Bird's-Eye View of the Week: Co-ops, Red Tape, and Cicadas

We'll be seeing a LOT of these. Credit www.northjersey.com

The end is in sight! 

We've reached May. AND the sun has been shining as much as two whole days in a row! And I even have turned off the heat (most of the time)! This is sooooo un-Maryland. IOW, it's usually nicer, even hot at times. But, it HAS helped delay the emergence of the 17-Year Cicadas! So, I'll kwitmibitchen.


Some mile-markers this week! After the two straight days of rain and Dad out of town, putting on street clothes and heading to the orthodontist sounded like a party. And turns out, it kind of was! The doc put a 'hold' on rubber bands already after only a couple of months. (Doc: "Wow, her teeth are really responsive!" Me: "So do we get a rebate for less services required?" Doc: "Hahahaha.")

It's Official!

Bigger and better was Mei's American name being officially entered into the government record books. Changing her name was not something we just recently decided on; her American name was chosen before she came home 11 years ago. But just last year, through a fluke, we discovered that the INS never noted it when she arrived in the States, so as far as the US government was concerned, our daughter didn't exist, at least not by what we call her. Tell that to Social Security, however, who gladly issued her an ID card in 2002. Under the American name. Hmmm. Anyway, the event gave us an excuse to eat cake!


Our co-op days are winding down. The Thursday group is finished already and the Friday group has just one more week. On Thursdays, Mei participated in a good introductory writing course similar to IEW. After two years, she has gained a lot of confidence in her writing, but more importantly, in taking constructive criticism. For her, that is H-U-G-E! She will now be equipped to take on the next level offered on Fridays. Thursdays this year also offered art and speech. I was really impressed with how well the kids responded to the speech topic and was glad they had this exposure to something not normally taught to ones so young. Art was taught by yours truly and used the "Meet the Masters" program. I've been dying to write a review of it here; maybe when the chalkdust settles. For now I'll just say that all the kids gave it a thumbs up and so did this teacher!

Board games class for an only child. Perfect!

 Fridays have given Mei exposure to cake decorating, cooperative board games, health, and P.E. Mom has assisted in the cake class (:-D !! ), a sewing class, and her best hour of the week, Study Hall. ("SSShh! I'm trying to write a blog post!")

Both of these co-ops have enriched our studies, but more importantly, our interactions with other Christian parents and kids. It's been especially wonderful for our school-of-one, and I recommend it.

American History Scrapbook

For this final stretch, I've given Mei the option of creating an American History scrapbook to showcase all that she's covered in the last two years, 1600-1800. Basically, it's a ramped up lapbook. She is super-excited to work on it, and I'm going to give her all the time she wants. I was going to write about it here, but it was getting a little long, so I'm detailing that in a separate post.  I'll share my sources and stuff there. Take a look if you want some ideas! 

The end would be NOW if I went by counting school days alone. I was shocked to see we had completed 180 in APRIL! But when you don't take off for Rosh Hashanah, a week for Easter, or Staff Development Days, they stack up. Add in some school on weekends (educational trips), and woah! Nonetheless, we haven't met all our objectives yet, so I'll hide Mei's eyes from this post and keep the cat IN the bag (wink).

How about you?

Got the end in your sights? Done already? Or do you school year-round? Tell Mother All About It!

Linking up with other incredibly gifted and equally humble homeschool bloggers at Hammock Tracks "Homeschool Review", Homegrown Learners "Collage Friday,", iHomeschool Network's "The Homeschool Mother's Journal", and Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers "Weekly Wrap-up". Thanks for hosting, ladies!
 

Check, Please!

This is probably going to be the most politically-incorrect, begging-for-nasty-comments post I'll ever write. Unless my readers can forgive it because the prompt that I was told to write about was...

SOMETHING I ATE.

We were in China adopting our 15-month-old daughter. These trips are very, very organized with a new activity, tour, and dining opp every day. Or several times IN a day.  This would be okay IF you hadn't just added a new little person to your family. But by Day 10 (of 14 plus trans-world travel) you have lost interest in another Temple of The Divine Priesthood of Holy Sunshine.  Especially when you are sharing this experience with ten other families who are also losing interest because their babies, like yours, are keeping them up at night in hotels where nobody understands you need stain remover for the diarrhea on your white pants.

