Preparing to go

With our pending departure to China, there is much to do and only another 4 months to do it in.  I am in no way an expert on moving from one nation to another but these are the things that I know really work for me and have helped alleviate some of the stress and pressure of our preparations.

1.  Make a list 
My husband and I share a google doc, which enables us to keep adding things to the list and to tick it off as and when it's done.  We also try and put a time frame we hope it's to be done by.

2.  First things first
Do the important things first.  The deal breakers need to be first.  Sometimes just because I am tired of a specific task I may find a task that's not so important to do but I don't get stuck or distracted there, its just a temporary reprieve.

3.  A little at a time
Start the process as early as possible and keep going.  I don't do mountains.  I break everything up into smaller parts and keep doing it.  If I need to sort through clothes - I do a drawer today, a drawer tomorrow.  This way I stay motivated, keep doing and it all becomes achievable.

4.  Declutter again and again
I have probably decluttered about 4 times already.  Hoarding and keeping things for just in case, seems to be a pattern in our family.  It helps to go through rooms more than once as time passes, because you start to become more and more discerning in your choice of what stays.

5.  Make time for friends and family
Don't withdraw, don't end things abruptly.  Friends and family are important and they count.  You may be moving to another country but you are not leaving planet earth.  They also need time to get used to the idea and the children need the time to communicate with their friends.

6.  Get your children involved
They can do so much.  Simple tasks like checking which clothes still fit, sorting through cupboards, writing thank yous.  The more involved they are the more they will adjust to the idea of going.

7.  Read Read Read
Read books, read sites aimed at expats, read travel books, autobiographies written by locals.  There more you know from different perspectives the more prepared you will be.

8.  Chat to people who have done what you want to do 
Talk to those in the know.  Ask for their to do list, ask them for advice.  Even if they don't offer you any revelations, they definitely will know how you feel and might be a shoulder to cry on or to bare your soul.

9.  Learn the language as soon as possible
Of course if you are moving to an English speaking nation - you're probably not going to do this.  However, if like us you plan to go to China, then Mandarin is a must.  My children have been studying Mandarin for about 2 years already.  They have made some progress and though they may not be fluent by the time we get there, they are definitely going to be more prepared - and they will pick the language up very easily because they already have some foundations.

10.  Not everything will go according to plan
And that's OK if you have left enough time for the unforeseen.

Who knows in a month I might change this list or add some more but these work for the moment.  Have you moved to another country?  What would you add to this list?

Learning Chinese Mandarin using television or online videos

 As you know, we are a homeschooling family who decided to learn Chinese Mandarin as our second language.  It's been an interesting experience and though we have been doing this for some time, it feels like we have barely scratched the surface of this amazingly musical language.  I spend hours researching different resources and techniques to stimulate further learner or just to add variety and interest.

There are a few websites we visit to watch various cartoons in Chinese Mandarin.  I enjoy these especially because they are familiar to us and so does not feel so "foreign".  These programs could keep you busy for the whole year, because there are so many episodes to watch.  My children have also started learning Chinese characters and though the characters appear very quickly on the screen, they like to test their knowledge of what they are learning all the time.

Dora the Explorer
Bob the Builder
Adventures of Little Carp
Handy Manny
Berenstein Bears
Spongebob Squarepants

We also make use of Chinese TV which has so many channels, where both you and your children can choose programs from news, to documentaries or cartoons if you look around (you will obviously need to screen them just like you do at home.)  I have found the site quite difficult to navigate around but I often ask Google to translate the page for me, as I don't want to be heading off to any strange sites or advertisements.

Remember that Barnie or any of these characters are not able to teach you Chinese Mandarin but are rather a way to supplement the method you use, when learning the language.

If you are learning Chinese Mandarin as a second language, whether you homeschool or not - why not share what websites you have found to learn the language or that have made lessons really fun.

And if this is your first visit here why not Sign up and make sure that you get each post in your inbox or alternatively follow on the RSS feed.

Linking up with Raising Homemakers,  Living Well Wednesdays, 

Can Barnie teach you Chinese Mandarin?

Can you put your child in front of a television and find that after a month or two that he has started speaking a new language?  Dora the explorer, Thomas the Train and the Berenstein Bears can all be found in Mandarin.  Could they teach your child the intricacies of the language.  Unlikely, I do not believe that television can be used to teach a second language like Chinese Mandarin but I do think it can be beneficial in the following ways:

*  Becoming familiar with the sound of the language and real time talking
A lot of programs that teach you a second language, speak at a speed which is beneficial for learning but is not the speed with which most native Chinese people speak.  Watching television in Mandarin will give you a far more realistic awareness of the language and what Mandarin sounds like by a native speaker.
*  Practise
Writing Chinese characters, learning Pinyin and vocabulary can all be practised.  This is especially relevant when you use television programs aimed at little children as the presentation is far simpler and easier to understand.
*  Fun
Ever tried to watch the Lion King in Chinese?  It can be both entertaining and fun, especially if your children know the story in English.  We have had some really funny moments listening to Simba speaking with in Mandarin.

