Has it really been that long?

It appears that my last blog post happened 18 months ago...yikes!  And would you believe that I was posting about our new school?  Which we now refer to as the old school, by the way.  Since just last month we expanded into two campuses, and our family is now primarily working and learning at the new primary school campus.  Whew.  It seems like ages ago when I wrote that last post!  No guarantees here on how frequently I will be posting, but it feels like a good time to add some photos and info for family and friends who still might check-in from time to time here on the blog!

To say the move from one to two campuses was stressful would be an understatement.  No details here (perhaps another post?), but let us just say August was a rough month for Alex and myself.  Now that school is underway and we are now a K-6 primary school, I am feeling more at peace with the stress and utter life-consuming process growing a school from the ground up can be.  Life-consuming in a good way, of course, sort of like how life-consuming raising our children can be.  It is exciting , invigorating, full of joy, yet at the same time so very demanding of our time and energy.  

I also wanted to take this opportunity to post a few photos of our very lovely school campus.  We are blessed beyond measure to be renting this space from a man who shares our vision and faith (something we never even dreamed of), and blessed by how the Lord is carrying us through the process of adding so many new students and teachers this year.

The view from the building next door.  We are the ivy-covered building and on to the right there.

 There is a large courtyard behind it that we share....

The view from the courtyard looking at the back of the building...the cute wicker chairs belong to a cafe/restaurant in the hotel to the left of our school building...

 A bit closer from that side of the building...  we are currently just using part of the building...

Miss Geneva found a peacock feather....

...because there are several peacocks that live on the property that our building is on!

(and bats apparently since V came running up to us at school announcing she had been petting a baby bat that she found by a tree at recess.  Glad we keep her rabies vaccination up to date!)

The New School - Just a few photos...more to come!

Two weeks down...lots more weeks to go for this semester.  We've successfully moved into our new school building!  Hooray!  Lots of space (for now!) and still a bit of work to do, but it has already been a huge blessing.  This is just a handful of photos, I hope to post more in the next day or two.

My little office - I should say the 'English Center'.  We are keeping all the English materials here and do some pull out English classes with different kids throughout the day.  We have three main English teachers including myself at the school now.

The view from outside my office looking out towards the stairs.  This is the second floor of the building.  The small glass office next to mine is the Chinese center, then another room beyond that is a little 'reading room' or 'study room'.  We had a divider put in and the large room below is now two rooms - one for our Grade 2/3 class and one is our Assembly/activity room.  Out the door are two more rooms and the stairs - the cafeteria, and the teacher office/work space with printers and copiers.

On the third floor is Vera's room.  For your enjoyment here is a little photo of Geneva and her sisters doing ballet with some of the other students.  Our wonderful Kindergarten teacher is also a dance teacher and is doing Friday afternoon ballet with the kids!  My mom might notice the lovely map quilt on the wall...Vera wanted to share it with her class...lovingly made by her Mimi...and used for their geography lessons!

Outside of Vera's classroom, looking out.  The three year old classroom on the left, and the four year old classroom on the right.  Along the right side wall is a door to the Principal's office.

Looking back into Vera's Kindergarten classroom.  The tables are moved out for ballet class!

Four year old classroom...

Oops, out of order, but here we are back to the Grade 2/3 class.  We have two new students this term!  

Back up to the sparsely decorated principal's office, with our amazing principal, Alex!  Decorating this room is a little lower on the 'urgent' list right now.

And now down to the ground floor, our Grade 1 classroom.

Hopefully more photos to come!

Elephants!

Two weeks ago, the girls and I joined Alex on a trip to Thailand.  Exotic sounding as it is, it actually is only a very short plane ride away, and we spent the first half of our time in a hotel in the middle of one of Asia's larger, dirtier cities (Bangkok).  For our second week, however, Alex had a class to take in an area further south, and the girls and I enjoyed some very relaxing days by the pool while Alex sat in meetings and classes.  He actually really enjoyed the class he took and we as a family were so happy to enjoy the warmth and outdoors!  Just half an hour away from the place we were staying was an 'Elephant Camp', where we could go ride elephants.  For those who know us well, Geneva's absolute favorite animal in the whole world is the elephant.  I don't remember exactly how it started, but she has been carrying around stuffed and plastic elephants since she was around 18 months old.  So our half day trip to ride elephants might possibly have been the highlight of her little three year life!  Here are some photos of everyone with the elephants...

Christmas Dates!

For family waiting...here are the photos from our Christmas dates!
Instead of a big gift under the tree (trust me, there were lots of small ones, though!), Alex and I decided it would be fun for me to take each girl out on a special 'date' to do something special.  It went really well, and the girls were so pleased to be able to have some choice in what we did and to have mommy all to themselves for half the day!

