Home Schooling Week 5

This homeschooling thing is no joke, but we're doing it.  We just made it through the first 2 weeks of real school work (we did 3 weeks on our own before that) I am very thankful my kids are not in the French school anymore though, I wouldn't be able to read their textbooks or anything. They are pretty self sufficient, but I wouldn't be able to help them at all.

It makes me think of other families where the kids go to school, but the parents don't speak the language very well. We were very fortunate when we lived in PEI that I had quite a few friends who were French speaking and could help translate the school newsletters for me and tell me what I needed to do.  Even not understanding one subject can be difficult for a parent thrown into this, but to not be able to understand any of the school work would be overwhelming!

I want to encourage you if you know anyone who may be struggling with the language barrier to check in on them, ask if there's any way you can help. FaceTime their kid and ask if they need anything explained.  While you're at it, tell them something you've struggled with during this time. We're all failing at something, but there's also something we can give to others. Maybe it's homework help, maybe it's encouragement, or a laugh!

Overgebleven

I've got a small whiteboard on the fridge where I put my dinner ideas for the week.  I don't usually assign the meals to days, but kind of play it by ear depending on how my day is going & how long some meals will take to prepare.

A few weeks ago I did a bit of research, and put my list on the board

- Hot Dogs, & Mac & Cheese 

- Make Your Own Pizza 

- Overgebleven

The kids were excited, Chancery loves Mac & Cheese, Asher loves Pizza, and what was the mysterious "Overgebleven"?

I told them, "You'll have to wait to find out, but it's Dutch, and I think you'll like it!

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The day came when the only thing left on the board was "Overgebleven".

"Tonight's the night!" they said to each other excitedly.

I called them to the kitchen at 5pm, and handed them each an empty plate.

"Where is it? What is Overgebleven?" they asked.

I pulled the leftover Mac & Cheese, Hot Dog, & Pizza out of the fridge and told them to load up their plates.

Kids: "What do you mean?  We're supposed to have Overgebleven!"

Me: "This is overgebleven. it's 'Leftover' in Dutch!"

And that was the night the children ate through tears, and I learned (once again) not to get the children's expectations too high, because apparently even though they liked the original food, having it again as a leftover when it was masquerading as something new and fun is MEAN!

First Day in Another New School

Asher started grade 4 & Chancery started grade 2 today.  This is the third new school they have been to since starting Kindergarten, going from French Immersion, to French, to English again.  I'm a bit relieved to be able to understand all of the newsletters again!  I guess you could say all the changes in the past few years were just to make it not seem so strange for them to go to another new school (good planning, eh?), not that it was intentional, that's just the way it worked out.

It was a bit of a weird morning.  The kids only had a half day today, so they didn't need lunches.  Because of that I totally forgot about snacks!  Fortunately, they made new friends who were generous enough to share!  We were ready about an hour before we needed to leave the house, so we played games for awhile, & totally forgot to take first day of school pictures (tomorrow is the first full day, so we'll go with that... if I can remember)!

When we had gone to visit the school, the teachers had not decided where everyone would sit, so I asked the kids where their seats were after they came home...

Chancery: "I got to sit in my first favourite seat that I chose when I went to school the first time!"

Asher: "I got to choose, but a lot of the seats were already taken, so I got to sit in my fourth favourite seat.  The one that was all alone in the back row.  But then I made a friend, & I wanted to sit by him, so I moved my pupitre to beside him!"


Me: "Did you ask the teacher if that was ok?"

Asher: "Yes, & she said it was!"

I love that they are making friends already, & that Asher still thinks in French sometimes.  I hope he doesn't lose that now that mostly everything is English.  Although in grade 4, they start learning French at this school, so there is hope!

Languages

Since I grew up in the States, I took Spanish as my foreign language when I was in high school.  PChad, growing up in Canada took French.  The languages, though both deriving from Latin, don’t have a whole lot in common.  Asher will sometimes ask me to read the French on a cereal box & I butcher it badly, pronouncing all the letters (even the ones that are supposed to be silent), with a poor Spanish accent.

 

We have come to a language truce, if there is a book in Spanish, it is my job to read it to the kids; if there is something written in French, it is up to PChad to translate it.  Every now & then I decide to take the plunge & try out some French written on various food packages, often with some rather funny mispronunciations.

 

Today at lunch, we had a package of berries & I was attempting to read “mûres” (blackberries), & “framboises” (raspberries) to the kids, & PChad was trying to understand what I was saying, with little to no luck.  Finally I handed him the packages so he could attempt a proper pronunciation.

 

Asher suddenly asked, “Mummy, can you teach me how to speak Navajo?”

 

This, of course set me into a fit of laughter, which then led him to ask, “What’s so funny, Mummy?”

 

How do you explain to a 4 year-old what the Navajo language is & why we can’t help him out in that department?