I also find that the children get tired of doing the same programs every day (even if you alternate them), adding a bit of telly seems to bring the language to life
*  Culture

Part of our language study includes culture.  We have done some cooking, some social studies and some online research into the Chinese culture. Language cannot exist without the understanding of the culture too.  We might not always understand the language but the understanding of the culture, will definitely help you to navigate in certain situations.


So don't expect the likes of Barnie or Thomas the Train to do the hard work for you but it certainly will make a difference in your child's language learning and they will enjoy it even more.

Learning Chinese Mandarin as a Second or Third Language

With our desire to have our children learn another language(other than English and Afrikaans), we opted for Mandarin.  Not a natural choice, as the only Chinese in our areas are the ones that own a few retails stores or the buses that bring in scores of tourists to our beach where they subsequently take numerous photos of us standing next to them.  In fact many would say - what is the relevance?  Well the answer would be....none - unless you are part of this family.  Sean and I would love to live in China and the east and so we thought, how better to prepare our children than to get them studying the language?  And we really noticed how difficult it was on our recent visit without this tool.  Unlike a lot of countries where English is a second language, many Chinese don't even understand the most basic English.  Not because they don't know English on paper but how we pronounce a word is not the way we pronounce a word.  You can understand this if you think of the word minute(60 seconds) and minute(tiny).

We approached learning Mandarin in a number of different ways:

1.  Online

There are so many online resources out there, you could just get lost in that Mandarin jungle.  However it is very possible to learn if you are motivated, without paying a cent.  The only down side is that its not really user friendly for children which means you need to have a very hands on approach.  And of course I am naturally a little suspicious of any sites with too much "action" on it, my overcautious brain worries about viruses.  And most of these sites are like that.  They also seem to be a little random in terms of what you learn.


2.  Tutor 

We tried a tutor in the beginning, a very sweet local Chinese man who came once a week and attempted to teach all of us at the same time -  but we felt almost like we needed to constantly be memorising words and within a week we had forgotten all of them.  Especially when we were lazy and didn't even bother. (that would pretty much be most of the time).  The children lost interest after 10 minutes and were frustrated that they had to do this on a Saturday. 


3. Rosetta Stone
So after we had researched a number of options, we considered all the online options - and there are a lot, but in the end we settled on Rosetta Stone.  

We love the way this system works.    What I have found with this computer program is that most of the lessons are 5 to 10 minutes long.  You learn words through pictures and drawing your own conclusions about what you are looking at.  (Which is the way we learn when we are children - we don't normally translate when teaching our children. )  

The one I bought is a the Homeschooling Edition which allows you to monitor how long each child spends on a lesson, what result they got and how far they have progressed.  In fact you  can print off a report for each child.  Which of course is ideal for those of you that need to keep records.  It allows up to 5 registered users at the same time, so both Sean and I are obviously learning too, but at a much slower pace:) 

We have included this as part of our school curriculum and the children enjoy it.  They love progressing through the system.  You can even tailor make your program based on where each child is at in terms of age, reading skills.  So for a child who cannot read you could start them just on the speech and pronunciation.  Its a year long program but you can reduce that to less if you want something more brief.  

As a South African this does not come cheap because though the program for Level 1 costs $159(though if you order a number of levels, there are specials on bulk buying), there is also postage which is $50 (though it does mean the program arrives 3 days later - literally on your doorstep) There is also an import tax which needs to be paid which is about R200.  But but dare I say that I still think its worth every cent!  For those of you based in the States, its definitely a lot less as there are no shipping fees and then they also allow you to pay with your credit card over 6 months - which is a real bonus.


I have heard that there are other programs out there, and I am sure that there are those that are better or worse.  But this is what our family is using and we are thrilled with the results.  


They do have an online demonstrations so you can get a sense of the way they present the material.  Of course if you are not interested in Mandarin they do offer a large variety of languages and once you get to the higher levels there are interactive live sessions.

Please note that this is not a recommendation because we get a cent from Rosetta Stone or that they even know who I am - but my kids love them, and so do I - So how's that for a bit of free advertising?

Mother Matters

We had our first very successful webinar last week, with Bronwyn Ansell as our guest speaker on the topic of Homeschooling with Cambridge.  Its was an interesting session with lots of questions.  It was an hour long session but there was so much to ask, it could easily have continued for another hour.

