Sending My Baby Off To Kindergarten . . .

My baby girl started Kindergarten last week.  And she did GREAT!  She couldn't WAIT to get on the bus.  Me, I had a little harder time.  :(  She's my last child.  The only girl.  The last one to start school.  I've had a child with me for 13 years.  So yeah, her starting was hard.  But I'm REALLY glad she did.  She is LOVING it.  She's been around Tully her whole life, so for her to finally be able to go to school there is a lot of fun for her.  I just hope she has a great year.  I think she will.  She has an AMAZING teacher.  

But I still can't believe my baby girl is starting Kindergarten.  I can't believe Jason is in 8th grade.  Man, do I feel old!  After this year I'll have Jason in High School, Andrew in Middle School, and Sarah Beth in Elementary School.  I guess I'll lose whatever sanity I have left! 

So now we're in school mode.  Let's hope we have a great year.  For all of us!

KIND OF SAD . . .

I just found out a few days ago that my favorite teacher from high school has cancer. How scary and sad for him. If you knew me well, you'd know that I HATED high school. There was very little that I liked about it. 1.) My best friend came from there. We've been friends since we were 13 years old. And NO, I'm not going to tell you how LONG we've been friends, because then you'll know just how old I really am! ;) 2.) Retreats. We went on retreats every year in high school. And those were very rewarding and refreshing, and they helped me to become a stronger person. 3.) This teacher. He's probably one of the best teachers I've ever had. I had him Sophomore and Senior year. One of the classes was US History. And I HATED US History. I'm sorry, but I just think it's boring. But somehow he made it seem interesting. I remember when the Challenger exploded and he told us that we have the last set of history books that will NOT have that in there. I'm not sure why that stuck out in my mind, but I think it just helped me realize that history changes every day and that's why we SHOULD be interested in where we came from and where we might be heading. I always looked forward to going to his class. It was always one of my favorites, believe it or not. He really knew how to get your attention and make you think that what you were studying was actually important. But more than that, he really seemed to care about his kids. I've had a lot of teachers in my life. And I've had some very good teachers, and some not so good ones. And one quality of the BEST teachers is that they CARE. And I really think he did.

He had cancer once before and it went away. But now it's back. And I'm sure it takes a toll on a family. Physically, mentally, financially. It breaks my heart to see such a great person going through such a great struggle. I hope, and I pray, that the cancer goes away for good this time. And I also hope he knows that he made a great impression on his students. Even one that hated high school and has very few good memories from those years. But his class was one of the bright spots for her in a place where there seemed to be very few.

SCHOOL . . .

I haven't posted much since I've been home. I guess because we've been home and we're getting back to our lives. Everyone seems to be adjusting pretty well. The boys are doing really well in school. Jason had 4 A's and 2 B's on his first report card. Andrew doesn't get grades, he gets S's and O's. He got mostly O's and a few S's. But his teacher said he's reading at a 6th grade 8 month level. She's keep telling me he's a "genius"! Of course, that's REALLY hard for me to hear! ;-)

Sarah is in preschool this year, and she LOVES it. She only goes 3 days a week, and every day when she wakes up she asks me if she has school today. On the days she doesn't have it, she gets a little bit upset. She adores her teacher, Ms. Mary Beth. Ms. Mary Beth is very good with all of the kids, and Sarah really likes her. We definitely couldn't have asked for a better teacher to get her started in school. Now, if only ALL of her teachers can be as good, then we should be set!

GLEE . . . .

I'm not sure if any of you watch the show GLEE, but the kids and I do, and we really like it. That's pretty much the only music we listen to in the car. Sarah even gets in the car and says "I wanna listen to Jessie's Girl." And as soon as it comes on, she knows what it is. She'll go, "that's Jessie's Girl mommy!" All three of my kids have always liked music, so that's probably one reason they like the show so much.

I started watching it in China. A LOT of my friends over there told me to watch it, but I just thought I watched enough TV, so I didn't need to add one more to my list. Finally, one night after American Idol, I decided to watch it since every one else was in bed. It was REALLY good. I really liked it. The first episode I watched was "Laryngitis" which had Jessie's Girl in it, and I've loved that song ever since it came out IN THE 80'S!!! (I feel so old)! I even have the original on my mp3 player, although I have to admit I don't listen to that version anymore.

