Homeschool Wrap Up....Gotta Love Dr. Seuss

This week we looked at some Dr. Seuss' books.  I was surprised how much Jie Jie liked them. She has been requesting me to read them, which is such a nice change from normal ones she requests. =)

1. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back:
We read this book and she laughed through the whole thing. It has become her favorite for sure.  The activity that we did with this book was make Cat in the Hat's Hat.  To start I had her cut strips of red paper and glue them onto white paper. Then we glued the white and red stripped paper to a toilet paper roll. Afterwards, I cut out a white circle and stapled it to the bottom of the TP roll to make the brim.

I held the paper and she cut the strips. No one got

cut. That is always a plus. =) Here she is gluing

the strips to the white paper.

Jie Jie with her book and hat. She was quite proud

of this creation of hers. 

  

2. My Many Colored Days

This was the other book that we looked at this week and did an activity with.  Mei Mei joined in on this activity. I read the story to them and we talked about what makes us feel happy, sad, mad, quiet, etc. It was insightful to hear Mei Mei's responses.  Afterwards we started their own book of colored days. One page says "On (insert color) days I feel like....   They glued a pre-cut colored footprints to this page.  Then on the other page they drew pictures to show what made them feel that color. I then finished the sentence with what they drew. We used the book to look at for inspiration. 

They will finish those on Saturday and I will insert the pages into a binder that has plastic pages to protect their work. Pictures below are some sample work that they did. On both pictures, the top two pages are Jie Jie's and the bottom two are Mei Mei's. 

Note: I wrote what they told me to write....

I also played some online Dr. Seuss games with Jie Jie.  PBS has a great kids online site for games and coloring. Click here for the Dr. Suess site.

In the past Jie Jie has been afraid of online games because the noise, the sudden pop-ups, etc. But, this time she loved it. I'm now looking into buying her a one-click mouse so that she can play the games by herself.

Just wanted to let you all know that we were not affected by the tsunami that hit Japan. No damage to our little island. Please pray with us though, for those who are in Japan. I am still in shock from the pictures they are showing.

Thursday's in Taiwan: Riverside Bikepath

Taipei has been working on making green space throughout the city. I'm loving that you can find pocket parks in small neighborhoods that have grass and trees.  But, I love this bike path and the parks that are along it. This section is just about a ten minute bike ride from our apartment.  Depending on where you want to go, you can bike to Danshui or to Xindian.  And the path is paved the entire way! But, take note that on the weekends it has heavy traffic, so the best time is during the week when everyone else is at work and school.

But if you are thinking..."I don't own a bike!" No worries, you can rent them.  There is a place at the entrance near the waterpark (just under the bridge!). They also have an air pressure tank, so if you need to put air in those tires, also, no problem. 

One day during this Chinese New Year we hit the bike path. It was great. The weather was perfect. We didn't go all the way to Danshui,  but stopped at a little park just past Qing Nian Gong Yuan. Sorry, I've forgotten the name, but great little zip line and small sand pit. Bonus points was that there was NOT that many other kids there, so no long lines to wait in for the zip line. 

Notice the short sleeves. We actual wish we had put on shorts.
It was that warm!

Lots of green space to run and roll around in!
Okay, maybe not that green, but remember winter
is just ending at this time. 

Or to take a nap break in.
Local guy taking a break. Notice no shoes!

Quite a few were fishing.

And the view that we had...Taipei 101!

WiP...and Retreats

Image via Wikipedia

L-WiP (Life Work in Progress):
This past weekend I went on a ladies retreat. It was great, but I came away thinking this, "Why do we call it a retreat? It felt more like a girl slumber party with tissue boxes!" I say that because I was wiped out from staying up late and getting up early.
So I looked up the definition of retreat here.
Here's what I found(italicized): My humorous thoughts in normal print.

1. a (1) : an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable (2) : the process of receding from a position or state attained b (1) : the usually forced withdrawal of troops from an enemy or from an advanced position (2) : a signal for retreatingc (1) : a signal given by bugle at the beginning of a military flag-lowering ceremony (2) : a military flag-lowering ceremony

My thoughts: Hmm, living with young children can sometimes be disagreeable and difficult. So, a retreat from that helps to get a new perspective. Yeah, I can relate. 