We started on Saturday with Geneva.  My sweet little girl was so easy.  She had seen an advertisement for something called a 'Snow Kiss' (Sprite float with a scoop of Strawberry ice cream on top) at a restaurant nearby.  And had her heart set on having that for our date!  So we dressed up, headed to the mall, and sat together with our drinks.  She enjoyed every bit of the ice cream...it took well over an hour for her to finish it up, but we had a good time.  Here she is!

Add dressed up and ready to go!

Outside the mall...Geneva loved the 'baby' Christmas tree.

The 'Snow Kiss'

Wendy was next, with a big date to the Nutcracker at the Shanghai Grand Theatre.  It was a beautiful production.  The Shanghai Ballet Company puts in on most years (although two years ago Alex and I got to see the Ukrainian Ballet perform it here in Shanghai, which was gorgeous).  We were accompanied by some good friends.  And of course, the girls' American Girl dolls dressed up and came along for the fun!

On the subway heading downtown!

Nutcracker display outside the theatre!

Wendy and Caroline ready for the ballet to begin.

At the theatre!  We had great seats on the lower level.

Vera chose something a bit more active, and we hit the climbing wall for the morning of Christmas Eve.  She is amazing on the climbing wall.  She insisted on trying the 'hardest' climbs, and fully entertained everyone else there.  Although there weren't actually very many people there since it was FREEZING.  NO HEAT.  Yup, no heat.  If I had know that, I would have encouraged her to choose something else for her date.  She did not seem to notice the lack of heat, but I certainly did.

Ready to go!

This is how she spent most of her time...up and down, up and down!

Good form!  

Still 'thawing' out at the restaurant. 

Music and Hard Work at Home

I came across this post...I think I wrote it back in September?  Then I forgot to post it.  So here it is.  It has the feel of a 'beginning of the school year resolution' or 'new years resolution', although I'll be honest, I'm a little tired these days and those 'new school year resolutions' are waning a bit.  But it was a good reminder to myself to keep pressing on and to keep lovingly helping my kids press on...

Most of you know that Wendy Jane has taken up the violin.  And she loves it.  She does not love practicing (what seven year old does?), but she does love the sound of it and loves it when she learns a new song.  Alex and I love it, too...even when it's a little (a lot?) squeaky.  Neither Alex, nor myself, have much going for us musically.  We can sing on key sometimes (Alex more than me) and I played piano once upon a time.  But there is something about having music in our home that just appeals to us at our core.    So we bought an electric piano and I started teaching the girls the basics last year.  We had a friend who is a performer who sings and plays the fiddle and she gave Wendy her first few violin lessons.  When she returned to the US, we found a Chinese teacher who comes once a week for lessons.  It's a lot of work, I'll be honest.  Even kids who are motivated and compliant, like Wendy, find practicing tedious when just beginning.  Let alone Vera, who has trouble sitting still for more than 3 minutes!
But we were recently introduced to The Annie Moses Band.  Six siblings, Juilliard trained, lots of string instruments, folk-classical music.  And fabulous southern accents that remind us of home.  One of our favorite songs:

We've been a bit obsessed with a DVD from an Annie Moses Band concert called 'Pilgrims and Prodigals.'  And so tonight after the kids went to bed (Alex is out at a meeting), I decided to get online and read more about the family.  I discovered that their mom, who is a singer, songwriter, and homeschool mom, has a blog.  Not a huge, blog-every-day type of blog.  But a nice blog with some interesting pictures and stories...and a very interesting interview called " How Do I Raise An Artistic Child?"  A parent asks questions and she answers.  Now, I'm not saying I want my girls at Juilliard, or to be performers or anything, but I would like my girls to love music and know how to play/sing at levels above my own. And I really liked her blog entry/interview.  REALLY liked it.  It's refreshing to have someone speak with conviction.  You can read it here:  

http://robinwolaver.com/how-do-i-raise-an-artistic-child-a-conversation/

Take from it what you will, but I will say I felt so struck by her sense of conviction and matter-of-fact directness.  She talks about the importance of bonding, prayer, hard-work, and humility.   You know what the unmentioned thread that ran through her blog was?  This takes a lot of time and energy from the mom.  As in tons of time and energy.  Extended breastfeeding to promote bonding when they are young?  I've been there and done that...it takes time and energy.  Sitting by your child while they learn how to study, practice, and be a productive little person? I'm currently in the midst of that one, and seriously, it's draining.  But I think the reason she doesn't mention the time and energy isn't because she has forgotten it (though her kids are mostly grown up now), but perhaps it is that there is great joy in the process.  Sitting with Vera listening to her read each word aloud from Magic Tree House books (seriously, I'm going to hide those books from Geneva!  Twice is enough for me!) is not just helping her perfect her phonics and reading, but it is also a bonding time...it is time spent showing her that I love her enough to want her to be an excellent reader and learner.  The same goes for Wendy and Geneva.    It can be tedious...tedious, tedious, tedious.  And it does take the place of other things...a nicer dinner, 'me' time, etc. And, I often don't want to put the work in, to be honest.

