Big Bro Jo Comes to Town

I hope in the next few posts to detail our month of February, which could have been our craziest on record (I have certainly said that before). 

It was highlighted by 16 year-old Josiah coming to visit for three weeks. We took him on some adventures, wowed him with Chinese fireworks, and he meshed with our kids in all kinds of mischief, leadership, and fun. 

David went to the capital to greet him and bring him to our town. 

He was arriving with some other friends from Btown, USA. We love these people! They were going to another city to bless and help some friends of ours. 

David gave up his home office and all the kids helped me get it ready while we waited for the day their 'big brother' would come. They made greeting signs...of course....

On day one, we showed him the neighborhood.

Introduced him to some favorite friends...

And took him to some local eats (a lot).

He came right smack dab in the middle of the kids Chinese School break (perfect). Everything was gearing up for Chinese New Year, a holiday I think every person should experience once in their life.

More February Days coming up...

Gabrielle and Reading

I started this spunky girl with the book Teach Your Childto Read in 100 Easy Lessons, like I did all her siblings before her...and she seems to be getting it (mostly). We are on lesson 26. She loves her sticker chart and getting little prizes every ten lessons! Unlike the others I am doing the writing with her because she really likes it!

Go Gabrielle!

(and just a disclaimer, I always follow this book with a full Language Arts Curriculum, this is just to get them going!)

A Birthday, Biscuit Making, and a Cookout

I turned 41 on the 5th, but we chose to celebrate on Sunday, the 4th. They let me sleep in, made me French Toast, and took me to see 'The Greatest Showman'. It was a wonderful day. 

I had already planned that day to do some bulk baking (they doubled the French Toast), but biscuits were on the agenda too. 

And this girl helped me make them!

Not knowing we were celebrating my birthday. some friends/neighbors invited us to a cook out at their house, so it worked out perfectly! 

 Sophia had already been down here a few nights before cooking on the grill, she loves it.

 Drinking Tea!

 We love these people!

 Sophia cooking up some concoction she made.

 And Gabrielle getting in on the action!

Ballet and Tae Kwon Do

Isabella has really wanted to study Ballet. Her demeanor and body type is a great fit for this, but our little town has had nothing legit. I got on some of my group chats (of their respective school classes) and asked around until I found this. I was still skeptical, but in her first ten days the teacher didn't mess around. Yes, they are younger kids, the only drawback, but Isabella opted to stay in to learn all the lingo and positions needed to progress with confidence. It was a good choice. 

 She did great and we signed her up for the whole next year!

Tobin has been talking about Kung Fu a lot. We explained that what he was seeing was TaeKwonDo, so we signed him up. He has done great, though some of it is a little hard, he really likes it. It too ends at the end of this week for the Chinese New Year.

Winter Break: What I LOVE...Five things

1. No more school, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks (we have had a couple of interactions/discussions with some teachers this semester)...(I taught this to the kids in jest, but was then convicted by it...I am often the teacher with the scowl...they loved the rhyme though). 

2. Daddy dates...out at the market for local dessert, they chose this over KFC ice cream. 

3. The neighborhood kids at our doorstep. Lots of kids calling to play, riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline and joining us for our afternoon 'Extra' which switches from art history (+ art project) to classical artists (listening + drawing), to science (=participation). Switching to Chinese for these went fine until the French Art History of the 1800s, but I managed. I did a lot better talking about taste buds and how our ear helps us balance.

(this is our back gate)

4. Time together, all together. 

 This was the first semester these two were not home together.

And all four, though not without some altercations, have had a blast really getting some good play time in.




5. TIME to explore and create...

Sophia's soccer ended after the tournament, while Isabella's Ballet lasted just ten days. Tobin is still in TaiKwonDo. This means most school work is done by mid-day (except Tobin's) and they have from almost 2 p.m. onward to PLAY, CREATE, EXPLORE.

