Happy Decade Birthday, MS!

Ten years this month (8 February, to be exact), ML and I became parents (okay, life begins at conception, but you get the point). It feels like just yesterday, and it feels like forever ago. I'm sure you understand, if you have kids.

One year, we did back-to-back birthday parties when MS and MA's birthdays fell on a Friday and a Saturday. One year. Just one year.

They pretty much alternate who gets the party closest to their birthday, and this was MS's year to have his the next week. He didn't mind. Much. Okay, so having to go to a little girl's fourth birthday party on his birthday was not exactly his idea of how to celebrate, but he survived. :-)

We're so grateful to have MS in our family. He adds humor and insight and not a little bit of help with everything from corner store grocery and bakery runs to dish washing.






The cake was all Webkinz all the way. After a brief hiatus, Webkinz once again reigns in our home, and it (both the stuffed animals and the on-line play) is the activity of choice for all three Bigs. He wanted the cake to also somehow reference his being a decade old, so we worked that in there, too. The cake itself was French Vanilla with chocolate chips, and the icing was chocolate. We finished it the next morning for breakfast (with eggs), of course.

All of MS's ex-pat friends who live in town were able to come to the party, as were all of the boys in our building around his age. Homeschooling friends in the capital had to miss due to other plans, and the English-speaking cousins of one of our neighbors were also not able to come.







Presents at the party* included a Webkinz (appropriately), the ever-popular money, and...two water turtles! The McB family gave MS a turtle bowl, rocks, turtle food, the turtles themselves, and the promise to care for them while we're gone to America. They were quite a hit.

For fun, the kids had sword and finger rocket battles, played Wii, and even learned a bit about playing guitar, thanks to Uncle J.

*On his actual birthday, MS received his family gifts, which included a Didj from Mommy & Daddy, a Star Wars Didj game from Nanny, and several Webkinz (well, the promise thereof upon arrival in the US) from other family members. He now has 10 Webkinz. :-P

Those TCK's say the darndest things!

I may have explained the concept of TCK here before, but it's basically a person who has spent a significant amount of his/her formative years in a culture other than that of either of his/her parents. They have their own "third culture," not their "passport culture" (that of either/both of their parents) and not the culture(s) in which they're living. This includes MK's, business kids, oil kids, military brats, and diplomat kids (no offense to the military kids; it's just the term). And, obviously, our kids.

There's a whole book on the subject (more than one, actually; the one I linked is just the place I would suggest as a start), and hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of research has gone into the uniqueness that is this group. Because, you see, the interesting thing is that, no matter what culture they've grown up in, they have similar characteristics. And they relate to each other, even if they grew up in opposite corners of the world.

I could go on. And I might some day. But the point of this post is to share some funny stories that have resulted from the experiences of my own little TCK's (and one from my own big TCK :-). Mama in the City on SL started a thread asking for TCK stories a while back, and here are a few I contributed.

MA was getting ready for the staff Christmas party at ML's work. I told ML that we needed to make sure to get a picture of her in her dress that day, because my mom bought it for her (and she got sick before we got a picture on Thanksgiving). MA's response, "I know what we can do, we just have to find some people who don't know me, and they'll take a picture of me with their cell phone!" Can you tell this is a blond-haired, blue-eyed little girl who has spent her entire life in a culture that values those traits (too) highly?

Then, there was the time that we were going to a dr's appointment in an upper-class neighborhood in the capital and MS asked what a sound he heard was. ML and I laughed and said, "Honey, that's a lawn mower." Houses here do not have grass, except in that one area of the capital where everyone tries to be as western as possible.

ML's sister and her family were here visiting, and we passed camels on the side of the road. I pointed them out, and our niece got very excited, "A camel! I've never seen a camel before!" MS, in a very bored voice, with a very dead-pan face replied, "Well, I have."

MS has now learned to peruse menus, etc., for English mistakes...just like Mommy and Daddy.

MS was reading a social studies lesson (from his token how-to-learn-from-a-textbook Rod & Staff book) on airplanes (like he needed that lesson). He was thinking out loud a bit as he worked, and then he turned to me and said, "You know, when we fly, I don't really worry about something happening to the airplane. I know that they have lots of high tech things to keep that from happening. I worry about them losing our luggage, because there are so many important things in there." (I promise I have never said a word to him about anything like this. He came up with it all on his own.)

MA came into the kitchen all excited saying, "Mommy, guess what? I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and I turned the handle, and water came out!!!" (We'd been out of water for 24 hours or so.)

And one on the big TCK in the house (ML grew up in Africa, for those that don't know): When they were little, ML was (as usual) aggravating his sister in some way, and she had had it. She told him, very sternly, "M, if you don't start acting better, you're not going to go to Heaven *or* America." Apparently, they were approaching a time stateside and the anticipation had been building.

