Danya recently picked up his new Magic Tree House book (thanks, Mom and Dad!) and started reading it. At bedtime, he read the whole chapter out loud to Tima and Ella. The next night, he read six chapters. For the first time, he’s reading chapter books (with fairly simple, short chapters) that used to be too hard. Before this, his English reading each day was about six pages with four lines each.
His Russian reading is getting easier, though he doesn’t understand most of what he reads. But he is enjoying memorizing poems, and can do more than a stanza a day now. This week he had a whimsical one of around three stanzas that he memorized overnight. (He takes the poem to bed with him and practices it instead of complaining that he can’t go to sleep.)
More than anything, though, Danya loves Eric reading to him. After many months they’ve recently finished The Lord of the Rings. (It’s hard to say who enjoys it more!) And now Eric has restarted The Chronicles of Narnia. As it is, we wake up to children begging to be read to, and at each meal they also ask for us to read. I’m hopeful that Eric can start reading some of the homeschool books to the boys, but we’ll have to see if he enjoys them as much. Usually I read those when Eric is travelling or at work. Danya and Tima both enjoy them-they insisted I read The Wizard of Oz again, which isn’t my favorite!
We’ve just had a new infusion of chapter books from our teammates, along with next year’s History and Geography curriculum. Hopefully, we won’t have to do them during formal ‘school’ time this summer, but they’ll get read anyway.
Tima is loving math right now, but only in his own way. When he has subtraction problems in his school book, he rejects the number line provided, and gets out the Monopoly Deal card game. After sorting out the money cards (10 minutes) he looks at his problem, for example 36 – 4 = ____ . He adds up the cards to reach 36 (which takes at least five minutes, since there is one $10 card, and the rest are $5 or under). And then takes away 4. And then he re-adds the money cards to see how much he’s left with. (This takes up to 10 more minutes, with a lot of getting mixed up, usually.) Then he writes the answer in his book. While I admire his creativity, and know that he’s getting a lot of adding practice, it’s hard to be patient with this since he has at around 12 problems to do. I told him he could use the cards with one-digit subtraction (for example 5-2= ) but after doing one problem, he said that it was so easy he didn’t need the Monopoly cards.
For Ella, it's all about clothes. Ella was very disappointed last month when we told her that her favorite pajamas were too small. Too put it mildly! The 'pajamas' are actually a Colorado Rockies outfit, shiny purple shorts and tank top. (Thanks, Mama Coe and Papa Coe, for giving them to us eight years ago!) But the top was so tight she cried when it was taken off, and the shorts were no longer fitting over her diaper. So I flippantly said that the shorts would fit if she didn't wear a diaper. A month later, I accidently let us run out of diapers. And she was so excited! "Now I can wear my purple shorts!" exclaimed Ella. And thus we began the big experiment. Which I felt was a huge mistake, especially since we had no diapers in the house. I imagined that after she wet the bed the second time we would really wishwe could just put her in a diaper. The first night I woke her up twice to go to the potty. And the best part was that she woke up without crying (first time ever, I believe) and immediately knew why I was waking her. After a week, we had one accident, and I exercised my new sewing skills to widen the neck of the tank top.
One other tank top Ella found while we were putting away winter clothes is a plain blue one. Ella wanted it on, right over her dress. And she calls it her ‘tink-ball shirt’. Tima decoded that she got ‘tink’ from ‘tank’ and thinks it’s a real sport. So now we are waiting to learn how to play ‘tink ball’.
A last word on clothes—Ella loves a little pleated skirt (thanks, Andes!) with a matching sweater. When she wears it, she bounces around all day, imitating ballet moves. “You know, Mama? My ‘kirt maked me dance!” she exclaims as she twirls.
