oh no, no ayi!

This week in honor of the holiday, I gave our ayi (house help, pronounced ie-ee) a few days off.

Ok, before I go any further, I will answer the question on your mind. Yes, I have house help. Yes, she basically works full-time (all day Monday through Friday and half days on Saturdays). Now I don't feel the need to justify this, but consider the following just an explanation of why this is very common here (and many places outside the US). . . life is different here. I can't blitz through Kroger (or Fred Meier, Target, etc.) and get all of my grocery shopping done in 30-40 minutes. On average, I go to the store often (due to a small fridge) and then can not find everything at one store. In fact, I usually need to go to the store at least 4 times a week, and often need to go to at least 3-4 different stores over the course of a couple of weeks to find all of our normal grocery items. Unfortunately, these stores are not always near each other or even that close to me. Not to mention that we buy our vegetables and fruit fresh daily. Then when you add how long it takes to do laundry (my washer is teeny-tiny and can fit about 1 pair of jeans and 4 shirts in a load) and how often you need to clean. I think that without her, all I would do is laundry and grocery shopping! As we have started homeschooling, she has become even more help to me. When we lived in the US, I would have never considered hiring anyone to clean our house. And even as we return every summer, I am amazed at how much easier it is to get all of those household chores done in America. Notice that I am not saying easy. It is just easier. I am not discounting all the work that all you moms in the US do!

Ok, now that I have given the background info of why we have house help, I will fast forward to today. My ayi called me last night to tell me that her dad is very sick and went into the hospital. She asked if she could take a week or two and return to Sichuan to see him. I reassured her to take the time that she needed and that we would be fine. When I got off the phone and told the kids, Becca's first response was: "OH NO! Who will wash our clothes?!"

I know that I don't usually wash the clothes here, but c'mon B, give me a little credit.

homeschool mother's journal: [september.28.2012]

In my life this week. . .

I have been figuring out how to balance. Balance between our outside activities and schoolwork at home. Balance for me with time with the kids and things for me (like running). Figuring how we are going to add in Chinese lessons to this mix. And also piano. But we are eagerly anticipating a small break next week for the Chinese National holiday. Andy also has the week off, but we have decided not to travel. We are excited about a low-key week here in Suzhou with maybe a day-trip to Shanghai thrown in the mix.

In our homeschool this week. . .

We started our unit on whales in science. We are pondering going to the aquarium during our week off. Though Becca is lobbying to wait until later in the year when we know even more. How do you argue with such logic?! We also had our second week of our writing co-operative class. I can see already how this class is going to be great for both kids. And T enjoys the time playing with friends while the other two are having class.

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

Scouts have started! And homeschool co-op has kicked off. While I occasionally have a driver to take me to the other side of the city where most of our outside activities happen, I am usually a public-transportation-girl. Just for my sanity, we try to limit these activities to just two afternoons a week. Mainly because our commute is around 45 minutes each way! But we are so grateful to have other families that are also homeschooling here in our city that we will happily make that trek.

What's working/not working for us. . .

I found several similar forms online, but nothing was exactly what I wanted. In the end, I created this:

This is helping me to balance my time with each of the kids and for them to manage their own time for the day. Becca, my planner, still wants timetables for specific classes. I keep telling her that homeschool is not the same as school. She was struggling with that for a bit, but I think that this has helped her to feel in control of her days and plan her time the way she wants.

Things I've learned this week. . .

Because it is not just our kids doing the learning as we homeschool!

Sometimes in the midst of a busy time, I have the tendency to just plough through. It doesn't matter if I have too much on my plate or the kids are getting stressed. I want to press on and drag them with me. But this week, as we just had a crazy-busy time, I stepped back and let a few things go. Yes, it will be okay if we don't finish all of our math today.  It will be there for us tomorrow. So, in this first year of transitioning home, I am learning that while we do need to press on each day in our learning, somedays we need to just stop. And take a breath. That is reason #559 while I love homeschooling already.

I'm grateful for. . .