MS 2007-2008, Part 2

Along with our Core 3, MS listened to the Geography Songs tracks that relate to what we're reading about (I left some for this year when scheduling last year), and has now moved on to the relevant History Songs.

For handwriting this year, MS is re-doing Handwriting Without Tears "My Printing Book." His handwriting is probably typical for a rushed, first-born 8yo boy, but I wanted him to get more concentrated practice on correctly forming the letters (he did not do a handwriting book last year). It's helping a little, but I think this is something that I'm going to constantly be reminding him about (and letting go of).

When I looked at the math curricula Sonlight carries way back when (and researched other math options, as well), their pros for both Singapore and Miquon options fit very much my desire in teaching math: introducing mathematical thinking (Singapore) and math self-discovery (Miquon). I also knew that the repetitive nature of several other curricula (like Saxon and Abeka) was not a good fit for MS.

So, this year, MS is working through Singapore Primary level 3 this year. We do the textbook pages when he hits a snag in the workbook or when it teaches a new mental concept.

He is also doing Miquon Blue, which is a decent amount below his level. I made the mistake of scheduling too few Miquon pages over the past couple of years for him, so he has not progressed in the books at the pace he is capable of. I don't want him to miss any of the concepts covered, so I have both stepped up the pace of what I've scheduled and offered him an extra incentive to complete the book quickly. I have the first few books in the Keys to... series for after he completes Miquon.

Continuing on the topic of math, MS is working his way through a second round of the multiplication memorization songs on the Multiplication Vacation CD. We also have the accompanying DVD. It is one of the lowest-budget, goofiest, 90's-feel, bad-special-effects productions I have ever seen...and the kids absolutely love it, and they're learning from it (geography and history concepts thrown in, as well), so I do not regret the purchase one bit. MS has a good deal of visual in his learning style, so I think having the images from the DVD as pegs to hang the song lyrics on helps. I put together a workbook of multiplication drills for each set (1-13 x's) from free options on the web, so the last day of each week, he demonstrates his knowledge from the song listening by doing those.

[Speaking of song memorization, I've made a note to post soon about the system we've settled on for making sure this happens.]

A final math item that MS is working through is a Rod and Staff math drill tablet for 3rd grade. It begins with a review of addition and subtraction and moves on to multiplication and division. It is consists of 30 or so problems on each sheet with room on the back to re-work missed problems. I have him check his own using the calculator on the computer and circle and re-write those missed. He does these three days a week. Just a little extra practice for math facts.

Speaking of Rod & Staff, I'll go ahead and review what other products of theirs MS is using.

I purchased the 1st grade level of one of the R&S music programs (Beginning in Music) for MS to do in 1st grade, because it had the cut-and-paste aspect he enjoyed from some of their preschool books. I continued to use it basically on the it-can't-hurt principle. However, this year with the 3rd grade program, I am seeing that what seemed like mindless cutting and pasting actually had a very tangible purpose in slowly introducing students to concepts (the Do-Ti scale, which is called something like "sofedge," but I never remember seeing it written down, just spoken in high school choir, so I don't know how to spell it; sorry) that they would later cover in more depth. I am pleased I stuck it out and am seeing a little of what I'm missing out on by not being able to go to curriculum fairs where I could have thumbed through books and figured this out a lot sooner.

I also ordered MS the R&S Artpac 1 in 1st grade but abandoned it after a few projects as being too time-consuming for me and a little above his motor skill level. He is firmly on grade-level in his motor skills now, so I decided to give the line another try. However, I ordered the Level 2 pack, instead of jumping to the one for his grade level. I am very pleased with that decision and will to continue with the next couple using this series a year below grade level. Even for those on-par in motor skills, using a year below enables them to do the projects much more independently, something I highly value, since I am a project-impaired homeschooling mom. (There, I said it.)

This year, MS is working through the R&S 3rd Grade Social Studies textbook. I try to pick one R&S subject like this each year to the end of a goal I have: that my children will know how to learn from a textbook. Strange goal, I know, but I think it's valuable. Really, the rest of our learning is centered around authentic books, like SOTW and Usborne science texts, where they are engaged by the quality and layout of the publication. I have nothing against R&S's textbooks, because this could, in a round-about way, sound like a criticism of their textbooks in particular. I like them, as far as textbooks go. It's just that I'm not a fan of textbook-based learning in general. But I won't go into that right now.

The point is that, at some point, my children may have to learn from a textbook in a graded, classroom situation. It may be in college. Or it may be that at some point we choose to or need to put them in school. To that end, I am having them use a read-and-answer-questions (and, this year, take-tests-that-review-the-material) set to learn this skill. To boot, MS is learning a lot about a farm-based community (R&S is a Mennonite company :-). And last year, he learned some important facts about "health," such as how to carry a knife. I'm pleased with how the set-up is working.