Sophia came up with this idea and wondered if the thick Styrofoam would hold body weight. They tested it on Isabella, the lightest of the oldest. It worked and from then, it was on! Daily the clean(er) water poured in the stream near our house and the kids took turns on their boats.

 On day two they set up stations and a game to find certain clam shells and win a prize, you had to pay of course, They made a little dough from some friends.

 Thankfully I was not out there too much to get scolded by all the parents passing by. In the water in the winter! So little clothes on! Put on more clothes! I did make them wear sunscreen and hats, I am not that neglectful.

 And finally I let them escort Gabrielle on a boat tour too.

Life through the Chaos

Everyone was looking forward to the Winter Break from Chinese School. 

For the kids it meant less late nights of homework, for me it meant less late nights of homework...

and towing the line with all the home school that got shoved aside to prep for Chinese tests. 

I prepared the kids hearts for this: we will still do school. But we will do more fun things too (Science, music, art...play!), and we will finish early!

However, we also found and signed up for some great events/opportunities. As I put these on our schedule my brain wigged out. What was I doing and how would it all work? 

Deep Breath in...let's be a blessing this break, not a tiger mom....

I decided on a transition week. They did need a break. A real day (and some half days) with no school.

Early in the week they had exams, the rest of the week we eased into home school, got our bearings and tried to make sense of some sort of schedule...

Of course it started with the Soccer tourney, in the middle of which Isabella started a real Ballet class. With only me to haul them, we were all over the place!

But let's back up a tad. 

The tidbits in between the chaos are also worth mentioning. 

While the older kids toiled at exams...G and I fed fish in our neighborhood.

And we finished up our letter of the week curriculum. I am not sure I have any pics of me teaching the kids or at least not candid ones...David caught us in action. 

David's shoulder is causing all kinds of issues (this has been a problem for years). The blind guys that give therapeutic massage also did cupping. This helped some.

End of the year parent-teacher meeting: Gabrielle made the slide show.

And Mommy Dates! One-on-one time with kids, I probe their hearts a little, we play a lot, and eat yummy snacks.

 Tobin's choice was hot chocolate.

Tobin has been wanting to do TaiKwonDo for a long time. We signed him up and on David's agenda before leaving town was to make sure I knew where I was going with each kid across town. He found the place and they immediately gave Tobin and Sophia a free lesson. 

More school break adventures coming up...

School Break Soccer Tourney

As soon as exams were over, the soccer team prepped a few days for the big tournament of the year. 

Competitions in track, basketball, ping pong, soccer, and a few other events between elementary, middle and high schoolers made for a huge event. And the Chinese know how to put on a show. 

Sophia and her crew going to rehearsal for the opening ceremony. 

Representing MangShi No. 4 Elementary School

 

The host was the MangShi No. 1 Middle School. We had not been back here in fifteen years. I did not recognize it at all. New fields, track, basketball courts still plopped in the middle of a village. but the entire area now has paved streets (no cobblestone, like when we arrived), and lots of new houses.

Lots of pomp, lots of entertaining shows...

It all seems pleasant but these guys were freezing. It was cold. 

Each school was announced and walked a lap just like the Olympics.

 We were at the field daily, almost all day some days. David was traveling after the first day, so all the kids came along. They enjoyed it, and  they learned the word Paparazzi. At first I was quite patient. A lot of these kids were from village schools, they had never seen a foreigner before. I get it. But at times I had to make space. 

The team looking tough.

Trying out the starting blocks.

Tobin knows what these are, he aspires to be Usain Bolt, don't tell him his gene pool is not quite in his favor.

Oh yes, cheerleaders for every game. They weren't too bad but some were clearly mimicking (in not great ways) the American flavor in apparel (or lack of).

 
The bows and thank yous at the end of the match.

Watching the boys final. Yes, still cold. Most of these days on returning home, I just could not warm up.

How did they do? 2nd place!!! Silver medals. It was so much fun. And while Sophia doesn't start (five on five, short fields), she loves being a part and does great when she gets in. The starters are really good and are only 4th and 5th graders!

 

The entire school's teams