daughter the grammar rules, and she scored well when tested.  Yet, she claims that using these rules for her own creative material limits her creativity.   I do not think I will ever fully understand the thoughts of my right-brained child.