I didn't feel like I was in a military situation, but again sometimes the apartment feels like a battle..."fighting" for the hearts of the young, training them up to be godly adults...but, with God no retreating is necessary for this. Prayer is the answer for that. But, then again maybe a mini retreat of prayer to refocus with God isn't a bad idea.

2

: a place of privacy or safety : refuge

My thoughts: Privacy...well, I shared a room with two other ladies. But, they were wonderful so not complaining, just saying that privacy wasn't there. But, because I'm a processor I need to take an extra day to just process. Because coming home to the family isn't the place to process...know what I mean?

3

: a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction under a director

My thoughts: Yep, this is what we did. The speaker shared from her heart what God has been teaching her this past year. Valleys: Doubt, Decision, and Delay.  I related. I cried. I'm still processing. God has us in the Valley of Delay, and boy does He have me on my toes. Can anyone relate with me? Just waiting on some answers....but the best quote from the weekend was this: "There is no waste in the waiting."  


So, I guess by definition #3, I did attend a retreat. But, though it wasn't restful it was refreshing and SO much fun! 


WiP (Work in Progress):
I did take my laptop this weekend to the retreat. I wanted to work on some of my older manuscripts. I pulled them up and edited a few. It was good to look at some writing that I did a few years ago. To see that I have improved in the craft. Thank goodness!
As for the novel, I started editing it again. I'm only on chapter three, as I need to re-write a bit. I added a "girlfriend" in earlier, so there was some transition in the storyline. But, it was great to feel excited about this piece again.
For fun, I have a Flash Fiction piece stirring in my head that I might submit to WOW's Spring 2011 Contest.

?4U:  What are your thoughts on retreats?  Do you have a creative new name to give it?
And, for those of you who write, how's it going? Keeping up with those goals?

Tuesday's QBR...A Boy at War Trilogy

 

Boy at War Trilogy by Harry Mazer
goodreads Description:
A Boy at War
While fishing with his friends off Honolulu on December 7, 1941, teenager Adam gets caught in the middle of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In the following days, Adam tries to find his father, a naval officer who was serving on the U.S.S. Arizona when the bombs fell.
A Boy No More
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Adam and his family are evacuated from Hawaii to California. There he discovers that his Japanese-American friend's dad is being held at an internment camp. Can Adam help his friend find his father?
Heroes Don't Run
To honor his father, who died during the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor, 17-year-old Adam Pelko eagerly enlists in the Marines, survives boot camp, and faces combat on the tiny island of Okinawa. The thrilling conclusion of Harry Mazer's World War II saga proves once and for all that Adam is no longer a boy, and that at last he is truly worthy of the Pelko name.
Set against the backdrop of real wartime events, and packed with realistic detail, Harry Mazer's World War II odyssey is perfect for reluctant readers and fans of historical fiction. 


My Take:
I really thought these books were great. 
1. They are short and great for reluctant readers to read a bit about WWII from a teenagers perspective.  
2. Loved that the main character, Adam, was a TCK (third culture kid). He fit that description from book one all the way to book three.  In book one his new teacher asked the dreaded question, "Where are you from?"  Classic question for a TCK, ya think?
3. Language was clean. I've read some other war books that tended to be heavy on the bad language. I understand that sometimes it just goes with the setting and the times, but I appreciate that Mr. Mazer chose not to add it to his books. It helps the books stay on the bookshelves of the younger audience, which is a win for my son in the near future. He's not quite in the MG reading, but will be there soon!

Thursday's in Taiwan: Welcome!

Welcome to Taiwan! Every Thursday I am inviting you to the island I call home these days. I'll post about places to visit, sites to see, foods you can find, and other tidbits from the beaches, the mountains, and the cities. So, to start off this new series, I offer you a refreshing drink!

Taiwan is known for their "Bubble Tea".  The most famous one is the Pearl Milk Tea. It is basically red tea with milk and sugar with glutenous rice balls.   

My favorite tea is the passion fruit green tea with coconut jellies. If you are curious about what passion fruit is, my blogging friend Sharon just returned from the Dominican Republic and she has a picture of one. Click here to see one, plus some great pictures from another exotic getaway. 