Friends who know me and have walked through life with me. I am thankful for Skype that helps me to keep connected with friends even after several moves. B, I am especially thankful for our weekly chats about anything and everything.

I'm praying for. . .

The next steps in our adoption journey. That each piece of this would come together at the right time. I know that I have not been talking much about it on the blog, but things are happening. I am excited to see how this journey unfolds in the coming months.

homeschool mother's journal: [september.14.2012]

In my life this week. . .

We got the additional papers that we needed for our USCIS approval and should be logged-in sometime this next month (which in adoption-speak means that we will soon be matched with a little boy). What a LONG process this has been.

We have also been glad to have Andy back. He travels back to Taiwan again at the beginning of October. But I am thankful that most of the time, it is normally just once a month that he is gone.

In our homeschool this week. . .

We finished up our first unit of science. We are all really enjoying the Apologia: Swimming Creatures of the 5th Day. I think my favorite was when T (my 6-year-old) described a photo with: The pretty blue fish is nektonic. Until we started this unit, I had no idea what nektonic means (a creature that swims is nektonic). I am learning to balance the time between history and science. In theory, we alternate days between the two subjects. But I find that if we start digging in one of the subjects, the next day the kids are still eager to continue, and then we neglect the other subject. How do you all handle this? I am going to experiment a little more and hopefully we will find the right balance.

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

For us, we have found that we really need to be home and have the concentrated time of schooling Tuesday-Thursday. I might go to the grocery store and take 1, 2, or all of the kiddos with me. But for the most part, we are homebound these days. Mondays we work at home in the mornings and then are starting a writing class next week on that afternoon and both girls have Girl Scouts a bit later on. Then on Fridays, we finish early and meet up with friends. But since all of these activities happen on the other side of the city, when we venture forth each of the kids packs a bag for our subway adventure.

Josh's bag always has either his Kindle or the book he is currently reading.

What's working/ not working for us. . .

While our Science is working for us, I am still figuring out history. This is the one subject where we don't have specific curriculum. We are listening to Story of the World and doing some of the activity pages. I am also assigning some extra work for Josh and Becca to learn more about people or things related to SOTW. But while we are doing some interesting things, I am still feeling my way.

I'm cooking. . .

SOUP!

With the weather turning just a little bit cooler (by cooler I mean that our high is only in the low 80s and at night we might even cool off to the low 70s), I have been in the mood for soup. This week I have made black bean soup with homemade salsa, red beans and rice, and chicken tortilla soup. I am craving pumpkin soup as well as potato leek soup, so I am sure that those will make it on our menu sometime soon.

I'm thankful. . .

that our kids are enjoying the transition to homeschooling. I wondered how our older two who spent years in the international school would do as we made the change. There are some bumps in our days, but overall they are enjoying our time. I just love seeing them light up and get excited about what we are learning. They are confirming to me that we made the right choice in bringing them home.

I'm praying for. . .

each of our children (including the one we are in the process of adding to our family) to know and serve God. For them to have a deep love of learning.

Hope that you each had a wonderful week!

homeschool mother's journal: [september.7.2012]

In my life this week. . .

Andy was in Taiwan. I do not get stressed about his travels, but there is a different rhythm in our house when he is gone. Our meals are a bit less structured. We will have pancakes at least once for dinner. But we are so glad that he is coming back tonight!

In our homeschool this week. . .

We completed our first full-week! I am still thinking through our schedule, but I have figured some things out in this time. I am getting an idea of how much time we need for various subjects. But I am also learning a lot about each of my children -- how they each learn, what their favorite activities are, and what is a challenge for them. I know that I will be learning so much about them this year.

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

We had some friends come see us as we mamas sat and planned a writing co-op class. We took the subway to the other side of the city to visit friends who just returned from the US and are also starting this homeschooling journey with us.

My favorite things this week. . .

I shared this in my last post, but I cannot tell you how much I am loving having Becca and Josh read to little T. Josh in particular, is so animated and engaging as he reads.