Saturday Preparations
According to Russian tradition, spring cleaning is done on the Saturday before Easter. We did a little extra, and the boys volunteered to clean the balcony. This is the open balcony where they have been playing 'hockey' in the warm sunshine. I think they might be disappointed that it's no longer slippery without the layer of dirt. We took two dustpans of dust and grime off of this little space! And then wiped and mopped a few times until it was clean enough to go barefoot.
I think we hit 50 F (9C) today. Outside, the boys begged to take their coats off, but all the Russian kids were wearing coats and hats, even while rollerblading in the sunshine. So we lived it up American-style on our balcony-shirtless and barefoot.
Finally, we've hit the age(s) where egg-dyeing is not too out-of-control! I even had fun. I only wish we had more eggs! My favorite was Ella's collection of purple eggs--she was the most productive and monochromatic. But Danya came up with the 'globe' idea yesterday at the Huddlestons' and I was inspired. We colored continents green, polar ice caps white, and then dyed the eggs blue.
Documenting the Snowpack
For the last two weeks or so, we've had some sun-power that has reduced the volume of snow. And today, a light rain tamped it down more. Cars are emerging, like the window now visible above. This snow fell in mid-December. A few weeks ago, a loader worked all day to widen this road so people could park on both sides. (It's still just one-lane wide, which is confusing, since there's no agreement about which way people should drive!) At the time, we wondered how the loader driver knew where the buried cars were. Did they tear off any bumpers?
All our playgrounds are buried up to the swing seats. Those are the backs of the wooden swings you see. Most have been dug out so that kids can still swing...
My favorite vision of our snowpack. That's the top of a bench sticking out on the left side of the path. The weirdest thing is that the packed down paths are the same level as the surrounding snow. But it's like a swamp. If you step off the path, you're up to your knees (or worse).
Danya is Eight! ...continued
It rained on our parade... well, on our party, today.
After debating what to do with a promised birthdeay party for Danya's classmates, we settled on sledding on a nearby hill. Despite the late invitations (two day warning!) only one child couldn't come. But we didn't go sledding. The rains came. Well, the drizzle, drips, and 'plus' temperatures that meant sticky snow, and soaking kids.
We decided to stay inside. This is not a decision to take lightly in a 64 sq. m. apartment. Even without Ella (thank you, Trisha, for babysitting!) that means eight eight-year olds for two hours. But with a little game-storming and Eric's deep reserves of energy, we did it. I don't know where he gets it from, but Eric is very capable of leading, cajoling, reprimanding and explaining games to kids.
Some highlights:
Masha gave Danya a box of magic tricks. With great excitement, she set up one to show me. First she covered a fuzzy ball with one of three cups. Then she tapped the cup three times with the magic wand. Dramatically, she lifted the cup... and was shocked to find the ball still under it.
As they were sitting around the table, the kids started singing the 'Goodbye to the Alphabet-book" song which they just performed last week. Only one boy didn't join in with gusto. The kids are all in class together, and it's obvious they are all comfortable with each other. There is a spirit of innocence and enthusiasm that we are very grateful for. And it's great to see how Danya is truly a part of the class.
The presents were great. A Lego set (which Danya worked on for hours) a puzzle, a board game, a magnifying glass. I was surprised how education they were--although he also got a realistic looking toy pistol.
From Eric, clockwise: Masha, Gleb, Nikita, Dima, Tima, Danya, Sasha, Paulina.
After debating what to do with a promised birthdeay party for Danya's classmates, we settled on sledding on a nearby hill. Despite the late invitations (two day warning!) only one child couldn't come. But we didn't go sledding. The rains came. Well, the drizzle, drips, and 'plus' temperatures that meant sticky snow, and soaking kids.
We decided to stay inside. This is not a decision to take lightly in a 64 sq. m. apartment. Even without Ella (thank you, Trisha, for babysitting!) that means eight eight-year olds for two hours. But with a little game-storming and Eric's deep reserves of energy, we did it. I don't know where he gets it from, but Eric is very capable of leading, cajoling, reprimanding and explaining games to kids.
