End of WEEK ONE!!!!

So, we have made it to the end of our first week of school, though honestly, it feels more like we have been in school for a month or more. Currently I have 11 kids in my class, though with the 2 new kids on Monday, I will then have 13!!! Crazy, huh???? Lucas has 14 kids in his class.

Today we had our first elementary school assembly. Lucas got to introduce himself to the whole school, as did I.

The week went really well. It was the first time in years that I have had a full 5-day start to the year, which was exhausting!  By the end of the week, it really felt like it had been about a month, not a week! Lucas has adjusted well to the new school and LOVES first grade!  He has made many new friends in his class. Ne even was chosen this week to be the lunch helper for his class, which meant that he and another boy carried the lunch tub down to the lunchroom ahead of the class. He really enjoyed the responsibility of this job.

My class has also settled in nicely. I had 11 all week and will have two new kids come on Monday, so then I will have a class of 13. Crazy, I know!!! They are such a nice group of kids though. I really look forward to getting them to open up a bit more, they are a bit quiet for my taste right now. It will come, I know it was only the first week. Camilla and I continue to drudge through creating our curriculum map for the year. There was a skeleton when we came, with some scope and sequence, but it needed a lot of work, particularly in making it a true PYP document. Camilla is the perfect, most fabulous partner for me! We really have similar styles and focused work ethic. We can joke around and then get right back on track. We have similar thoughts about education practice and theory, and both are very hardworking. She has also worked in PYP schools, so we have background in the curriculum, though different so we have different ideas to bring to the table. Since this is the first time in my career that I actually have a partner, I really won the partner lottery!!

This week also a colleague, Bill, (who lives in our complex with his wife and has a daughter in Lucas' grade, Katie) got me to the gym. :) He has a membership and has been going regularly, so we made a gym date and his wife was coming too with Katie, so Lucas and Katie could play. We went Wednesday and Thursday, so I can see a glimmer of building a healthy routine of this!  YAY!!! It has been entirely too long since I have had a really good gym routine. It is so hot there though. There is  no AC, just a couple fans. Once you start to workout, it is basically the same as a normal temperature gym, except I feel like a wet, drippy sponge!!! But it feels GREAT to be there!!!!

Friday night, our normal Family Night, we had Camilla, Jon, Majken and Solveig come over for pizza and play. It is a new spin to our family night and it was a TON OF FUN! I have been so used to things always being just Lucas and me that at first I wasn't sure about it, but I knew we would have fun. After they came, I realized how incredibly lucky we were to have made such good friends with them! Friendship is so important and it is nice to have someone to lean on, and that leans on you. It makes me even more grateful to have made the move here, and more sure that it was the right move.

Anyways, our Family Night last night was different, but it was a really great time. It was low key, us grown-ups just chatting and the kids, being total HAMS! They played Lego for a long while, then they started coming out after dressing up!!!  It was pretty hilarious!!! For our second Friday night, we have had combined family night and it has been really wonderful to have the time together, then be so close that we can just pop on back to our respective homes. What a perfect end to the week!!!

 Solveig, Lucas, Majken

  Solveig, Lucas, Majken

 

Lucas

 Solveig

Solveig

 Majken

Majken & Lucas

 Lucas

 Solveig

 Majken

Pirate Lucas

 

Camilla & Jon

Me.....showing Majken how to use the camera. :)

NASCAR!!!!!

Being here in China, our access to NASCAR is severely limited. We are often watching races two or more weeks after the fact, partial races, or races that people record from their TV and post to you tube....true story....

BUUUUUUT, we got this fancy thing now called internet tv at our house, which uses our internet to get some channels we would see in the States. Despite what others have told us (the 100's of channels we will get) there are very few worth anything. We do have NatGeo Wild, FOX Sports and Disney Channel.

This meant that for the first time, last night, we watched a NASCAR race on tv. It was of course after the fact (the Watkins Glen road race) but there it was in all it''s NASCAR glory. The only drawback was that it was on 8-10pm, which meant Lucas was up insanely long past his bedtime. 

But, the JOY on his face to sit and watch NASCAR on a tv.....priceless!!

