one of those days

Our homeschooling has been going along so well. I am enjoying the time with each of the kids. I love to be a part of what they are learning. Really, I have been amazed at just how well we have settled into our routine. But today was one of those days. Not with all of the kids, but Becca and I just clashed all day long. She has disagreed with most of the things that I said. And after a while, I got frustrated with her and was impatient in both my words and attitude. [sigh]

I know that it didn't help that we had several workmen in our house fixing various things. I think the noise and distraction were getting to us both. She was even getting frustrated with her siblings. Finally, we just called an end to the day. I told her, "B, I love you but for some reason right now we are not working well together. Can we just start again tomorrow?"

I have no regrets of the decision to homeschool. But this is the first day that I wanted to go to a quiet room and be alone. The kids are now playing upstairs together (and getting along) while I am sorting myself out. I am glad that I can teach her not only how to handle life when it is easy, but also what to do when you say things you regret.

And most of all, I am thankful that tomorrow is a new day.

thanksgiving & homeschool weekly wrap-up

Last week as most of the United States had a holiday, we continued on with life and [mostly] kept to our routines. We schooled normally Monday through Wednesday. Thursday we had some friends coming over in the evening, and another homeschooling family came to help cook. The kids and I compromised and they each did a special writing assignment in the morning.

I found this great pack of writing prompts from TeachersPayTeachers centered on Thanksgiving. Each of the kids chose a different prompt.

Tori:

She was worried that she could not fit her story in just 3 squares, but my creative girlie solved this by drawing a fourth square on the back.

She wrote:

First I will make a turkey out of paper.

Next I will go outside and catch a turkey.

Then I am going to hide the turkey in my bed.

Last I am going to put the paper turkey outside.

I particularly enjoyed the fact that she is going to hide the turkey in her bed. Becca was trying to explain that turkeys are really big and it might not fit. After a few minutes, I told B that she was missing the point of this whole exercise, which was to be creative. It does not matter if the turkey will not fit in real life, let your sister have some creative license. 

Josh:

His words (in case you can't read them):

First, fly back to America and catch a turkey.

Then fly back to China with it.

(Get your parent's permission)

Next, make a bed for it and provide food.

Make a leash so you can take it for walks.

Last, you have got a new pet!

Don't you love that he wrote that you need to get your parent's permission to make the trip, but not to get the pet in the first place?

Becca:

Her words (and for this assignment we didn't stress about grammar):

First, climb up a tree while holding the sticks,

then when your up, ballance the sticks into a pyrimid

shape and tie them together.

Next, spread the teepee skirt around the sticks,

this is difficult so it might take a few tries.

Last, move the teepee carefully away from the tree on a flat surface.

This was a fun break from the normal day. I think I will check back to see what kind of fun writing or other projects I can find for Christmas!

While we were hard at work at home, Andy worked a full day and that evening we enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner (with both turkey and pork). Then on Friday, we went to Andy's work to have a 差不多 (cha bu duo - meaning approximately) Thanksgiving. But since turkey is hard to find and expensive to buy, they served chicken for the cafeteria lunch. But somehow my boy didn't seem to mind. . .

He is such a carnivore! I particularly like how he is picking up that big chicken leg with his chopsticks.

There was going to be a company outing, but due to the rainy weather, they decided to cancel. We went home, made our first batch of Christmas cookies, and got ready to decorate our tree. But more to come on that in another post..... Finally, on Saturday night we had another get-together (yet another turkey) with friends. We are so blessed by our friends here.

I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Even though ours was a bit unorthodox, we had a great week.

what will this become?

Pumpkins. Not much says fall to me like a pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Or pumpkin bread. And pumpkin soup. And. . . my list could just go on. Can you tell how I feel about anything pumpkin? Our first year here I had pumpkin in various dishes in restaurants, but couldn't find it at the markets. They are more common now, but really I was not looking for the right thing.

I had something like this in mind. You know, a pumpkin.

