The Extraordinary Mrs. Henry
Mrs. Henry walked toward me dressed in a long-sleeved, floral-print dress with a blue frill trim around the neckline. She had on a linen apron with a bow tied in the back adorning her waist, and a cream-colored bonnet, tied under her chin. In one hand she carried a wooden bucket with a washboard inside, and some rags soaking in the sudsy water it contained. In the other hand she held a letter, folded and sealed with wax — that looked like it had seen better days. Mrs. Henry sat down on the stool with a sigh. “Waited a long time for this letter, ” she began, “Haven’t heard from Edward in months. Been wonderin’ what’s taking my brother so long to get here.” She turned and handed me the letter. “ You read it. I don’t think I can bear it.”
I gulped nervously, but I was honored to peel open the delicate letter. Mrs. Henry leaned over the bucket, and started to push a rag up and down against the washboard. My eyes strained to decipher the fancy, thick, cursive script as I began to read “Dearest Sister, I hope this letter finds you well. My efforts to reach you, it seems, are being thwarted in every direction” Thwarted? I thought. That can't be good.
Mrs. Henry looked up at me with a furrowed brow and a little nod urging me to continue. “I took ill with fever after arranging June passage on a ship set to sail to the new world. I was in hospital for some time. Breathless and fevered, this curious ailment took me near death’s door. Had my thoughts not been fixed on uniting with you, Dear Sister, and on meeting my niece and nephews three, perhaps I would have perished.” My voice caught a little even as I read it. Mrs. Henry had stopped washing and seemed to be holding her breath.
I was eager to read the rest of the letter. I wanted to find out more about Edward, and all his thwarted plans. I wondered what kind of ink this letter was written with, and why Mrs. Henry was wearing that bonnet. I even wanted to lean into that bucket, and try my hand at cleaning those rags on the washboard too. But then, a sudden “THUD!” shattered the silence, followed by a sheepish giggle from the back of the room from the boy who had accidentally knocked a textbook off his desk. Soon others began to titter, and the room was bursting with laughter. Mrs. Henry was desperately trying to keep a straight face as an early pioneer woman. But she was no pioneer. She was my seventh grade history teacher.
Up to this point in my young life, I had never been captivated and engaged in a classroom like I was here. Mrs. Henry changed everything I knew about learning. That fallen textbook? In this class, it was barely opened, because her dynamic and inspiring methods made the cliche of “making history come alive” 100% true for me and every other student that wished upon a star to be assigned to her classroom. Mrs. Henry used drama and theatrics, strong themes, hands-on activities, puzzles, discovery, exploration, role-play, special projects, costumes, art, music, and so much more to deliver our learning…and make it stick! Ask me today what I learned in Middle School in the 80's (besides how to tease my bangs to achieve optimum lift, and how to keep my leg-warmers up during gym class) and almost all my recollections are about the history lessons she taught me.
In a homeschool environment, we all have the opportunity to do as Mrs. Henry did for our children. My own homeschooling methods endeavor to have my children learn by participating in their education and not become mere bystanders. Sometimes by stepping out of the textbook or boxed curriculum, we can keep children curious, learning subjects in a manner that show rich context and propel greater retention. This can be especially successful to build passion for the subjects your child already loves, and to engage in subjects that are a particular challenge for them.
Sure, it takes a little creativity to come up with “Mrs. Henry” type applications on your own, and that doesn’t come naturally for everyone. Luckily, as Southern California homeschoolers, we have so many out-of-the-box resources available to us. Carolyn and Martin Forte , pioneers in this field, head up Excellence in Education in Monrovia with their passion for guiding homeschooling parents in custom crafting their child's education to fit each child. And California Homeschool Network's Family Expo is the ideal place to find exciting resources, and hear from speakers who use exploration and innovation in their schooling too.
My memories of one inspiring teacher drove me to develop my own game-based, hands-on learning for my own children, which led to offering out-of-the-box enrichment classes to others in the homeschool community. We Spark Learning's dynamic programs are designed to foster meaningful and memorable learning for students from Elementary through Middle school. If you are interested in finding out more about the experiential classes being offered this year, just click over to the Class Descriptions page.
I would be proud to have any of my students look back at their time in my classroom with "Mrs. Henry" type moments to remember.