Anyway, a lot of the kids' friends were watching it as well, so they wanted to see it. If you've seen it, you know they deal with a lot of "mature" topics, so I wasn't sure whether or not it was a good idea for them to see it. After a few days of contemplation, I decided it was better for them to watch it with ME, than to watch it while at their friends. Plus, because I'd already seen every episode, I knew what was coming and what things to talk about with them during each episode. Needless to say, we've had some real "eye opening" conversations. But that's a whole other discussion!

The thing I like most about the show is that the main theme, to me anyway, seems to be about being true to yourself. The teacher is always telling the football player that the things and people that are so important to him now, probably won't be after he graduates from high school. And that's SO true on so many levels. I have ONE friend from high school that I still talk to every week, and sometimes every day. I have about 2 or 3 that I talk to every few weeks. And that's it.

I tell my boys all the time: Do what YOU want to do and what's important to YOU. And don't worry about what other people think. If you are doing what's important to you, then you are going to be happy. There are always going to be people that don't like you, for whatever reason, and you can't change that. So try not to worry too much about it, and just be true to yourself.

NOW, if I could only convince myself of the same thing! ;-)

BITTERSWEET . . .

Today was the boys' last day of school.  Before school Ryan told me to be prepared for some tears. I said, "From Andrew?"  He said, "Yeah, but Jason too."  I knew there might be some tears and that's why I decided to go in and pick them up from school instead of letting them come home with my friend's driver.  On the way to school, with my friend, I was telling her the story of this morning.  She told me not to be surprised if there were some tears from me too.  I hadn't even thought about that.  But it turns out, she was right!  I went to the end of the year assembly, and I CRIED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE THING!  What's up with that?!?!  Jason's teacher came up to me and said, "you're crying because you're leaving!"  And she's right!  I cried when I came, who would have thought I'd cry when I left?!

But like I've said before, this year has been an AMAZING year for all of us.  We have memories that we'll have until the day we die.  We've made friends we never would have made if we'd stayed home.  We've seen things we never would have seen if we stayed home.  We have an appreciation for life outside of our little town, which we never would have had if we'd stayed home.  Do you see a trend developing here?!?!

I am SO thankful for this experience.  Not just for me, but for all of us.  We've all grown in so many ways this year.  And for that, I'm very thankful.  And I'm very grateful.  And even though I'm VERY homesick, I've also enjoyed ALMOST every minute of this last year.

JASON . . .

Jason is in the 5th/6th grade play at school this year.  The play is Alice In Wonderland.  He's really enjoyed it so far, but the practices are MAJOR.  The play is the last week of this month, and he now has practice almost every single day until the play.  The week before the play he practices until 8:30 every night.  He's going to be EXHAUSTED!  But at least there's only 3 more weeks left.  And, like I said, he's enjoying it, so that's all that really matters.  We got a new video camera for Christmas, so my plan is to video the parts that he's in and then post them on the blog.  Of course, first I have to figure out HOW to post them on the blog!  But I still have 3 weeks to figure that out!

Today the kids have a half day at school and they get out at 11:30.  Jason has practice today from 11:30-6.  Poor baby.  But they did this last month, and I think there was a lot of play time as well, because he had a really good time, so I'm sure he'll be okay.  My friend and I are going to take Sarah and Andrew and her son David to the Mall to eat lunch and just hang out.  At least it'll get us out of the house for awhile.  And it's so cold, you really don't want to go anywhere.  This way, once we get inside the mall, we'll be fine.  I'm going to take Sarah's stroller so that if she gets tired she can just lay down in the stroller.

So that's our plans for the day.  I hope you're all doing well and staying warm.

CONFERENCES . . .

The boys had their conferences last Thursday.  And I'm happy to report that they are both doing really well.  We get updates on Jason's grades every couple of weeks.  He has all A's, and a B in Mandarin, which is his Chinese class.  Considering how much harder this year has been for him, I think that's a major accomplishment.  He has lots of homework every night, but he really doesn't complain too much about it.  He just comes home and does it.

The conferences here are a lot different than what we're used to.  At home the conferences last 15 minutes.  Here, they last 40 minutes, and they're called Student Led Conferences.  And it's exactly what it sounds like.  The students lead the conference.  They have their book of papers and they show them to you, plus they talk about their strengths and weaknesses and the goals they've set for themselves for the coming weeks.