A few of you sms'ed and emailed to say that you were struggling to connect to the webinar.  If you need assistance because you are not sure how to do all the "techno stuff" - don't feel embarrassed.  My wonderful husband is on technical support and he's great.  He's very patient and is happy to chat you through the process.  We will be online at the meeting 30 minutes before we start, to ensure that any of you need help you can call us, or skype us.

The contact details for Mother Matters are:
Landline:  +27 21 788 2809
Cell:  082 5777 340
Skype:  mother.mel

So this week we are looking forward to our second session and to you joining us for this event.

Wednesday 28 September 2011 8.30pm-9.30pm

 Topic:  Homeschooling: Large Families

Panelist:  Linnie Lues (http://backtoancientways.blogspot.com)

"I would like to share with you my experiences on my journey to become:  A submissive wife with a gentle and quiet spirit; An encouraging, loving mother who wants her children to become everything God intends them to be; A home schooling mother of eight, who uses the tool of education to grow godly character; develop life skills; discover their gifting, talents and godly calling; An excellent cook of healthy, nutritional and tasty meals to enable my family to live a long and productive life and fulfill their Godly calling."

Topics on the Agenda will include:

*  How to teach across the big age gap (multiple levels)
*  What to do with toddlers when their siblings are learning
*  Single salary and Budgeting
  *  Practical home management tips including:  snack times, meal prep, socialisation (so many children to take to so many sporting or music activities)
*  Chores and training up children to be part of the household

To register:  Click here

(This webinar is free)

This webinar is sponsored by Slingshot Joomla! CMS Specialist

We would love to have you join us at Mother Matters! See you all there!

To view our webinar schedule for the upcoming month click here

Free Webinar and More on China

As mentioned in my previous article, I have managed to persuade Sean (that would be my husband for those of you that don't know) to run a free webinar on how to Launch Your Business Online.   He has been in the Web Coach and Online industry for a number of years, and is experienced in so many things its sometimes hard to keep track of.

Consider the following questions, when trying to decide whether you should attend this webinar or not.:

Are you a home based entrepreneur?
Are you currently unemployed / underemployed?
Do you want to earn money from the comfort and safety of your home?
Do you have a few hours each day to build your business?If you have answered YES to any of the questions above, join us on Saturday evenings, as we explain how you can setup an online business, or get your existing business online.

This will be a FREE five part series, covering;
- Strategy: How to get a great idea and work out your game plan.
- Platform: Blog or website, email or SMS, product or service?
- Social Media: Get visible on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google
- Billing: Charge clients in a professional and effective way
- Affiliates / Partners: Make money by referral and earn a residual income.

You will need a fast Internet connection and a computer with a mic headset or speakers, to fully interact with us and others via this exciting web technology called a Webinar.
Find out more by joining us for the first session, or call us on +27 21 788 2809 for more information.
Register Now 

Faces and Places of China Part 2 
Today's photos are all about people who we spent time with, while  helping and volunteering with China Heart International - our team !  Volunteers are invaluable to any organisation. Having set up and run a non profit for many years, I know how important volunteers are to the effectiveness of any organisation.  These are the faces of those that volunteered with me.  Special people who travelled from all over the globe to spend time with orphans and special needs children in China.The group was diverse - British, Australians, Chinese, South Africans (us:) and Americans- but what an amazing team!  

Here they are....

And here they are in action.....