But as I mentioned in a previous post, 南瓜 (pumpkin) is a rather generic term that really just means any kind of gourd in Chinese. What I really needed to be looking for was this.

Impressive, don't you think? So far, we have used this pumpkin to make a crock-pot full of soup, pumpkin bars, and pumpkin bread. There is still just a little under half of it left. What will it become next? A pie? More soup? Pumpkin pancakes? Is anyone besides me hungry yet?!

**On a side note, these pics are both of little T. The first is her at 2 years old and my, how she has grown. 

our monday {according to Instagram}

I have mentioned that our Monday is a busy day. Every other week, we go to a writing class with 2 other homeschooling families. Then on alternating weeks, the girls have Girl Scouts. And on some really crazy weeks, we have all of the above. In our commute to the other side of the city and back, we take several forms of transportation. While I can try to describe it for you, I thought maybe via Instagram I could show you snapshots of our afternoon.

1:20 PM -- Walking to the subway.

1:30 PM -- Stopping at Izumiya (our favorite grocery store, conveniently located at our subway stop)

1:35 PM -- Waiting for the train. T is happily showing off the hole where her tooth used to be.

1:45 PM -- Enroute. The kids are pros at this trip and know to pack something to do. Becca is knitting, Josh of course has his Kindle, and Tori has several books.

2:20 PM -- Important stop along the way. First we had to add money to our subway cards, then I needed to refuel with a hazelnut coffee.  Next we are off to meet up with a friend for a chat and a playdate before Daisy Scouts.

5:00 PM -- At Daisy Scouts.

6:00 PM -- Back on the subway. By now it is rush hour and we are with the many, many people going home. You can't see it, but the train was packed and I stood the whole way home. Often people will give up their seat for the kids. And just like all people in China, our kids are making the most of the space they have.

6:30 PM -- Almost home! I have no idea why B is making that face. Probably because I made her stop to get her picture taken!

There you have a run-down. On days when Becca has Girl Scouts, our commute also involves a bus or taxi. Most days we see it as an adventure. However, when it is rainy I have to confess that I miss the convenience of driving. Because it coincides so closely with dinner time, our return trip can be a little dicey. I think that because we have so much public transportation time built into our daily lives, it has made our kids better travelers. Long waits and lines are just a part of life. ☺

Instagram is a free app. You can follow other random adventures (and actually see pictures)  @laowaifam on Instagram.

homeschool mother's journal [november.9.2012]

In my life this week. . .

After much consideration, I bought a yogurt maker on taobao (think of taobao as the Chinese eBay, but without the bidding). I think I was almost giddy about its arrival. But I was not the only one...

We are loving the homemade yogurt and are experimenting with our favorite toppings. Josh is a big fan of blueberry jam in his and Tori prefers honey and a little cinnamon.

In our homeschool this week. . .

We had our typically busy Monday with writing class and Girl Scouts both on the other side of the city. In fact, Monday night we didn't get home until after 7:30! But after that, we spent the next four days at home. As the weather turned cooler with lots of rain, we were glad to just stay at home and be productive. Both Josh and Becca started their second book in our literature program. Becca started A Cricket in Times Square and Josh began Shiloh. In A Cricket in Times Square, the book is set in Chinatown in New York City. B has been humored by all the suggestions that she should do to be help her become better acquainted with Chinese culture. ☺

My favorite thing this week. . .

One afternoon I had a friend over for coffee. While we were talking downstairs, Josh was reading (typical).  However, the girls were quiet and nowhere to be seen. It is normal for B to disappear into a book or retreat to her room to knit. But Tori is my busy girl. So I almost always know where she is just by listening. The exception to this is when she is drawing at her desk. I found the girls in their room, knitting away, and listening to an Adventure in Odyssey. During that time Becca had taught T how to knit a hat using a loom and both were quietly working away. I love that homeschooling has given my girls time to pursue things that they enjoy. Becca is hoping to start a small business teaching other girls how to knit.

Tori proudly shows off her work. And I am not sure what Becca was doing!