Questions/thoughts I have. . .

I wonder if our math curriculum is challenging enough. But realizing that I probably need to stop stressing about this one.

Things I'm working on. . .

Getting the last of the unpacking done. Everything is out of the suitcases, and the luggage is back on the shelves. But still there are a few piles lurking. I have been trying to tackle one pile a day, but we brought back a LOT of stuff!

I'm grateful for. . .

the homeschooling community here in Suzhou. No, it is nowhere near what you would find in many places in the US, but we have a community. And that is huge. I just know that they will be a blessing to our family this year.

A photo, video, link, or thought to share. . .

I just love this photo of the graph that T and I needed to do for her math. We needed to walk around our neighborhood and see what modes of transportation we found and graph it. The suggested categories were: truck, bike, and car. Hmm, didn't think that truck was going to be realistic, so Tori and I decided to look for China-appropriate-transportation: e-bikes (electric bike), bikes, and cars. The results were not that surprising. Only 3 cars were on our street while we found 6 e-bikes and 8 bicycles. How fitting for China! ☺

Join me with other homeschooling mamas as we reflect on life and our week of homeschool.

homeschooling

In so many ways, I am not a planner. There are piles all over our house. I know they drive Andy crazy. But babe, as the years progress while it is true the number of piles in our house has decreased, I don't think they will ever go away. Sorry dear. But then in other areas, I am crazy-organized. Andy calls it selective organization. Homeschool is fortunately one of those organized areas. When I was imagining how things would go as we returned to China, I wanted a week or so to recover from jet lag, unpack, and just organize my space. A trip to IKEA needed to happen. So I thought, we would get back and then start the 3rd of September. But do you know what I didn't count on?

That the kids would want to start early.

Truly, they all began talking about it after we had been back only a few days. And Becca in particular started lobbying to start sometime last week. I made a deal with them that if they helped me get organized then we would start on Wednesday. Then I was shocked by how willing they were to help. Who are these children!? Because my children generally will find just about anything else to do rather than help me organize. Can you believe the draw of starting school was such an incentive?

We started on Wednesday with just math and literacy (aka language arts). Each day we have added a little bit so that our schedule is starting to look like it normally might. And of course I am already thinking of the ways I want to change things. But they are subtle things that won't really change the big picture, and hopefully will just make things run smoother.

Things I am liking.....

How engaged each of the kids are. I feel like I can see the knowledge and joy of learning just soak into them. While I am sure that some of the newness of this will lose a bit of its luster, I hope that we can keep the passion for learning going.

Reading to T. Before starting, I researched how things would look homeschooling more than one child at various levels. And a friend suggested something that she does: having older children read aloud to a younger sib. I must say that it is an all-around win. The older child gets some "easy" reading. Tori gets read several books a day. They enjoy time together. I have time to work one-on-one with someone. Don't you love when things work like that?

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Challenges

Leaving the house. We didn't leave the neighborhood today. And come to think of it, we didn't yesterday either. I am still figuring out how looks to fit in my grocery shopping and other things in with our schooling time. While I know that we are here and diligently working each morning, our afternoons are going to offer a bit more flux. Unfortunately, because our fridge is tiny, I really need to shop every 2-3 days. I have hopes to turn these trips into outings and have B and J planning some meals, but right now I just want to establish the core things first.

T wants a playmate. This one is going to be my challenge all year long. As a first grader, she just doesn't have as much work that she needs to accomplish as the older two. Being the extreme social creature that she is, if she isn't working she wants at least one other person to not be working as well. Unfortunately, there are no other homeschooling families in our neighborhood. So far, Becca and Josh have told T to stop bothering them several times each day. Still pondering the best way to keep her active and yet away from the other 2!