Summer, summer, summer time!!

Summer is a time that we really look forward to. We get to bask in the sun, fresh air and beauty of the Pacific Northwest, back to our roots. Since we now have lived in China for so long, it is interesting to return home. There are so many things that are so convenient and ample in the States that we just don't have access to here.

We took most of the summer this year to just REST and do much of not a lot, which was fantastic! It is easy to get so caught up in wanting to do things we don't usually get  to and then just be on the move the whole holiday. This year, we had a lot of quality time with friends and family!  :)

Hello Guangzhou!!!

 My handsome boy in his formal school uniform!  It's going to be a great year!

Well, after a quick summer, we arrived back in Guangzhou for the next leg of our worldly travels. I am SO GLAD that we got the apartment before the summer and had everything set up to come back to. It eased so much stress!

Orientation went rather painlessly, with some hiccups here and there, but when isn't there. I have been in very high spirits regarding the choice I made to come here. I really think it was the right move for us. There is a lot of work to do at the school, but that is ok, I'm not really one to shy away from work. ;)

I made a new friend during orientation who ended up becoming my teaching partner. (long story, but I had one partner who was then swapped with another teacher, upper for lower grade) My new partner, Camilla, is here with her family on her first international teaching assignment from Sweden. She came with her husband and two kids, one of whom is in my class and the other is in grade 2.

New Student Orientation: Majken, Sulvej, Lucas Lucas at New Student Orientation

Lucas and hisnew teacher, Ms. Yashna, Grade 1!!

We became friends pretty quickly and her girls and Lucas also became friends quickly. After the first night they played together, Lucas said how much fun he had and then said, "Mom, we don't even speak the same language but we had SO MUCH FUN!" (the girls don't speak any English) They have since made up different signals to communicate, use different sounds and have taught each other some words. But is is fascinating. Even now, they are in the other room, playing and laughing. You would never know they didn't speak the same language.

They moved into our complex too, which has been really fun. We have done so many things together, IKEA, grocery shopping, going to school, and just hanging out. We even had the shortest taxi ride together, all 6 of us in one taxi for about a block and a half.....we were misled on actually where our destination was, and long story short, we all shoved in a taxi despite the driver saying things to us (probably telling us just to walk). It was pretty funny!

The weather here has been SO hot and humid!  We just have had to kind of get used to the fact that the minute you leave the house, you are immediately hot and sweaty. I guess we will get used to it though. And I hear it does get less humid, so we will see.

School started yesterday. Lucas was so very excited to start 1st grade (which they call year 2 here....strange, I know)! He has grown up so much it seems the past few weeks since we have been here. It is unbelievable! He was very happy with the first day of school and has just been itching to get into 1st grade. He had already met all the teachers during the orientation week. They were all so kind and inviting to him. He told me that he "really liked everyone at this school."

After the first day, Lucas was SO TIRED he was in bed by 6:30! Today though, he has a bit more energy. I saw him in the lunchroom looking REALLY focused and professional. He and a classmate came in with a bin and then stood by the wall. Lucas was straight up tall with his hands behind his back. I went over and asked him what he was doing and he said that he was the lunch tub helper this week. He and his classmate got to come ahead of the class with the cold lunches and then stood there to wait for the other kids to get their lunches. He looked SO GROWN UP!!!


Yesterday the rain started. During the day, there was huge thunder and then lightning and a ton of rain!!!  Of course, we are used to rain, but since being in Beijing, we have not seen rain in a long time, especially rain like this! Today it rained too, all day! We wore our rain boots and were in about an inch of water on the way to school.

 

 FINALLY!!!  Use for our RAIN BOOTS!!!!

And now, my classroom!
Setting up the room for a new year is a really exciting time. Being in a new school and environment, I feel that this is the place for us. Here's to our new adventure!!

Good Bye Beijing

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Well, the year is well underway and I have been thinking about this post for a LONG time. Life has gotten a bit overwhelming at times with the business of things that "have" to be done. With the New year, we are on the cusp of "Starting Over" so to speak. The time to reflect on your life over the past year and make changes that will be positive for you. I have always taken part in this tradition, though have not always been successful.

