Banyan Tree Education

07/27/2026

06/24/2026

Yesterday, we visited Dad’s ashes in the columbarium at First Congregational Church in OG. I didn’t want to because I don’t think of him as being there. Dad hated funerals and cemeteries, and I don’t feel him when I’m there. I feel him as I dig in the dirt, though he wasn’t a gardener, walk through nature, or sit by the Long Island Sound. Every time I drive to hot yoga and pass the Old Greenwich Tennis Academy, I smile because every New Year’s Eve, my parents rented it out so people could play late into the night. Yet, being at that columbarium gave me a new insight. For the first time, I looked at the other plaques on the circular wall, and I recognized so many names. There were neighbors, many of my parents’ friends, younger people who had gone too soon, and even our plumber. Somehow, it felt good to know that his ashes are near so many others he knew and loved. Most of us think of parenting in the here and now, but as someone who has lost one, I know that parents parent beyond their physical presence. My dad’s life continually influences me. I think of his self-discipline, quiet insights, the fact that he didn’t suffer fools or bs, his passion for music, his very dry sense of humor, love of the water and nature… There are so many parts of me that are from him. Rob often calls me “Bob Hume’s daughter” because I remind him of my dad, which is alright by me.

05/27/2026

Years ago, I attended a faculty meeting where an administrator discussed light bulbs. While the subject initially seemed strange, I soon became impressed. The group agreed that the fluorescent blue lights were too harsh for students & were likely causing stress; therefore, they were replaced with warmer bulbs. Years later, I was backstage @ Jones Beach. While others were clocking famous people, yours truly was watching a musician twirl & play w/a CD; essentially, he was using it as a fidget toy, providing visual, tactile, & even auditory stimulation to ease anxiety & stress & perhaps help w/focus. While I’ve always believed in a multisensory approach to teaching, I continue to incorporate more as I find students are often stressed by all-day screen time & exposure to the news, particularly now. Recently, my husband gave me his desk chair, & I figured I’d use it with my adult & older students. When a high schooler arrived & sat in it, she lit up, exclaiming, “Can you text my mom & ask her to get this for me? It’s awesome!” For two hours, she happily worked on Algebra II & her research paper. (Mind you, it was just an office chair fr Staples, nothing fancy, but to a growing body & athlete, it was heaven.) She also asked me to text her mom a link for the whiteboard & colored markers we use, which I later realized are also sensory. The following week, my visiting 25-year-old daughter complained about her aching feet, so I pulled out a wooden foot massager, which she loved. Afterward, I thought, “Hm, I wonder if my students would like this?” Thus, this was added to my sensory tools & has been a hit. Kids will stand on it & work or just sit in their chairs & massage their feet during our sessions. I’ve always had small rubber balls on our table that I sit on for my hamstrings & lower back, & kids love to hold them. They still do, but recognize that I actually need them. However, that got me thinking, so I bought a few fidget toys, & they have been extremely helpful for some of my active kids. My sweet 10-lb dog Gracie is also part of my arsenal of sensory tools. I hope this summer your sensory stimulation is activated by the warm yellow sun outside rather than the cold blue screens inside!

03/13/2026

You learn something every day - and then you learn how much fun you can have when your kids grow up! Our middle daughter, Sarah (Mathes), manages social media for celebs in LA and has started freelancing on ad campaigns as well. I got pulled into an ad for one of her clients, and had a ball. The great news is, the product really works!

02/23/2026

I had forgotten how magical Paris truly is, or perhaps I just hadn’t reached the age to appreciate its magnificence. We traveled there to attend The Last Ship’s premiere. Rob & Sting have been working the show for over a decade, and it’s brilliant - standing ovations every night; everyone was thoroughly captivated and impressed.

As I watched the crowds in the huge La Seine Musicale theater jump to their feet each night, I thought about how Sting and Rob, and many others involved in the project, had modeled what perseverance, dedication, and VERY hard work can bring - an incredible result. Ever the teacher, I wondered how to pare this down for children to understand. It’s such a wonderful example.

Here are a few shots, including our visit to the Richter retrospective, Rob playing a snippet with the lingering cast after the party, and our middle daughter, Sarah, being my travel buddy as Dad worked tirelessly with Sting throughout the week.

12/13/2025

You know you’re obsessed with your job when you ask a buddy about negative exponents at a wedding! Or, while you’re picking up your dry cleaning, you beeline it to Acme because making letters out of cookie dough would really help the little guy who's coming in a couple of hours. You delight in reading Of Mice and Men, The Odyssey, The Scarlett Letter, and all the great classics over and over again, and teaching improper fractions, functions, and more advanced concepts is actually fun, particularly when you get creative!

You love talking to parents and sharing insights about their children’s learning. Of course, you adore your students, even the grumpy teens, and since you’re almost 62 and have raised three kids, you have no problem telling a teen to stand down if they’re being uppity, and it’s amazing that they listen because they can hear that yes, I am one seasoned mama, who can’t be messed with - ha!

Positive brings positive, and this is so important in teaching. How can we expect our kids to love learning if we don’t? It’s such a thrill to watch a kid transform from someone who doesn’t particularly care about their work or school to someone who does, and also delights in learning, which we all should.

08/07/2025

I took my 86-year-old mom to the Frick last Friday, and promptly lost my keys in the cab. I spent the weekend tracking them thanks, to my Apple tag. It was sort of fun watching them travel around NYC; they were probably tucked in a cushion so nobody noticed them for a couple of days. Finally, they landed at a taxi depot on W 127th St., but I still couldn’t locate a phone number or company name until Emma Mathes stepped in, and with a few strokes and a quick deep dive, she figured it out!

08/01/2025

Congrats to a former student, who is now way too smart for me! I started working with Kayah back in elementary and middle school, and when she got to GHS, she no longer needed help with math because I think she was teaching most of the adults by then! She just completed her sophomore year, and Harvard already offered her a spot - and she accepted! So, congrats that all your hard work and dedication have paid off; and thank your parents for their incredible support, your little sis for being so dang proud, and of course, all those excellent teachers and coaches at GHS!! 🔥👏❤️

07/20/2025

There's something about muscle memory. I can still picture those hours playing ping-pong with my dad, when he'd transformed our dining room into a game room on Shore Road in Old Greenwich back in the 1970s. I would be in my nightgown, staying up late, and Mom would yell, "Bob, she has to go to bed!" Dad and I would laugh and reply, "Just one more match!" By thirteen, I was getting pretty good, although Dad was always much better. However, he taught me about topspin and to serve with a punch. I'll never forget the one time I beat him. He didn't like it, but he was proud.

Yesterday was the first time I'd played in 45 years. It was a birthday party, and I was paired with a stranger, albeit thankfully, a nice one. Soon, my muscle memory kicked in, and I felt, in some ways, I was back in my dining room, because some shots returned. However, others didn't, and I missed many! However, I improved with each game, and when we finished, I hoped to play again soon.

With only one parent still alive, I find that random memories resurface more frequently. They remind me how much those experiences have shaped me. And, even my muscles have been "shaped" by life experiences, like my ping-pong muscles - albeit I need to strengthen those!

06/28/2025

Learning styles have always fascinated me. Sarah’s gifts are plenty. She’s of course extremely musical, and to name a few others, she has incredible comedic timing, amazing oral and aural recall, and insane rhythmic abilities, like her pops. Here’s her latest…