Small Children

Yipes! It's been over a year since I wrote. The good news is, I'm doing quite a lot of writing outside of this blog, mostly on my book, The Stretch Project. I'm making steady progress; I work on it every day, even if only for 10 minutes. It's a wonderful, satisfying discipline.

This year, I'm back to teaching in a "normal" school (i.e. one with a building), Stoneridge Children's Montessori School. My youngest students at Stoneridge are 2 years old (!) . . . fortunately, I've also got middle schoolers still . . . and everything in between. I'm loving it. Toddlers and preschoolers glisten with wonder; they are wide-eyed and funny and uninhibited. At the beginning of the year, it was an adjustment to sing "little kid" songs. Some kids' music is obnoxious, but I sift through the CDs for songs that I enjoy: silly stuff, preferably with goofy little dances. There are many moments when I feel sly and triumphant to have found a profession where I can engage in tomfoolery for legit income.

Of course, there are new challenges, too! Some of my classes have been chaotic at times, and I am re-learning that when students misbehave, I can't take it personally . . . but I must take it into consideration. As always, my goal is to get to a point where I don't encounter many discipline problems. I've found that the more I empower my students, the more they want to work hard and make amazing things happen. Fortunately, this is Montessori philosophy, so my colleagues are down with this sort of thinking. With a couple of classes, I still have a long way to go from philosophy to reality! But I'm on my way.

An ode to my students

So I haven't written in about a thousand years, and the likelihood that anyone ever reads this blog is dubious (to say the least), but I feel the need to mention how grateful I am right now.

I feel absurdly fortunate to have this year of writing . . . writing is a blast, and I am confident that it's the work I most need to do right now . . .

But it doesn't pay the bills (at least not at the moment).

I marvel at the fact that I get to do something I love soooo much to pay the bills while I write in my extra time. I am working with a whole bunch of students who range in age from 2nd to 11th grade, and I'm constantly amazed by them. I teach private voice lessons to most of them, piano lessons to a handful, and I'm also directing three a cappella groups.

The experience of working with individuals and small groups is very different from working with large classes and choruses; it's fun to be able to tailor instruction to each particular student. No two people are even remotely the same, which means no two lessons are the same . . . it's the ultimate test of my ability to think on my feet and experiment. It's so fun.

My students are teaching me to be a better teacher; they also constantly teach me to expand my ideas of what is possible.

I'm really just the luckiest person in the world.

Thanksgiving . . .

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday: good food, loved ones near, and a reminder to muse on what I'm grateful for.

This year I am thankful for my CONNECTIONS - I can count literally hundreds of people who have made my life brighter.

I'm also thankful for the gift of TIME: this year I've been stepping back from the hustle of a "normal" life in order to work on writing my memoir, "The Stretch Project." I sort of believed that I would put my life on hold in order to write about what I've learned so far. I didn't realize how much I would learn while writing it . . . and I haven't even gotten very far into my year yet!

Adventures in writing . . . and teaching

Big thanks to Steph B for pointing out (in an e-mail) what a slacker I've been about blogging. So, here's the scoop.

This year is quite different from what I expected, but I'm enjoying it thoroughly! I am NOT teaching full-time. Instead, I'm teaching a bunch of private voice lessons and working on writing a book.

The tentative title for the book is The Stretch Project, and it is a memoir, which means it's based on my personal experiences. It feels weird not teaching at a school, but I am having a blast with my students and I love having morning time to write. I'm also rehearsing for a play with the Salem Theatre Company - "The Crucible" - which will be performed in November. So, it's a full and fun year so far.

I hope to be back to full-time teaching next year. I am taking some of my time this year to visit schools in our area and get inspired about some unusual approaches to education.

Let me know what you all are up to! I miss you sooooo much.

Adventures in not knowing

So, I've been getting e-mails from some of you asking what I'll be doing this fall. The answer is . . . (drum roll, please! hmm, where's Aaron W when you need him?) . . . I don't know! I've been looking for jobs all summer long and nothing has panned out yet.

It's a little scary being so close to the beginning of the school year without a job, but I'm letting it be a bit of a "stretch project" for me. I LOVE teaching (as you all know), and it's been a central part of my identity since I graduated from college. It feels strange to have that part of who I am hanging in the air like a question mark. When people ask what I do, I still quickly tell them that I teach music, that I have the most amazing job in the world, but then I have to say, "Well, that's what I've been doing for the past four years. Hopefully I'll still be doing it next year."

In my life so far, I've always gotten the right job right at the time I needed it. I feel confident that this will happen again, even though it is a stretch to be waiting so long! When we have pieces of our identity up in the air, we realize that we are a lot more than what we do. I am learning a lot about myself and doing a lot of writing lately. It's been an awesome summer.

Sooo . . . as you do your final back-to-school shopping, know that I'm thinking of you, and drop me an e-mail at hlabonde@gmail.com. As soon as I know what's up next I'll be e-mailing you all. I miss you lots!

Adventures in Australia

Today I am writing from lovely Melbourne, Australia, where it is WINTER and 14 hours earlier than Boston time. I've been on the other side of the world for 12 days now, and it is quite a good time. I started out at the wedding of my best childhood friend, Jessica, in Perth (western Australia). I've been in Melbourne (in the southeast) for a full week, just hanging out on my own and staying in a hostel. You meet a lot of interesting people in hostels; I'm tempted to find one in Boston to stay in just to see what kind of people come through our city! I'll be headed to Brisbane to hang out with my little brother Nate in two days; that will be awesome. While vacation has been quite lovely, I'll admit that I don't know how people put up with this much free time on a regular basis. Every day I wake up and I could do ANYTHING. I'm used to having a thousand things to do and only barely enough hours to squeeze it all into. I've been writing a lot, reading a lot, and sleeping a lot. It is a blast, but I'll be ready for it to be over soon.

Summer is sweeeeet!

This has been the craziest summer of my life thus far, but very fun! A lot of students have e-mailed me asking what I've been up to, so here goes:

1. Went down to Pennsylvania for my little bro's college graduation/Father's day.
2. Moved from Ipswich to Salem.
3. Went down to Pennsylvania (again!) to be in a family wedding (the very next weekend, actually).
4. Taught 2 awesome theater workshops - "Scenes from Annie" & "Cheaper by the Dozen". Very fun!
5. This week I am "off" and unpacking at the new apartment.

Coming up . . .

1. Next week I'll teach two more theater workshops. (Meredith S is helping; she rocks!)
2. The week after that, I leave for Australia!!!! I'll be there for 3 weeks. I get to be in the wedding of my best childhood friend in Perth, then I'll explore Melbourne & Sydney before heading to Brisbane for my other little bro's graduation from a missions program he's been working in for 2 years. Australia will be amazing; I can't wait!

Hopefully coming up . . .

Finding my next job!!

How's everyone else doing??