Beautiful Book

We have begun a study of China-- geography, history, and culture. I am right now reading Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng, so the Cultural Revolution is on my mind. Maybe that seems a strange place to begin history with the girls, but since I am studying it myself, it is fresh on my mind and I can teach it better now. I am determined my daughters will know the truth about the history of their native country.

I wondered, are there books for children on the Cultural Revolution? Yes! We've read two so far. My favorite is a beautifully written and illustrated memoir called Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing by Guo Yue and Clare Farrow. The story is tender and poetic, with nothing too disturbing for children. We also read Mao and Me by Chen Jiang Hong, a true story about the author's childhood and his family during this time. This book is a little more graphic, but considering we have been reading about our own bloody Civil War, the book was appropriate for my girls.

I also found a book called Sparrow Girl by Sara Pennypacker. It is written like a folk tale about the time Mao declared sparrows the enemy of the farmer and announced The Great Sparrow Campaign to kill them all. Of course, this contributed to the great famine in China, but that is not addressed in the book. It is sweet story about a little girl who hides some birds in a barn over the winter.

I just searched the library website of our local inter-county loan system (it's fabulous for homeschooling moms) and ordered a few more books about other periods of Chinese history. The girls remember the stories of real people. Facts and dull text are soon forgotten.

A New Routine

Kids are so adaptable. We are making do with our new routine for school. This has been another great learning experience for me in letting go of my preconceived ideas of what school should be and look like. The girls are still learning despite our change of circumstances.

First of all, we've changed bedtime! I never thought I would do that, but since it wasn't working for Liana, we decided to do things differently. I kept thinking about what our doctor said, that Liana might just have a different inner clock, that she might be what we call a night owl. So bedtime is now 10pm. That's a little late for me, but miraculously, it has been working fine and Liana's sleep issues seem to have disappeared. She wakes up cheerfully on her own around 8am, so I know she is getting plenty of sleep. Problem solved!

We still begin school at 9am. That way we can get in all the core subjects before Fred calls us to pick him up from school. The girls certainly don't like the long ride, but we just got The Secret Garden on audiotape and all of us are enjoying this beautiful story. The girls have read abridged versions before, but to hear the original has been a joy.

By the time we get back home, maybe run errands on the way and then eat lunch, it is very hard to go back to school! But having language arts and math done, I feel we can do projects or reading in a relaxed way. We're almost finished with our study of the Civil War and I suggested they make a timeline to tie it all together. Arielle readily started to work on hers. Liana groaned, "Why can't I make a Civil War lapbook instead?" Well, that's fine with me. She is working on one for her insect study, so I didn't think she wanted to start a new one. We looked at one on-line: http://www.jimmiescollage.com/ Jimmie has great homeschooling resources! Her daughter's lapbook provided inspiration for Liana, but she wanted to do it her own way and set to work.

The girls spent about two hours on their projects. It was way beyond what I required of them that day. Arielle finished her timeline. It is so large I could only show a portion of it in one picture, and her small, precise handwriting doesn't show up well in a photo. Liana has more plans for her lapbook. I will post pictures of that when she is done.

Changes

"It is well for us that, amidst all the variableness of life, there is One whom change cannot affect, One whose heart can never alter..." Charles Spurgeon.

God is teaching me to be flexible. Our school has been turned upside down and we are adjusting to the changes little by little. Fred fell and seriously broke his leg a week ago. It will be at least 6 weeks until he heals, so we can't just give up on school. We have to work around it. I have to juggle doctor appointments and caring for my husband along with teaching my daughters. The girls and I need to leave the house between 11am and 12pm every day to pick Fred up from his classes--about a 40 minute drive. Then we must drive back home and run Fred's errands. The first few days I was so exhausted I couldn't do any school work in the afternoon with the girls. But we are forming a new schedule. Late afternoon work, reading in the evenings, even some creative, light work on the weekends. The girls protested about that, but they realize too that we all must adjust.

In times like this I think how much easier it would be if the girls were in a public classroom. If I just sent them off to school and then did what needed to be done with Fred without them. But I think it is good that they are part of the process. They learn how a family adapts to injury or illness, the concessions we have to make, and how we deal with fatigue and impatience. They see how we press on and serve each other. The girls don't need to be protected from this; they need to participate in it.

In the midst of life's changes, it is good to know that God doesn't change. His character remains the same and His promises still hold true, no matter what goes on in our little physical world. We call upon Him and He answers. Everything will work out.

"I am the Lord; I change not." Malachi 3:6.