Home-schooled and Boxberry School students participated.
By Gail Geraghty
Staff Writer

OXFORD – Young homeschoolers joined students in grades one through three at the Boxberry School Wednesday for a special Spanish lesson.

The lesson was special in one sense, said school administrator Chris Hemmings, because Spanish is not offered at the local elementary local school system.

But what really made the lesson unique was the creative way it was taught by one of the Boxberry School moms, Dareth Law.

An occupational therapist by trade, Law is fluent in Spanish and offers the classes once a week to around nine homeschoolers and the nine students enrolled at the non-profit, independent Boxberry School.

A few weeks ago, Law set up the central area as a restaurant, and the students had fun learning the Spanish names for fork, knife, spoon and different foods, Hemmings said.

“It was really incredible,” she said.

On Wednesday, Law set up a mock pet store. Students were able to choose their stuffed animal “pet” by pronouncing its name in Spanish. The children also are learning to count in Spanish.

Head Teacher Georgia Grenier said the school, which opened last September, strives to create an environment that nurtures the spirit of each child. “We’re trying to be as individualized as we can,” she said. The teacher-student ratio does not exceed six students for every one teacher.

Yoga or other stretching exercises begin each day, and offers a standard curriculum with an emphasis on the arts.

The school is now accepting applications for fall 2004-05 enrollment. For more information, call 743-9700.