They both did a great job.  Andrew's goals are to clean his room every weekend, get better at kicking the soccer ball, and to continue to remember to do his homework every night.  She said his writing is very good and he loves to write.  When it's time to turn in the papers from writing, he'll say, "just one more sentence;" after he's written 4 pages!  He's also very good at math.  And he likes Math; which is SO different from his mother!  He must get his math skills from his dad!  I saw another one of his teachers yesterday, and he told me that he did really well on their Matter test, which was part of their Science unit.  He said he really understood the concept.  Good for him! 

Jason's goal is to TURN IN HIS HOMEWORK!  He does it, but then he forgets to turn it in.  (Does he sound like his Mom, or what)?!?!  She said when she starts going through homework and his isn't there, she knows it's been done, but he just forgot to turn it in.  And as soon as she asks for it, he pulls it out.  Completed.  Just sitting in his homework folder, where he put it when he was finished doing it!  So he has 2 goals.  One is to remember to turn in his homework every day, and the other is to spend 30 minutes extra a week on Mandarin, to help him bring his grade up to an A.

She asked me to tell him what I was the most proud of him for.  I told him that I was really proud of how well he's settled in, and I LOVE how his self-confidence has grown.  He *really* has a lot of confidence in himself.  Before we went there I was asking them what they both thought their teachers were going to say about them.  He told me that his teacher was going to tell me that he was the best student that's ever been through the school.  I'd say that's a little bit of self-confidence!

Jason has really excelled this year.  He LOVES it here.  I even asked him the other morning.  I said, "you're really happy here, aren't you?"  He said, "Mommy, I really am.  I love it here."  As a parent, wondering if we've made the right choice with this move, that was the validation I needed to know that it was the right decision.  He is really doing so well.  Andrew is doing well too.  I don't hear the "I miss my friends.  I want to go home,"  on a daily or even weekly basis, which I did when we first got here.  He is making friends and enjoying learning new things.

I am SO proud of my boys.  They are teaching their Mom how to handle a new situation and make the best of it.  Now, if only I could settle in as well as they have!  But, as a parent, as long as they are doing well, that's what's really important to me.  And they are.  They are doing REALLY well.  So for those of you at home that are worried about us, don't be.  We're all doing great!  Especially my wonderful boys.  And Sarah Beth is happy because we're all here.  And that's what she needs most.  And her talks with Poppy and Nanny and Grandpa.  Even though she thinks they live in the computer!  But she knows who they are, and every time the computer rings, she says, "It Poppy Nanny!  It Grandpa!"  She's too funny!

So anyway.  Don't worry about us.  We're doing fine.  And we can't wait to see you when we come home.  In 37 days!

MAGAZINE ARTICLE . . .

There is an English magazine that comes out here called City Weekend.  This is a copy of small article about Concordia that was in the latest issue. 

Concordia International School

Grades: PreK-12
Tuition and Fees Per Year: *************************
Academic Program: American preparatory curriculum
Extracurricular Activities: Choir, string ensemble, orchestra, drama club, cooking club, astronomy club, Model UN, sports and dance.
Faculty: This school employs certified teachers with international qualifications. These instructors model and teach values like integrity, respect, responsibility and service to an international group of students.
Facilities: Orchestra / band room, science labs, art rooms, multi-purpose center and playground.
Admissions: Academic records, admission forms and a **** non-refundable application fee.
Location: Jinqiao, Pudong

This school offers an outstanding, college-preparatory American-based curriculum. The school thrives on its culturally diverse, international community. The school is a sister school to the renowned Hong Kong International School. With state-of-the-art technology integrated into the learning process, students are provided with an interactive learning environment.

Tel: 5899 0380
Web: http://www.ciss.com.cn
Email: registrar@ciss.com.cn

A full sized soccer field, three basketball courts and fully furnished locker rooms support a range of athletics at this school. The school fields teams in three competitive sports: volleyball, basketball and soccer. With competitions against schools around China as well as here in Shanghai, athletes are given the opportunity to enhance their skills and travel at the same time.

ANDREW'S PUBLISHING PARTY . . .