But what I took away from her article tonight was less about my children being great musicians, and more about my kids just growing up.  I already know that there will be times when I will fail.  I'll be impatient and I will be selfish.  I will want to give in and give up.  Our focus line with Vera right now is 'We don't stop what we've started until we are done.'  (For anyone who knows our family even a tiny bit, you know this is no small task for my little girl.)  I think Robin Wolaver said it to me tonight in her blog post.  A musician doesn't become great overnight and rarely without a lot of practice and hard work.  And my kids don't grow up overnight (though I'm sure in 20 years I'll feel like they did) and it will take hard work on our part to help them practice the skills of life...of prayer, of study, love, patience, the list could go on.  

Anyway, a few thoughts from this very-tired mommy tonight.  Hoping I still remember what I read tonight when I wake up to my kids in the morning (or middle of the night as it seems to be common this week) and begin another day of learning patience and hard work.

A little update from school...

We are 11 weeks into the school year, and it's about time for another big update on how things are going at Guang Qi Academy!  Change is in the air, but first I'll fill everyone in on what's been going on.  We grew!  Well, as much as we could for our little space.  We are definitely at-capacity with over 30 kids and some new teachers, but the kids don't seem to notice and the teachers are being great about the limited space (no teacher break room or anything yet!).  Since we usually don't take pictures of the kids working sums in math or diagramming sentences, I'll post about a fun activity we did last month:

Our elementary school kids had a fun kick-off event for their study of the Middle Ages:  a medieval feast!  Food, games, and costumes for everyone.  Here are some fun photos of the day:


Third Grade girls... our smallest class by far, but the sweetest!  I love this class!  I am their English half-day teacher (Literature, Grammar, etc.) and these three girls are hard workers.  It's like homeschool-plus when I am with them.  I did a session on clothing in the middle ages and the girls wore their costumes to school that day.  (Geneva is my tag-along in her little costume!  Hard to tell in the photo, but it is similar to Wendy's, just different colors...oh, and she refused to wear the adorable headpiece...oh, well!)

During the class we talked about hair and how most ladies wrapped their hair up.  Here is Wendy modeling one of the styles.

Grade 1 also got very involved in the costume aspect of the day!

The feast really began at lunch time!

Here is what everyone was served:  Chicken leg and boiled vegetables on a bread-plate.  No silverware!

Vera LOVED the meal...chicken drumsticks are her all-time favorite food!

After lunch students were divided up into three groups and went to three different stations.

First, Songs and Storytelling with a special guest, Alex's mom!  She taught them about how stories were told through songs and minstrels, then read to them the story of St. George and the Dragon, one of the most famous legends of the early Middle Ages.

Then it was on to Arts and Tapestry Making!  The students learned how people told stories through images sewed on tapestries and wall hangings.  Then, the kindergarteners made handprint dragons on fabric and the older kids painted an image from St. George and the Dragon on 'tapestries' .

Last, was the Tournament station.  Students learned about Knights and Tournaments, then had some competitions....including jousting!  Pillow-fight jousting, that is!  Instead of horses, they had to knock each other out off of their circle.  This activity was a HUGE hit with the kids, as you can imagine.

 It was a fun way to bring our history unit to life.  Some of the resources we used were:

1-  Story of the World 2 - The Middle Ages by Susan Wise Bauer  (This is our curriculum book for history for our Elementary School)  www.peacehillpress.com

2- Crabtree Publishing - The Medieval World series - The Life of a Knight, Life on a Medieval Manor, Arts and Literature in Middle Ages, Medieval Myths, Legends, and Songs, Clothing in the Middle Ages, Life in a castle, Women and Girls in the Middle Ages.
(I would highly recommend this book series for anyone studying the Middle Ages.  They are illustrated with very realistic pictures and deal with the time period in a very straightforward, child-friendly way.  My personal favorite was the Women and Girls in the Middle Ages book)

3- St. George and the Dragon, by Margaret Hodges.  Simply the best, in my opinion!  Gorgeous illustrations, great retelling.

4- Dover coloring books for the Middle Ages - Medieval Clothing, Knights and Castles.

All these resources were purchased within China on Amazon.cn and Taobao.com.

Yellow Belt

So proud of Wendy today...she passed her test and is now a Yellow Belt in Tai Kwon Do!  If you like me, have no idea where that falls in the spectrum of colored belts for TKD, it is the second level.  First level is white, second is yellow, then I can't remember what is next.  I'm sure I'll know soon enough, though！
Here she is in class today：

Taking the exam...

Yellow belt!

Her friend Isaiah also had his exam...blue belt for him!