Some highlights:
Masha gave Danya a box of magic tricks. With great excitement, she set up one to show me. First she covered a fuzzy ball with one of three cups. Then she tapped the cup three times with the magic wand. Dramatically, she lifted the cup... and was shocked to find the ball still under it.
As they were sitting around the table, the kids started singing the 'Goodbye to the Alphabet-book" song which they just performed last week. Only one boy didn't join in with gusto. The kids are all in class together, and it's obvious they are all comfortable with each other. There is a spirit of innocence and enthusiasm that we are very grateful for. And it's great to see how Danya is truly a part of the class.
The presents were great. A Lego set (which Danya worked on for hours) a puzzle, a board game, a magnifying glass. I was surprised how education they were--although he also got a realistic looking toy pistol.
From Eric, clockwise: Masha, Gleb, Nikita, Dima, Tima, Danya, Sasha, Paulina.Danya is Eight!
Can you believe it? Danya turned eight years old on Saturday. To celebrate, we went skiing for the first time! We rented cross-country skiis in the wooded park in our neighborhood (thank you Edings, for discovering it and communicating it!) and Trisha and Nick joined us for an hour-long tour.
The boys both did well, though I was pretty helpless to explain how to do anything! Especially problematic was how to get your skiis pointed in the same direction after falling. But though they fell a lot, neither boy was frustrated or discouraged.
The biggest part of the celebration was actually having Nate and Nick stay the night. Next weekend (when we have more energy) we're planning to do something with some friends from school!
This birthday was noteworthy because it is the first one in four years when Danya has celebrated in the same city as the previous years. The last 'stable' birthday was his fourth, in Irkutsk, where he had celebrated every year. Then, 5 was in Colorado, 6 in Kiev, and 7 in St. Pete. In fact, we hadn't moved to our own apartment yet; we celebrated while living with the Huddlestons.
The boys both did well, though I was pretty helpless to explain how to do anything! Especially problematic was how to get your skiis pointed in the same direction after falling. But though they fell a lot, neither boy was frustrated or discouraged.
Our only tears were at the end. Tima discovered that 'to rent' doesn't mean 'to own'. And he wailed that he wanted to take them home, or buy some new ones immediately. The owner gave the kids a free ride on the 'carousel' to stop Tima's tears. (Yes, the ski rental place is right with two swing-carousels, and a shooting stand, and who knows what else! In the summer they rent bikes and roller blades.)
And what better way to celebrate the first birthday in awhile with a car, then drive to McDonalds!
The biggest part of the celebration was actually having Nate and Nick stay the night. Next weekend (when we have more energy) we're planning to do something with some friends from school!
This birthday was noteworthy because it is the first one in four years when Danya has celebrated in the same city as the previous years. The last 'stable' birthday was his fourth, in Irkutsk, where he had celebrated every year. Then, 5 was in Colorado, 6 in Kiev, and 7 in St. Pete. In fact, we hadn't moved to our own apartment yet; we celebrated while living with the Huddlestons.
Star Wars Lego Olympics
"One revel is a biathlont." (That's Danya's phrase for a rebel is a biathlete.) "Two rebels are snow-crossers. The captain clone is a cross-country skiier. Annikan is a snowboarder-crosser. The pilot storm trooper is a snowboarder...crosser. A storm trooper is a bobsledder. Another rebel is a speed skater. A clone trooper is a speed skater."
There are advantages to being legos. They can easily clip back in if they lose their snowboards. And Tima even showed me how Annikan 'used force' to get his back when it fell off. (There are advantages to being Star Wars guys, too.)
When watching the Olympics, Ella definitely likes the female figure skaters. Even when watching the pairs, she comments, "I like the girl." And whenever hockey comes on (which is often!) she comments, "I don't like pockey." Or, complains, "Pockey, again!" She claims her favorite is 'kee-gwumping.' And more than anything, she asks, "Mama, can we wat' de commer-tal?" since commercials are a novel thing in our household!
