Yamur
Yamur had a year filled with exciting transitions. She began the year by ending her homeschool experience and returning to fifth grade at a traditional school. At the Greensboro Montessori School, she jumped in and took a part in the school play, went on her first overnight class fieldtrip, and learned about the injustices of the Stamp Act. She also had parts in two other plays through the local drama center, auditioned for the youth symphony and was seated, and attended overnight camp. In the fall, she transitioned to Middle School at Browns Summit School for Advanced Academics. As far as Middle School goes, she has had a fantastic start by reuniting with and making new friends, managing her school work, and trying new things, like Indian cooking. And to make that transition to Middle School complete, she got braces and a phone! She is totally tween.
For 2019, Yamur is looking forward to summer camps, starring in the Drama Center’s production of Starbright, downloading more apps, and taking piano lessons…
Ayla
Ayla had some new teaching experiences this year. She sometimes saw Mark’s car while teaching at Elon, and she had a very easy time finding parking spots at Guilford College. Teaching online inspired her to buy new slippers and lounge pants, as part of her business casual wardrobe. She has been tinkering away at writing new essays and working toward revision. It’s been a big year of growth for her writing.
She is looking forward to finishing up her Masters in Creative Writing in May, sending out pieces for publication, and finding more chances to teach and talk about writing. Hopefully 2019 will bring some great opportunities for both writing and travel as she interns at Our State Magazine. If you have any leads on something exciting in NC, keep Ayla posted!
Mark
Mark continued on many of his past activities and started some new ones. His big deal for the year was the official publication of his book. In addition, for the first time in seven years, he taught an on-campus January term course. Presenting at a conference in Florence, Italy gave him a great opportunity to taste Italian wines and learn that some places know how to do gluten-free! In the summer and fall Mark’s scholarship and presentations were particularly exciting as they involved collaboration with seven preservice teachers who are currently helping co-write a paper about our shared experiences leading a science enrichment program. During the Fall, he began new responsibilities leading the programs in the school of education that do not lead to teaching licenses.
In 2019 Mark is looking forward to launching some new directions in research and leadership at Elon. He wants to return to working on informal education and has ideas about facilitating work of children and youth as scientific communicators and knowledge generators.
Yamur, Ayla and Mark
The three of us have had exciting adventures together during 2018. Along with our trips to Virginia and Florida to visit family, we also had a fun trip to Florida where Mark presented at a conference and we all got to visit Disneyworld and Epcot Center. Later in the summer we had a fantastic adventure to San Francisco and Napa California to visit Ayla’s sister Susan. The towering redwoods were awe inspiring, the winery tastings were calming and sometimes silly, and the views from the California coast were breathtaking. We all enjoyed the Japanese Tea Garden and reveled in Yamur’s knowledge of dumplings in Chinatown. We are currently discussing our plans for future travel.
Life of YAM 