It rained last night for the first time in months! It woke me up, and I went thru the house closing up windows. Unfortunately I also woke up because Sebastian had a bad dream and Beatrice decided that 5 am was good time to wake up. I brought her into bed with me, and thankfully she fell back asleep. But as a result I'm a bit tired.
And I was all excited tonight because I thought that I had AN ENTIRE AFTERNOON WITH NOTHING TO DO tomorrow, but it turns out that my new student really does want to take classes with me, so I have one class. This is ultimately a good thing, because income is good, and students are my way to do that. But oh, the thought of 5 hours of unplanned time to myself...I could go look for some shoes! Or go to that coffee shop that I've been wanting to go to! Or pay bills! Or meet up with the folks that are considering moving here! Or take a nap! I'll have to save that for another day...
But before I go prepare, I want to say one thing about our decision to have our kids study at a Brazilian school, learning Portuguese. I love listening to my children speak Portuguese. I'm so glad that we decided to enroll them in the school that they are at. After several months of worrying, I think that Dora has turned a corner and is now much more willing to make mistakes and to try speaking. But one thing I didn't really consider, was the amount of time that I would have to invest in helping with homework. Beatrice has none--the benefits of being a 3 year old. Sebastian has homework, but he's always loved homework (go figure!) and it's still easy enough where he can mostly do it on his own. But Dora...oh my. It takes me at least an hour a day to help her. I have to read it myself and make sure I understand, and then figure out how to help her understand, and then work with her. And she is going through a "I hate homework, I wish everything was easy" phase. So really, what should take about 45 minutes, ends up taking 2 hours. Matt says that I should just devote only a certain amount of time to it, and then let it go. But I know that this is a good process for Dora (learning that even thought she thinks she "can't" do something, she really can), so I suffer through it. I know that there will be a turning point for her, with both the attitude and the Portuguese, but right now it's not very fun to me. Thankfully, I'm learning from her homework, and I find it interesting. But budgeting time for homework in another language is a serious commitment.
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Yeah you got our rain, we sent it north to you; rained like crazy all day on tuesday. nice to clear the smog out of the 3-month parched sky. i wish i had kids to help me with portuguese! my husband isn't very helpful even though he says he is :P
ReplyDeleteHoneymoon in Poulsbo? ahahaha, where on earth did you stay? i was born in seattle but spent the first 19 years of my life in little old poulsbo :)
I've never actually been to Cashmere, but drove through the state many many times (went to Gonzaga in Spokane)but i have some family friends who own a beautiful bakery in Cashmere and i have really been wanting to go. ever heard of Anjou Bakery?
yes go get ice cream! i am so happy for the hot weather again :)