Curriculum. Let me first say, that overall that we are really enjoying our curriculum. But I had a moment of panic when I started working with B on her math. Because for several days in a row, she was complaining how easy it was. Even J, who is not as strong in math, said that it was fairly easy.  I kept thinking, I lugged these huge books all the way here and now they are not the right the level!? AGH! But after further investigation, things later in the book will pose more of a challenge. But overall, curriculum is a challenge living on the other side of the world. I can't just change my mind. Or decide that I want to add something. Unless I can find it in pdf format, what we have is what we will use until we go back to the US. 

But just 5 days in, and things are going really well. We have some exciting things on the horizon. Several exciting trips. Girl scouts and boy scouts will start. We will be participating in a writing class with several other families. I love that I can just see that this is where our family and kids are supposed to be. ♥

ready, set, . . . FLY

We leave tomorrow. Normally, this brings out quite the emotional response in our children. Our first year, Josh had a major meltdown the week we left. Which is really out of character for him. Later I concluded that at 6 years old, he just couldn't deal with all of the emotions that he was feeling at the time. Another year, my girls were really weepy. But so far this year, . . . nothing.

Which seems very strange. I keep waiting for the drastic response. Now, before you all think me heartless, I am not just talking about tears. I am talking about extreme emotion, more than tears alone can express. Because I guarantee you that tomorrow as we leave Cincinnati, we will all be in tears (myself included). That is part of the healthy, grieving process and saying goodbye. Honestly, I would be worried if we didn't cry.

But part of me wonders, are my babies beginning to grow up and mature? Because each year as we approach this day, I check in with them. Just to see how they are each doing with the transition. This year they are each a bit sad, but also looking forward to going back to China. Looking forward to starting homeschooling. Sad to say goodbye. Excited to return. Hmm, maybe those emotions will erupt sometime in the next 24+ hours. 

But for now, I must go weigh my bags one last time. Homeschooling books weigh a ton!

reflections of summer

While we are not starting school until September, our time here in the US is coming to a close. Which for us means that summer is coming to a close. And this always brings about mixed reactions. We miss Andy and are ready to be united with him (we have been apart for 14 days, and have 9 more days until we see him). But will be sad to say goodbye to the friends and family here. It is hard to leave one home when you also want to return to another home.

I am amazed/amused each summer when I see our home country (or maybe for clarification, I should say, our passport country) through the eyes of our children. With each additional year we spend overseas, I see subtle ways where our kids are out of step with their peers here in America. [Just as an aside, this feeling of being out of step with their peers is not unique to our children. The term Third Culture Kids (or TCKs) describes this feeling that many children raised out of their passport country feel. Click here to read more about it.]

But even with our kids' cultural adjustment aside, there have been a few things that have stood out this summer. . .

Fascination with Commercials
We (Andy and I) are not big TV watchers. And when in China, we generally just watch movies or documentaries. And not even that many of those. For the last 2 weeks, Olympic fever has struck our house and our kids have loved watching. But since they really do not remember every seeing commercials, they are so intrigued by them. Maybe intrigued is not a strong enough word. They are entranced. They sing the jingles. They keep an eye out for each of the the stores. Then when we are driving around and they see one of the businesses that was featured on a commercial, they get really excited. They retell particularly funny ones (and not-so-funny ones). A side of watching the Olympics that I did not expect.

Road Trips
Our kids are used to traveling in many fashions: airplane, train, subway, and even boat. But for us it is rare that we take a driving trip that is longer that 2 hours. But this summer, we were all over the place! Ohio to Florida and back, Ohio to Michigan and Indiana. I was amazed by how much each of them just enjoyed watching out the windows, enjoying the scenery. T told anybody that would listen that she had taken a trip in a car that took 16 whole hours of driving, and that it was even longer that it took to get to China!

But each time we are back, I just want to soak up so much. The green, green grass. The amazing blue skies and white fluffy clouds. The relationships that go back so deep and remain strong. But with just over a week left, I am feeling the pull. Ready to go back home. To my home that is fast-paced, and teeming with people. To the crazy humidity, where my hair never looks that great. To the place that while it is and probably always will be a little strange and different, but at the same time grows more familiar daily. And this year, I am excited to go home and get organized to begin our homeschooling adventure.