Places we're going and people we're seeing. . .

Monday was busy and we saw many people. But by the end of the week, we were rooted at home and didn't leave our neighborhood for 2 days. We had plans to go to the other side of the city on Friday to play and learn with another family. But early Friday they called morning to let us know they were sick. Our kids were disappointed, but we used this time to start a new unit in science. When we were done with our required reading, the kids all wanted to continue on. Don't you love when they are the ones driving the learning?

I am cooking. . .

Becca had requested that I make pulled pork sandwiches. When I went to the store, I could not find any bread that would work for buns. The obvious choice was that we made our own. My round cutter was nowhere to be found, so in the spirit of fall, we used a pumpkin cutter instead. If you notice the pumpkin in the background, this is about as big as pumpkins get in Suzhou! There is another type of gourd that tastes just like a pumpkin, but the outside has the appearance of a butternut squash. And these can be enormous! I have tried to figure out their name, but everyone calls them a 南瓜 , pumpkin, which in my opinion, is kind of general name for gourd in Chinese. 

A link or quote to share. . .

I am loving these ornaments. 

And really think that I might need to buy some to put on our tree this year!


**As I side note, I think that you all should be proud of me.... did you see how many pictures I used?! Far exceeding my goal of one picture per post!

date with little T

Yesterday, while trick-or-treat was happening in our neighborhood, I got to have a date with Tori. Now, before you think I am the worst mom ever, depriving her of yummy candy well, let's be honest, this is China candy. . .not a Reece's in the bunch. . . I think I even spotted some meat candy in Becca's bag. . . And now aren't I seeming a bit less like a mean mom?

But the bottom line is that anyone dressed in a remotely-scary mask freaks her out. I mean, we are talking about the kind of scared that has her up at 2AM crying unconsolably. She likes the dressing up aspect, but those scary masks are just too much. So to prevent all of this, we got on the e-bike, rode to the subway, and did something girly together and got our hair cut.

I have a salon that I really like here in Suzhou. The guy does a fabulous job cutting hair. The price is amazing (for both Tori and I, it was 45RMB. That translates to just over $7! And in case you are not getting how amazing that is, I'll state it again: 7 bucks for both of us!). But the only drawback is that the entire experience happens in Chinese. And while I have learned some of the words to describe how I want my hair, there is a lot of gestures happening during my haircut! And a picture is good idea as well.

We completed our evening with delicious gelato. Since our haircuts took a LONG time, we were later than I thought arriving at the gelato place. Which meant that we ate our dessert first and then went home for our dinner. But I think that all my dates with kids in the future will include dessert first. Isn't there some kind of lesson in that? Some kind of we are doing something fun, just the two of us, something so out of the ordinary, that we will eat our dessert first.

I need to wait for my little T to get an after picture of us. But pictures are forthcoming..... (so this is not a total blog-photo-fail, is it?!)

musings

So, November 3rd, where did you come from? In fact, where did the whole month of October go? As we are starting into November, I feel like we have established some good routines with our homeschooling. The kids are understanding my expectations of them and are becoming much more self-directed. In adoption news, we are STILL waiting for our LID [log-in-date] because of one tiny piece of paper. Or should I say, lack of said piece of paper. I must confess that I find that a bit frustrating. I hear stories of people who get their paperwork done in record time with no muss or fuss. And I have to tell you, that has not been us.

What happened in October? We had the first week off and enjoyed a wonderful staycation here in Suzhou. Andy traveled the following week and we resumed school and life as normal. From then the month seems a bit of a blur. We had our first field trip with our homeschool coop. Of course, true to my normal, I didn't take ANY pictures of our time. I lugged the camera all around in the bag and didn't use it. I am amazed at the moms who have more children than I, and their blogs are filled with beautiful photographs. Maybe that is something I can aspire to. I think that maybe a more reasonable goal for me would be a decent photo accompanying each post.

And then I would fail that this time as I have absolutely no pictures to post. [sigh] Maybe next time.