Mrs. Ani Janbazian
Owner/Instructor
We Spark Learning
Mrs. Henry walked toward me dressed in a long-sleeved, floral-print dress with a blue frill trim around the neckline. She had on a linen apron with a bow tied in the back adorning her waist, and a cream-colored bonnet, tied under her chin. In one hand she carried a wooden bucket with a washboard inside, and some rags soaking in the sudsy water it contained. In the other hand she held a letter, folded and sealed with wax — that looked like it had seen better days. Mrs. Henry sat down on the stool with a sigh. “Waited a long time for this letter, ” she began, “Haven’t heard from Edward in months. Been wonderin’ what’s taking my brother so long to get here.” She turned and handed me the letter. “ You read it. I don’t think I can bear it.”
I gulped nervously, but I was honored to peel open the delicate letter. Mrs. Henry leaned over the bucket, and started to push a rag up and down against the washboard. My eyes strained to decipher the fancy, thick, cursive script as I began to read “Dearest Sister, I hope this letter finds you well. My efforts to reach you, it seems, are being thwarted in every direction” Thwarted? I thought. That can't be good.
Mrs. Henry looked up at me with a furrowed brow and a little nod urging me to continue. “I took ill with fever after arranging June passage on a ship set to sail to the new world. I was in hospital for some time. Breathless and fevered, this curious ailment took me near death’s door. Had my thoughts not been fixed on uniting with you, Dear Sister, and on meeting my niece and nephews three, perhaps I would have perished.” My voice caught a little even as I read it. Mrs. Henry had stopped washing and seemed to be holding her breath.
I was eager to read the rest of the letter. I wanted to find out more about Edward, and all his thwarted plans. I wondered what kind of ink this letter was written with, and why Mrs. Henry was wearing that bonnet. I even wanted to lean into that bucket, and try my hand at cleaning those rags on the washboard too. But then, a sudden “THUD!” shattered the silence, followed by a sheepish giggle from the back of the room from the boy who had accidentally knocked a textbook off his desk. Soon others began to titter, and the room was bursting with laughter. Mrs. Henry was desperately trying to keep a straight face as an early pioneer woman. But she was no pioneer. She was my seventh grade history teacher.
Up to this point in my young life, I had never been captivated and engaged in a classroom like I was here. Mrs. Henry changed everything I knew about learning. That fallen textbook? In this class, it was barely opened, because her dynamic and inspiring methods made the cliche of “making history come alive” 100% true for me and every other student that wished upon a star to be assigned to her classroom. Mrs. Henry used drama and theatrics, strong themes, hands-on activities, puzzles, discovery, exploration, role-play, special projects, costumes, art, music, and so much more to deliver our learning…and make it stick! Ask me today what I learned in Middle School in the 80's (besides how to tease my bangs to achieve optimum lift, and how to keep my leg-warmers up during gym class) and almost all my recollections are about the history lessons she taught me.
In a homeschool environment, we all have the opportunity to do as Mrs. Henry did for our children. My own homeschooling methods endeavor to have my children learn by participating in their education and not become mere bystanders. Sometimes by stepping out of the textbook or boxed curriculum, we can keep children curious, learning subjects in a manner that show rich context and propel greater retention. This can be especially successful to build passion for the subjects your child already loves, and to engage in subjects that are a particular challenge for them.
Sure, it takes a little creativity to come up with “Mrs. Henry” type applications on your own, and that doesn’t come naturally for everyone. Luckily, as Southern California homeschoolers, we have so many out-of-the-box resources available to us. Carolyn and Martin Forte , pioneers in this field, head up Excellence in Education in Monrovia with their passion for guiding homeschooling parents in custom crafting their child's education to fit each child. And California Homeschool Network's Family Expo is the ideal place to find exciting resources, and hear from speakers who use exploration and innovation in their schooling too.
My memories of one inspiring teacher drove me to develop my own game-based, hands-on learning for my own children, which led to offering out-of-the-box enrichment classes to others in the homeschool community. We Spark Learning's dynamic programs are designed to foster meaningful and memorable learning for students from Elementary through Middle school. If you are interested in finding out more about the experiential classes being offered this year, just click over to the Class Descriptions page.
I would be proud to have any of my students look back at their time in my classroom with "Mrs. Henry" type moments to remember.
Mrs. Ani Janbazian
Owner/Instructor
We Spark Learning