Today was Andrew's Publishing Party at school.  They've been writing stories and proofreading them, and re-writing them.  It is supposed to be about a small moment.  So they took a main story, picked a theme from that story, and then elaborated on that "small moment."  This is Andrew's story:

Being Scared by Andrew Bruner

One day when we were at the wild animal park.  We were going to see the rinausorise.  and we saw a elephent it was big and strong and the elaphent was wearing close.  it was holding people by its trunk.  my brother was amazd.  first my brother Jason went on and he was haveing lots of fun when the elephent held him up.  he thout it was very fun himself  That was fun!! said Jason.  Then it was my turn to go.  I was scared about a lot of things I was thanking that he would drop me and he would squeeze me to hard and I would choke.  I said he would try to bite me but then my mom told me I shoudd go because I would never get to do it agen  "Andrew you should go because you will never get to do it agen."  and she was right.

I thout my brother and my dad thout I should go to.  So I went and the workers helped me up "if I am going to do this then I have to be a man" I said and when the elaphent held me up he dident squeeze me to tiyt the rest of his trunk was like a siet belt that held on not that tiyt and not to lose it was perfect there was a strap for me to hold on to he did'ent try to bite me and he did'ent drop me.  my sister thot it was funny "ha ha ha" she said.  I had a lot of fun just like my brother and I was very happy then the workers helped me down and when I came down I was happy!!  We were all happy that I went but I was the most and I thout my sister liked it right after me.

PICTURE . . .

So heres' a picture of the boys in front of their new school.  As you can tell, Andrew still is, and probably always will be, a comedian!  So far they both seem to like their school.  I hope it stays that way, otherwise it'll be a long year! 

MIDDLE SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT . . .

Last night was Back to School Night for Middle School.  I'm very glad I went, although when I first got there I just kept thinking about how tired I was and that I wished I'd stayed home!  The way it works is you start out by meeting the Middle School Principal and he gives a little talk.  Then you follow your child's daily schedule.  We spent 15 minutes in every class that the kids have.  I started out in Band.  I could have gone to Band or Drama, and since I knew I was going to see Jason's Drama teacher for 4 other classes, I decided to attend the Band session.  Jason has decided to play the Oboe.  I am picking it up this afternoon, and he will actually start practicing next week.  According to his instructor, he's supposed to practice about 15-20 minutes everyday.  I just hope my ears, and my neighbors, can take it!  The 5th grade Band will be giving 2 concerts throughout the year.  He's really excited about it, so hopefully he'll learn something from it! 

Next I went to Math Class.  They are doing something called Everyday Math.  He will have homework every night.  She said it's the hardest Math program she's ever taught.  For those of you that know me really well, you know that math isn't exactly my subject, so I have a feeling it's going to be a long year!  From there we went to Theme.  Theme is Science and Social Studies.  They spend about 6 weeks on Social Studies, and then 6 weeks on Science, and vice versa.  Sounds like they're going to have some pretty interesting subjects and projects throughout the year.  From there I went to Mandarin; all of which went right over my head!  I've decided I have a hard enough time speaking the English language.  The chances of me learning Chinese are pretty much slim to none!  But at least I learned what to expect throughout the year.  I guess my kids will be able to communicate with others around us very soon. 

After that I went to Religion.  I could have chosen between Religion, Health, and PE.  In Religion they are reading portions of the book Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul.  I think I might look for it for Jason.  It sounds like there are some pretty interesting topics in there.  From there I went to Language Arts, and then Homeroom.  He has the same teacher for Math, Theme, Language Arts, and Homeroom.  Language Arts is going to be pretty interesting for him this year.  On Mondays he has a Poetry journal due, Tuesdays is a Blog, and I can't remember the rest of the week.  (I guess I should have paid better attention)!  :-)  The Blog I think is pretty cool.  Every week he has to write a piece on the Concordia Blog, based on what he's currently reading.  Then he also has to respond to 2 other people's Blog's.  She said that it becomes very interesting and very personal throughout the year.  I'm very anxious to see it.  Plus, people from home can see it too, so I'll let you know the web address whenever I get it. 