But, I can't just offer you a drink. Here is a little treat to go for ya as well. 

You just gotta love the creative flair!

Panda Bear Bread

So, what is your favorite exotic drink?

WiP...What kind of Home do I have?

L-WiP (Life Work in Progress):
Is my apartment a peaceful home or a home of destruction?
Is my apartment a fun-loving home or more of an angry home?

These are the questions that have been running through my head this week.  I know what I want my home to be ~ that's a duh answer.  But, do I have it?  Sad to admit, but not so much, lately.  A few days ago I was reminded that I choose to be joyful and fun-loving. Or I choose to be angry and, well, not so loving.

Do I choose to yell when my daughter spills milk out of the fridge, or do I choose to take a deep breath and smile, remembering that it is just spilled milk. An easy clean up.  If you have children you know what I'm talking about.....
So, how do you keep a peaceful home? Here's some tips that I've come up with that helps me.
1. Play uplifting music. Most of the time, it's Christian music for me. But, there are times when I crank up some tunes and dance with the kids. They love that just as much as I do.
2. Spend time daily in God's Word. I have found this to be my daily anchor.
3. Journal.  Another anchor for me. When I don't write, I'm not the best mom or wife...ask the family.
4. Laugh and get the camera.  Laughter really is good medicine. I've taken pictures of the messes that my kids have made. Great paybacks for when they are teenagers *evil laugh*

Example of taking pictures. I have many, but this one was easy to find and makes me giggle because she was so proud of herself. *sigh*

This is when I found Jie Jie in the bathtub with conditioner
everywhere...on her clothes, in her hair. What a mess to clean
up, but it makes for a great laugh!

WiP (Work in Progress):
I feel like I've not accomplished much in the area of writing. I've not edited anymore of my novel. I haven't felt the creative juices flowing, so I've been reading some. I read More Writer's First Aid by Kristi Holl this past week. You can read my review here.  In the middle of the book I really started to feel like I could get back into this writing gig.  I wrote a little snippet for a book of short stories and submitted it this week. Writing that piece was healing and pushed me to start writing again. Today I feel those creative juices starting to stir a bit more. So, I'm sitting here at a coffee shop. I'm writing part of this blog post and then I'm going to edit. I'm not going to worry about how many pages I edit, just how much productive time I use to do that editing.

Another good point this week is that I am starting to get my writing organized. I joined organizedwriters.com. I started my 3-ring binder of writer-ly forms to help keep track of my manuscripts and help push me  forward in this publishing world.

**Note, I have to confess. I didn't get any editing done. But, I did finish writing a survey for an article that I wrote on TCK's. I hope to get the survey out there, so I can finish up that article with some good quotes, then submit it. So, it wasn't wasted time. =)

Q4U: What do you do to make your home peaceful?
If you are a writer, what have you accomplished this week?

Tuesday's QBR...More Writer's First Aid:Getting the Writing Done

I have been following Kristi Holl's blog, Writer's First Aid, for the past few months. She has a so many practical tips for writers.  So, when I heard that she was finishing up More Writer's First Aid, I was eager to get a copy.
Description from Amazon:
You won't actually find bandages or medicine in More Writer's First Aid. But in 48 short chapters, you will find cures for dealing with disappointment and jealousy, writing despite physical and emotional pain, and banishing procrastination once and for all, and combining writing with parenting (from infancy to adulthood.) "We're all in this together" has been Kristi's constant reminder to readers of her first book and her blog.

My Take:
I loved the short chapters. I have young children, so to be able to sit and read a chapter or two at random times of the day were great for me. I also loved that at the end of many of the chapters she has some "homework" to help push you towards better writing. All very practical.  The best part about this book is that she takes these tips not just from other articles or books, but from her own personal life. She gives examples, good ones, from her 30 years of writing and 25 years of teaching writing.  I felt encouraged by reading this book. I feel like I've gotten a kick-start back into writing again.  I needed some "first aid" and got it. I really believe that it doesn't matter what stage of life you are in or what stage of writing you are in, either way you will get so much out of this book.

Details on how to get your own copy:
Kindle version can be found here on Amazon.
Or if you don't want the Kindle version, you can order directly from Kristi here.