This year we sat down to write our resolutions and Lucas had his ready right away...

• to take breaths when he is swimming
• not to make bad choices

Simple enough, and things he had been thinking a lot about. For me, it was more challenging to think of the things I could manage for the year.

INTEREST vs. COMMITMENT:

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”

Quote from Thinkexist.com

 

I read an article about interest vs commitment, which suggested that sometimes our goals or resolutions may fail simply because though we may be INTERESTED in doing these things, we are not COMMITTED to seeing them through. Ok, this could definitely explain some of the projects lying around my house. I have so many interests, and so many things I am interested in doing, though there is not enough time in the day to remain committed to all of them. It is this revelation that will guide my further actions.

Am I committed to seeing this through, or just interested in doing it? 

I really think this will help me to focus on completing things I am truly committed to. Otherwise it just adds to the overwhelming feeling I have of too much to do and not enough time. 

THEME:

I read another article about setting a New Year's THEME, rather than goals. (I'll post the link when I REfind the article). Now this I like. I can get on board with something like this. Again, thinking back to the previous point, because I have so many interests, I need to focus on things that are most meaningful for me. 

Two themes that are important to me are:

<3 <3 Taking Care of ME
I think this is very important and impacts all parts of my life when done improperly, but I often let other things get in the way of me taking care of myself. I think many other mothers may let this happen too...where motherhood, work, chores, and others in general get the "best" of us and we have nothing left to give ourselves. This really just starts a viscous cycle where we are unprepared for motherhood, work, chores, others because we have not given what we need to ourselves.
So, HOW can I take better care of ME?

• Prioritize my fitness routine
• get enough sleep
• set aside time for my hobbies weekly
• do one thing just for me

<3 <3  Simplify
Again, it is very easy to get caught up in the craziness, business, "going" attitude you see in many parts of life, but I think the Chinese culture has it right....and it hits me upside the head each time I "NEED" something done and it is "TAKING FOREVER" to happen. To simplify, to minimize unnecessary possessions and take the time to enjoy life around you as it happens, is important. The Chinese attitude of health of soul and body is a part of their idea of health of their space, feng shui. 
So, how can I simplify?

• Re-organize and clean out often...get rid of things we don't use/need (clothing included, I have a tendency to not want to get rid of my clothes, but keep them because "this shirt goes with those pants and I might wear it again someday..." silly, I know!!)
• Just say NO (to extra obligations and activities that will create unnecessary business in my life.
• Choose hobbies/activities to which I am most committed to continue (my scrapbook, this blog) let the others go....

So, I think this sums it up....this year my resolutions are:

• to take care of me
• to simplify

Let the years work begin!!!!

Sitting at Starbucks....

Our winter holiday at home is coming to an end. Sadly, as we sit here, we are only 2 days from flying out, back to Beijing. It has been another busy, busy, busy holiday season. My favorite part has been seeing and visiting with friends and family, though the time has not been long enough, I feel happy to have seen so many people in such a short time.

The last few days we have spent on the westside, in a crazy mix of birthday celebrations and family/friend time. 

Post from Lucas:
"My favorite part was Christmas because I was thankful for all of my presents. I got 3 Nascars and more than you can count banana juices. It was a great Christmas and I even got what I really wanted, some kind of motorcycle and how to make one. I got a grabber, like something that grabs stuff, and it can pinch people and they can be stuck and it can be funny! I got  big castle Lego set and it was from my favorite Lego man in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD [Uncle Pauly]. And for my birthday I got a little castle set from my Greatest Lego Man in the whole wide world, which was the same person I already said. I got a monster truck for my birthday and for my birthday I got a big stuffed Ninja Turtle. It was my favorite Ninja Turtle, Leonardo. He is my favorite Ninja Turtle. I got a 3-wheeler Ninja turtle and it had a Leonardo. It was COOL! And I got a 3 double Lego set. It was a helicopter and a car, but I don't remember the other one. But they were COOL!"

We are off now to have lunch with a good friend before making the trip back across the pass to my parents house.