I asked Jason earlier this week if he liked his teacher, and he told me yes he did.  Then when I asked him why, he told me that she told good stories, she made class interesting, and that she was funny.  I saw during the night why he liked her.  She definitely is funny and knows how to keep things interesting.  It looks like he got pretty lucky this year with his teacher.  I was telling her that he likes to read like 2 or 3 books at the same time, and I asked her if that was typical.  She told me yes that it wasn't her fault, I had a boy, and I needed to talk to God about that.  I told her that I do, EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!!

FAMILY FUN BBQ . . .

Today was the Family Fun BBQ at the boys' school. They had food from lots of local restaurants, and then they had Inflatables and things for the kids to do. It was nice. Jason's teacher came over and talked to me while we were there. She wanted to know how we were all doing, which I thought was very nice. I told her we were all doing fine and that the kids are adjusting really well. I'm really proud of how well they're doing. Then she asked me how I was "really" doing. She said she'd been in my position before, and she remembers what it's like. She told me to come to her classroom anytime after school if I needed to talk about what's going on. I really appreciated that. It made me realize that it's okay to have bad days and that someone understands what it's like. I just might take her up on that offer!

Then we talked about Jason. I told her he seemed to be doing pretty well. He's had homework every night, and he hasn't complained about it or anything. I told her that I requested Jason's teacher at home, when I thought we were still going to BE home, and that I picked the teacher that I thought would be the hardest teacher. She said that was good, because he DID get the hardest 5th grade teacher at Concordia! Her class is very fast paced and she expects a lot out of her students. We talked about Jason's tendency to get side tracked and to daydream. She's caught him doing it a few times and she has to bring him back to reality. The main time he has problems is during something called DOL where they are supposed to look at the board and answer the questions up there. She wants to start printing them out for him so that he can just look down and not have to look up, because that's when he starts to get distracted. She's going to start that this week. Hopefully, it'll help. I guess he must be more like his mother than I thought!

This was taken at the end of the BBQ.  Sarah Beth was *really* enjoying her sucker!

BAND

Jason is in Band this year. And while he's really excited about it, we're NOT excited about the $1000 price tag for the Oboe that he wants to play! So it looks like our task this weekend will be to find a cheaper version so that he can still play it. Ryan wants him to switch to Chorus, because it won't cost us any money, but he was in Chorus last year and HATED it, and I don't want to do that to him. So I guess if I have to scour the city looking for a cheaper Oboe, then that's what I'll have to do. Of course, the fact that I don't speak the language might make it even more difficult, but oh well. The things we do for our kids!

SCHOOL . . .

The boys seem to be enjoying their new school, although they both miss their friends at home. I keep telling them to give it a few days and they'll meet new people, but it's hard because they haven't been in this position since Kindergarten, and neither one of them even remember that! But I'm sure after a few more days they'll start meeting more and more people. Now if we could just figure out a way for ME to meet some people!

One of the boys they met is David. He and his parents live in our building. His mom and I have been walking to school together to pick up the boys. She's very nice. But she's the only person I've met so far. The first PSO meeting is in about 2 weeks, and I've been told I'll meet a lot of new people then. I'm not used to this. It's not like I have a ton of friends at home, but there is always someone for me to see or talk to. Plus, I spend a lot of time with my family too, and I don't have that either. I find I'm getting more homesick now that school has started. All of the things I took for granted at home, that I don't have here. That's going to take some getting used to, and it hasn't happened yet!

Oh well, enough of the pity party for now. We have homework to finish and kids to get to bed.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL . . .

Today was the first day of school for the boys. They both seemed to have a pretty good day, although Andrew got a stomach ache during the day. I think it was just his nerves, because he was fine on the way home. I told him after a few days he should be okay. I think he's just nervous about being in a new school with people he's never met before. But other than that, I think they both had a good day.

Jason was in the wrong Mandarin class at first. He heard his name called, so he went to a class, but it was for students who already spoke some of the language. The teacher was actually calling for another Jason! By the time he got to his class, the class was almost over, so hopefully by tomorrow he'll be in the right class. At Concordia, 5th grade is part of the Middle School, so he thinks he's hot stuff! He switches classes and everything. He has Math, Band, Drama, Art, Science and Social Studies, PE, Religion, Health, Guidance, Language Arts, and something called ATL, but I have no idea what that is. He'll also have Mandarin classes every day. He got to choose between Band, Choir and Strings. Then he got to pick his preference of instrument. His 1st choice was Flute, then Oboe, then Clarinet. He was kind of upset because he didn't get any of his choices. Instead he got the Trumpet. I told him it was probably based on a first come, first serve basis, and we turned ours in late. But I think he'll be okay. At least he'll learn to read music, and if he likes it, then he can continue it at Crosby next year.