At long last, there was a night where we didn't have to experience tasting another animal body part we didn't know could be eaten (speaking of What I Ate,...). And WE were the fortunate ones who happened to have brought along a babysitter in the form of our 14-year-old, now-no-longer-only daughter. At long last, my husband and I could eat out ALONE.

Now the China Center for Adoption Affairs wants to make the best impression on you of your child's birth country, so one thing you can always count on is a top-rate hotel. We were in a 5-star Ramada while in Guangzhou. It was adorned with boutiques devoted to one Parisian designer after another. There were several top-notch restaurants. If Trip Advisor had existed a decade ago, we would have racked up tons of rating points without even stepping outside.

One of these dine-ins offered sushi of the highest caliber. (My WWII-vet dad was astounded that the Chinese would welcome a Japanese establishment on their shores. :-)  ) My hubbie, being a huge fan, lined us up for reservations there, having anticipated the chance the moment we checked in as much (or more?) than receiving his long-awaited daughter.

So to say we were ready to kick back, relax, and let down our hair was like saying Hitler was ready to stroll the borders of Germany. We entered the golden-lit room and were escorted to the sushi bar, noting the large tank of beautifully-colored fish. We chose to dine at the bar in order to be entertained by the chef preparing his consumable artistry before our eyes. Overwhelmed by the menu, as usual I let my expert order. Among the various sushis and sashimis, he chose some red snapper, ordered wine for me and a sake for himself.

The wine tasted so good. We weren't usually ordering drinks at these communal "new family" dinners. The rolls started arriving and we dove in with both chopsticks. We had another round of drinks. Then the red snapper was served.

It was presented on a skewer standing up like a single blooming rose. We watched fascinated as the chef sliced off nearly transparent pieces of its side with a knife whose sharpness would make a samurai proud.
My husband, the epicurean, made moaning noises of approval at the freshness. The chef was very pleased. He sliced more. We ate more. We drank more.

We became very attached to our snapper. We were the only English-speaking people in the room and could say whatever we wanted. We decided to name our fish. We named him Sam the Snapper. We smiled at our cleverness.

Then a strange thing occurred. I thought at first it was all the drinks. The fish moved. A gill or fin did a little flap. Alcohol clouding a normal reaction of shock, we stared in wonder. The chef proffered a new slice. My husband, knowing Sushi Chef Protocol, pronounced it "Very fresh!" Yeah, no duh.
 
Then another glance. This time it was the mouth and it was gulping! (Vegans and card-carrying members of PETA are now excused from reading.) But did I shriek in horror? NO! I was so plastered. I even thought I should decorate Sam the Snapper. Deftly with my chopsticks, I inserted a marigold garnish into its mouth. I laughed so hard I almost fell off my barstool.

We ate a lot of new stuff in our daughter's country of origin--fried chicken feet, Peking duck served with the head on, and everywhere greens that smelled like sweaty socks--all selected by the tour guides. But none of those could hold a chopstick to dining with Sam the Snapper. He sacrificed himself that we might have a few good, uninhibited, crass, adult, American laughs before we went back to our room where the "babysitter" was coming down with tourista and room service was rocking our inconsolable little one.

Thanks, Sam. Play it again.

All The Way Home

Everyone asked me when we were in the "paper chase" stage of adoption whether I would homeschool this one like I had the older one. My resolve not to was strengthened the more I got to know MeiWei's head-strong ways.
    "If I homeschool her, at the end of the year one of us will wind up dead, " I would lament. (Note to social workers: it would be me by a self-inflicted wound with a Sharpie. Please do not prepare a file.)
     But the decision was clear: if she didn't get out of the classroom now, the damage might be irreversible. But what did MeiWei want??
     One day, we were driving around and I brought up the homeschool topic. (Driving around is always a great time to embark on topics of giant proportions and remain seemingly casual about them. It was while driving around that Tai-tai made the connection--haha--about how babies are made.) MeiWei knew that Tai-tai had been homeschooled, so I thought I'd test the waters and see if it would interest her. I used the journal episode as a springboard.
     "You know if I was your teacher, I'd let you write whatever you want, " I reflected.
     "OH, MOMMY! WOULD YOU PLEEEEAAASSSEEE BE MY TEACHER????"
      I guess it was settled then.