China and Rice Porridge

Our Homeschooling Routine

A few of you have asked me how we manage our home school routine.  Let me just say from the start that this routine is definitely not set in stone but it acts as a guideline to our day.  I believe its vital to have a plan, because if you don't everyone else will plan your day for you and its so easy to get distracted - that one thing to clean, the email you want to read, the phone(s) and even "researching" ideas for teaching your children.
7:00 am Wake up
This does sometimes change especially if we have had a late life group meeting the night before, or friends visiting.  I prefer to let them sleep a little later because I know they won't manage school with too little sleep.
7:00 - 8:00 Getting Ready for the Day
This part of the day is all about getting ourselves and our house ready for the day.  Even Ruth at the age of 3, is responsible for setting the breakfast table, making her bed (which entails moving her bedding around and is far from tidy but she is learning responsibility for her own things) and getting herself dressed after someone has laid out her clothes.  The boys normally pack away dishes, put out the breakfast cereals, taking out the trash and tidy up the lounge.
8:00 - 8:30 Breakfast
This is a very special time for our family.  We are very fortunate to have my husband working from home and so he normally reads the Bible to the children while they eat, or some kind of missionary book.  At the moment we are reading a series called Jesus Freaks which are true stories about Christian martyrs.  But even this doesn't happen every morning and then I do a time of Bible with the children in the morning before lunch.
8.30 - 9:00 Get Settled
After breakfast they quickly brush teeth, take their vitamins, wash any excess breakfast off around their mouths (which is often - my kids love breakfast - especially rice pudding! See recipe that follows)  Unset the breakfast table, wash dishes and head to our learning centre. (room where we do most of our learning which could really be anywhere in the house)
9:00 - 12:00 Learning
We normally start the day with their individual grade subjects like Maths, English, Latin, Mandarin and  Afrikaans.  I spend time with each of them whenever needed.  Ruth normally starts her day with about 30 minutes of educational TV.  Then she joins in with her own activities which I plan the day before.  We sometimes stop half way for a stretch, some Milo and a slice of bread or fruit but only for about 15 minutes.
12:00 - 12:45 Lunch BreakI make lunch while they run around like crazy riding their bikes, J-Boards, Hide and Seek and anything that requires a lot of noise and energy, in fact occasionally one of them will try and stay inside to read or play Lego but I believe children should get as much fresh air and activity as possible.
12:45 Ruth goes for her afternoon nap
12:50 Get Settled
Wash hands and get ready for the next session
12:50 - 15:00 Group Subjects
We do all of our group subjects such as Geography, Computers, History, Zoology, Anatomy, Life skills.
15:00 - 15:30 Break for Odyssey and finishWhy is this part of our schedule? Our children love listening to Odyssey on the radio every day and so this is normally my time to bring the day to an end.  I used to try and add more school time after this but I have realised that they also need to finish at a reasonable hour.  When we feel the need to get more done in a day - then we start earlier.  In fact if we have a play date or excursion planned for the afternoon, we also start earlier to make sure we get enough done in the day.

I would love to hear how you manage your school day?  What approach do you use?  Are you very structured or do you allow your children to guide you through the day?
 

Breakfast and Rice?
 So with China still pulsing through our veins after our 2 week trip with China Heart International, I thought that a good rice recipe would be very fitting.  Do they eat this in China? - who knows but they definitely eat it in Kalk Bay at the Grant house.I have seriously found the most delicious breakfast for my children.  Not only is it delicious but it tastes a little like eating dessert and who doesn't LOVE dessert?  So this one's a little different but a real winner.

Creamy Rice Porridge
INGREDIENTS
2 cups uncooked white rice (never tried brown as an option)
2,5 litres of milk
2ml salt
30ml cornflour

Cinnamon sugar and butter for serving


HOW TO MAKE IT
1.  Heat your milk until it just starts to boil
2.  Add the rice and salt
3.  Simmer for 20 - 25 min or until rice is cooked
4.  Mix the cornflour with a little extra milk until its a smooth paste.
5.  Add the cornflour mixture to the rice and mix.  Allow it to cook for 5 more minutes or until it has thickened.
6.  Serve with a blob of butter and sugar and cinnamon

This recipe is truly delicious.  It makes a big pot so you might think its too much but my children loved it so much they snacked on it for the rest of the day (so did Sean and I:).  Cold or hot it tastes delicious.  Bear in mind we are a family of six and rice is really yuk! when you freeze it, so maybe try your first batch by halving the quantities and if they love it - then go ballistic!


Faces and Places of China Part 1
After a two week trip to the other side of the world, we arrived home exhausted, jet lagged and amazed at how much we had done in such a short time.  What we saw, experienced and gave to, was beyond anything we could have imagined.  So I thought I would post some photos of our time away.  I have decided to divide the photos into different sections.  These photos are all photos of the beautiful, contrasting structures found there.  Of course we only saw a small part of this country but what we saw just really fascinated us in its size, colour, creativity and contrasts.

 This was in the Muslim Chinese market area.  I just love the detail and colours. 

 No this photo wasn't just about the tall buildings in the background but look at those electric wires! Soooo many of these hanging over whole cities and they are so thick and so many you can see them for miles.

 This was one of the "smaller" places we stayed in, only few million people live here:)

 

I love these Chinese traditional buildings.  Funnily enough I thought that there would be far more of these but most of China lives in high rise buildings.

 

This structure was actually at the top of a high rise building and we suspect it might have been a place of worship or a temple.

 

Market place.  For those of you that received gifts for us - if they need returning, THAT'S the place to take it to.

The drum tower, with drums all around the sides with the most amazing views that had me more enraptured than anything they had inside. Have a look at these views from the top.  Its probably the only place I found where there was some quiet.  With all the hustle and bustle and all the people, its hard to find a quiet spot.

The Chinese love flowers, everywhere you go, even at the tolls there are flowers everywhere, hanging baskets of flowers all the way down the island in the middle of a freeway, and some of the them are plastic ones stuck between the vegetation when there are no flowers blooming.  Its quite a site and so pleasing to the eye when so much attention is placed on detail.