He also has Drama for 1 semester and then he'll have Art for the other semester. They put on 4 plays throughout the year. The High School puts on a play in the Fall and the Spring. Last year it was The Sound of Music. I'm sorry I missed it, because that's probably my favorite movie of all time! This year their Fall play is MacBeth, but they haven't decided on the Spring play yet. They are also doing a 5th and 6th grade play which is Alice in Wonderland and a 7th and 8th grade play that's called Channel Surfing which was written by 2 of the teachers at the school. He's going to try out for the play. I was thinking about getting them both into some kind of acting at home before we left, so we'll see how this goes. If he likes it, then I might try it at home as well.

Andrew also has Mandarin classes everyday, so they should both know more Chinese than Ryan and I by this time next week! I was thinking I'd like to take a Mandarin class, but with not having anyone to watch Sarah Beth, it makes it kind of hard to do those kinds of things. I guess I should have gotten the Rosetta Stone before I left!

Anyway, that's it for today. I was very homesick today. I guess that's because I'm so used to the boys being with us all day, and since they weren't, it made it all seem so much more real. I don't know if I'll ever get used to this; but I sure hope I do.

This didn't turn out very well.  But this is from their first day of school.

OPEN HOUSE . . .

Today was Open House at the boys' school. We met both of their teachers and then we took a tour of the buildings. All in all it was a very nice day. Both of their teachers seem very nice, although I still think it's going to be harder than either one of them realize. We were talking to a few of the student ambassadors that were showing us around, and they were telling us that Jason will probably have 1-1 1/2 hours of homework every night. He's definitely not used to that! I still think they're ready for school to start though. They might be ready for it to be over once it starts, but right now, they're ready!

I know I'm ready. I think once school starts it'll be easier for me to meet people as well. Everyone at Concordia is extremely nice. I must have a "deer in the headlights" look everytime I come in, because everyone is always going out of their way to introduce themselves to me and find out how we're doing. The Director told me it's different than anything we've ever experienced because everyone there has been in our position before and they all remember what it feels like. I sure hope she's right.

BOYS

The boys met a new friend today. His name is David and he lives in our building and will be going to Concordia. He's in the 5th grade as well. We met his parents in the lobby a few days ago and found out all about him. Today he came up to visit and the kids played Wii. Now the boys are down there at his place. I'm glad they finally have someone else to play with. I know once school starts they'll meet new people, but right now it's still a week a way, so I'm glad they have someone new to play with for the time being. His parents are very nice as well. It looks like we'll all be walking to school together.



The kids are adjusting so well. I'm really proud of how well they're doing. I knew they'd be okay, but honestly, they're doing even better than I thought they would. They talk a lot about when we go home for Christmas and all the things they're going to do, but they don't get upset about it, they're just looking forward to it. I think it helps that we've been able to talk to Mom and Dad a lot and we've also talked to Jack a few times, so they have a connection at home. Now if only I could start doing as good as they are!

CONCORDIA . . .

The kids and I took a tour of their school today. It's a very nice school. It's called Concordia International School of Shanghai. When they first opened in 1998, they only had 22 students. Now they have over 1100! There are only 18 students in each class. There are 6 5th grade classes, and 5 2nd grade classes. We met the Director of Admissions.  She was great. We've been communicating a lot through e-mail, so it was nice to finally put a face to a name. She took us on a tour of the school. They have 3 separate buildings; an elementary wing, middle school wing, and high school wing. I believe the high school wing was just built within the last year.

We met the Elementary School Principal and the Middle School Principal as well. Everyone we met while we were there were very friendly. It made me feel a little better about the whole process. I think once school starts and we start meeting other families, things will be a little better. Evidently, some of the families from school live in the same apartment complex that we do. It will be nice for the kids if they have some people around them that they know. They said most families don't come back until this week or next week, so they should start arriving soon.

After we left school we went to lunch at Pizza Hut. It's not the same as Pizza Hut at home, but it was still pretty good. The kids liked it, so I guess that's all that really matters.