In a world that is increasingly computer-based, I see typing as an invaluable skill, so I set out about a while back to find a typing program that would work well for our kids. For a while we used Read, Write and Type!, which is a phonics-based, combination reading and typing program. It was okay, but MS didn't need the phonics aspects of it, and the graphics were extremely dated. When we upgraded our operating system, and it wasn't compatible anymore, I decided to find another program altogether (everybody say, "I decided to find another program;" extra points to those that get the reference).

I wanted something game-based, because I didn't want to have to push this subject, and, bottom line, I just wanted MS to have fun. What we ended up with is Typing Instructor for Kids, and we recently upgraded to Version 3 (only available, as far as I can tell, as a download, unless you're running Vista; not available for Mac, unfortunately). MS absolutely loves the game. I need to get him to blog about it. It's amusing how enthusiastic he is. But the ultimate issue is: the kid can type. Correct finger positioning. Roughly 17wpm. 93ish% accuracy. Pretty good for a fun game, I say.

MS has been using Rosetta Stone Arabic, Level 1 for over two years now. Only this year did the vocabulary seem to be sinking in. However, that may just be the cumulative effect of him using the program. We bought the updated version of the software and brought it back with us this summer. It took a while to get the computer set up just right to install the software, and now we've hit a user snag. A mommy-user, that is. I need to sit down and set up the program to run and progress the way I think is best for MS, and so far, that hasn't happened. So, for now, his Arabic learning is coming from his lessons, and Mommy is going to get to that task soon. :-/

MS 2007-2008

So, what are the kids doing individually this year? We'll start with MS, because, well, it's an oldest child thing.

Last year (2006), when we were in the States, I brought back this year's (2007) school books. We already had our 2006-2007 books, because a group of volunteers had brought them for us. I just knew that if I came back with school books over a year ahead of time that we'd end up evacuating, and I'd have to haul them right back to the States (think I've had similar things happen too often? :-/ ).

This, fortunately, did not happen. We only had one small repercussion from buying so far in advance: SL re-vamped their Language Arts program. So, I had to re-buy 3 levels of LA, 1 & 3 for JW & MS for this year and 2 for JW for next year. (We came back this summer with our 2008-2009 books, hoping that our "no evacuation" "luck" will hold up.)

So, MS is doing the new SL LA 3 for language arts this year. We got off to a late start, because FedEx made a shipping mistake and had to send our SL order here to us in the Middle East (shout out to SL customer service; they were great in helping us get this figured out).

That left us playing catch-up. We were almost caught up when I had the bright idea for the kids' school blog, which I've been using as MS's creative writing assignments for the past couple of weeks. I guess we'll catch up again at some point.

I pulled the Grammar Songs assignments from the old LA 3, because I wanted him to work through those, even though I'm assuming they're included in the new Grammar Ace program. With all of the "Songs" sets that we're using (Addition, Multiplication, Geography, History, etc.), I'm hoping to have the kids review them at least once after the first run-through to shore up the information.

MS is also doing the Core 3 Adv. Readers. We do our readers a bit differently, though. We don't read them as scheduled. I put their level of readers on their shelf along with all of the extra period-related history readers that I've bought for them and let them have at it. I keep a checklist of the readers, and I put one in their independent assignment folder (guess I should explain that; I'll do that soon). Occasionally, I sit down and ask them which books they've read. We don't do comprehension questions, but I usually hear enough about the books in casual conversation to know that their comprehending what they're reading (I don't let a kid loose on readers without being confident of their ability to read for comprehension anyway).

He reads these books during our daily "rest time," for at least 45 minutes and at night after the other kids are in bed if I feel like rest time has been too disjointed recently or if we've missed rest time for a day or more due to other activities. [Side note: after his 45 minutes and at bedtime, MS usually does "free reading," which is reading one or more of the myriad of other books we have in our house for the kids.]

For those interested, here is MS's checklist for his readers. We've added some period-related readers since then from a shipment of books we received (RIP M-bag service), mainly several books from the Mandie series, and a few of the Core 3 read-alouds, but this is most of what he's reading.

For Bible, our tradition has become to buy kids their own NIrV (the NIV with vocabulary changed so as to be at a 3rd grade reading level) Bible once they reach independent reading. [MS received a "Super Heroes" Bible in which major Bible characters are highlighted as heroes or villains along with their powers/downfallings.] I then have them read the daily Bible readings from the SL core themselves. I make a spreadsheet (of course) with the year's readings divided into six different columns. I put a small column to the left of each list. Cut apart, these become a bookmark for their Bibles where they can keep up with their reading by making checkmarks in the small column. Here is MS's Bible reading sheet for this year. I blacked out all put what appears on SL's website on the sample IG pages.

[I'm going to add a post at some point for what we do for art and music appreciation, because I just realized that I didn't include that in what we're doing for all of the kids.]

I just realized that this post is going to get really long, and I should have just gone ahead and put it up when I stopped working on it the other day, so I'll put it up now and probably get the other half up tomorrow.