Tima claims his favorite sports are ski jumping (which we see a lot of here) and bobsled, both short and longtrack speed skating, and snowboarding cross. When I asked Danya to choose three (from the list of 10 he first told me) he finally decided on speed skating, half-pipe and the crosses.
Ella is Three!
Ella enjoyed a very special day yesterday! We kept it very simple, since in our opinion a three year old doesn't need much to make the day special. She enjoyed her gifts, got a lot of attention from her daddy, and enjoyed a party with our teammates. Although we were disappointed that the Skoks couldn't come, we enjoyed the Huddlestons, Cheryl and Lena. Ella chose pelmeni for dinner and a pink cake. (No surprise on either count!)
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3999097&l=6fb870558c&id=593736915
Here are a few more photos!
Olympic Fun
We are having another week of geography and sports science.
Ella notices the letter "E" in everything, including results lists of the competition. "That's my letter!" she exclaims.
The boys are very interested in the different countries. The US and Russia are favorites... sometimes Danya cries when they lose. But they are passionate for Korea as well. And this mroning, watching speed skating, they were all for the Japanese because of their shiny gold 'super hero' outfits.
Danya has a week off of Russian school, since all first graders get four vacations each year. He thinks it is for the Olympics. My goal is to do extra American homeschool. We're doing a medal chart and some geography to go along with the Olympics. And we found a list of apporopriate spelling words. But the weather here is warmer, and we're trying to spend more time outside doing our own winter 'sports'.
There are huge piles of snow in front of our building, and the boys love to scale them and slide down the 'cliffs'. On the southern side, where the business entrances are, they have piled all the snow in the ramps, and the boys love to tunnel through them.
We haven't made it to the woods to sled or skate much. The weather was too cold for awhile, especially for Ella. And the paths packed by walkers down are a too skinny for the baby jogger, which means I'm either carrying Ella or she's crying on the sled. THe last week it's been warmer (about -5 to -10C) but Tima and Ella have been quite sick with croup-like illness. Now, they're getting better, but Eric and I are fighting something off. So it goes, I guess! But even home-bound, we are enjoying more sunshine and longer hours of daylight.
Ella notices the letter "E" in everything, including results lists of the competition. "That's my letter!" she exclaims.
The boys are very interested in the different countries. The US and Russia are favorites... sometimes Danya cries when they lose. But they are passionate for Korea as well. And this mroning, watching speed skating, they were all for the Japanese because of their shiny gold 'super hero' outfits.
Danya has a week off of Russian school, since all first graders get four vacations each year. He thinks it is for the Olympics. My goal is to do extra American homeschool. We're doing a medal chart and some geography to go along with the Olympics. And we found a list of apporopriate spelling words. But the weather here is warmer, and we're trying to spend more time outside doing our own winter 'sports'.
There are huge piles of snow in front of our building, and the boys love to scale them and slide down the 'cliffs'. On the southern side, where the business entrances are, they have piled all the snow in the ramps, and the boys love to tunnel through them.
We haven't made it to the woods to sled or skate much. The weather was too cold for awhile, especially for Ella. And the paths packed by walkers down are a too skinny for the baby jogger, which means I'm either carrying Ella or she's crying on the sled. THe last week it's been warmer (about -5 to -10C) but Tima and Ella have been quite sick with croup-like illness. Now, they're getting better, but Eric and I are fighting something off. So it goes, I guess! But even home-bound, we are enjoying more sunshine and longer hours of daylight.
Winter Student Conference
Tima and Ella, along with our friend Sam, spent hours each day playing with the little animals. Their babysitter started bringing a book when she watched them because they were so engaged with their play.
Beauty.
Today I talked with a friend in Krasnoyarsk. Ella and Tima are coughing and feverish, but did well for most of the conversation. Ella wanted to see who I was talking to and showed Tima their family's photo.
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