As we near the end of our first year of full-time home schooling (prepare for celebratory post next week), my heart has been calling me to talk about “Tootie’s Table”…because, well, that’s where our home school takes place and might just have been where this whole inspiration began.

“Tootie” was the affectionate name given to my maternal grandmother, Lutie.  And, Tootie was a teacher.  Not just any teacher, she was one of the best.  When she was still with us, we would often take her out to lunches and dinners at restaurants all over town.  I can remember that it seemed like every single time we went out, someone would stop by the table.

“Mrs. Azevedo,” they would say tentatively.  “Do you remember me?”  Her eyes would light up.  “Well, of course!  How are you?”  They would delight in a quick catch up and before leaving the table, her former students would often say to us grandkids, “Your grandmother was just the best teacher.”

That occurrence happened so often that we knew she had definitely made an impact on many, many lives.  Tootie loved teaching language arts.  Grammar was her specialty.  As a small child, I can remember her correcting me if I ended a sentence with a preposition or used an object pronoun where I should have used a subject pronoun.

“Mom and him are headed to the grocery store,”  I might say.

“No, your mother and he are headed to the store,”  she would reply with a sly smile and glisten in her eye.

Toward the end of my elementary school years, Tootie (now retired from teaching) noticed some changes in the curriculum that did not please her.  Most specifically, she was displeased that none of her grandchildren were learning to diagram sentences.  Soon after, we each received a special workbook called “Grammar Tootie’s Way.”  And, by golly, we learned to diagram sentences.  She also encouraged all of us to love reading and writing. We had a family “newspaper” for awhile, and her articles were among the very best.  

She was one of those teachers who was clearly honoring a calling.  It was her passion and her life’s work.  And she passed that down to my mom and me. (I think I got the correct pronoun there.)  My mom majored in education and spent time in the academic classroom before she became an arts educator.  She is a brilliant teacher in her own right.

As for me, I will tell you that when playing as a child, you might have found me doing one of two things:  playing “school” or putting on a show in the living room.  And, often I would be doing so at Tootie and PawPaw’s house.

In the midst of playing, I was always intrigued by their old-fashioned, drop-leaf dining table.  Built to save space when needed and still accommodate a larger group for dining, I thought it was so neat how the sides would fold down to make the best tunnel.  Our dining table didn’t do that and I loved to figure out all the things I could create in, around and under that table.  I have a vivid memory of dancing through, under and around that table to Tootie and PawPaw’s Broadway mix-tape.

When it was time for a family gathering, we were always astounded at just how many people we could get around that table.  It seemed impossible, but somehow we squeezed so many people together and had beautiful meals and conversations together.

When Tootie passed, I found out that I was to be the recipient of that beautiful drop-leaf table.  We had just moved into our new home to raise our family.  Funds were tight, and it was the perfect way to fill our new dining room space.

Little did I know that a few short years later, all these moments would collide together again as we began our home schooling journey.

As we set up our school space last summer, we immediately decided to use Tootie’s Table.  We set up our oldest child to work there.  With one leaf up, it was the perfect size for a desk and gave us plenty of room for a portable white board on the other side of the table.

Suddenly, there I was again.  I felt like I was “playing school” – standing at the white board, explaining subject and object pronouns and teaching my son the beginnings of how to diagram a sentence – and all while he sat with his workbook at Tootie’s Table.

I feel certain she is watching us with pride.  And I know that it’s her tap on my shoulder when I know I need to double check the teacher’s book to be sure I’m remembering correctly before teaching direct and indirect objects.

Just lately we’ve been trying something new…both boys at Tootie’s Table for homeschool.  We separated them in different rooms at the beginning of the year. But lately, we’ve been working together more.  And just like those family dinners where it felt impossible that all the cousins could fit around the table, I thought it would be impossible for all of us to school at the same time, around the same table.  And, yes we get distracted sometimes.  But, it’s beautiful.  The boys cheer each other on and want to share what they are working on.  It’s crowded.  It’s messy.  It’s sometimes crazy.  But, there’s love in it all.

This calling to teach and the calling to home school…I’m pretty sure now that it started long ago. I can look all the way back to “Grammar Tootie’s Way” for my first exposure to the combination of learning with family, learning outside of a traditional school setting, learning at home, learning for the love of it.

The seed was sown, and I’m so glad we’re reaping the benefits….and that we’re doing it, while sitting around Tootie’s Table.

Journey On.