Bidding - Part 3

Meet Anna.  She is our "middle child"  She is beautiful, she is strong, she is witty, she is caring, she is confident, she is funny, she has a smile that will knock your socks off and when she cries, she scoops her little finger under her glasses to wipe away the tears and it literally melts every. single. bone. in your entire body. I absolutely adore her. 

She has been delayed in reading for some time, and we noticed some quirks to the way she reads and deciphers words.  All of those little quirks led Erik and I to have a conversation about exploring the way Anna learns.  This summer, we went through some testing and discovered that Anna has dyslexia and dysgraphia.

This diagnosis leads me to our third consideration when bidding for posts.  Education.

This is a biggie for us, and this is the point in this blog where you will hear me GUSH about probably the best experience we have had in Sri Lanka - The Overseas School of Colombo.  It is an International Baccalaureate School and it has been amazing. We homeschooled Anna for two years prior to enrolling her in OSC.  However, after we saw how Ella flourished in that school and discovered the support that was available for Anna's dyslexia diagnosis, we decided to move forward with enrolling her.  It is awesome.  She is really thriving.  It will be one of the things I hate to leave in June. It is also one of our considerations when deciding the next post. 

Erik and I have carefully researched the school options at the posts we are deciding to bid on.  We have reached out to Embassy staff, families and in a couple of instances the school itself to help aid in our decision. 

Here are our school considerations:
1. IBS program - Dyslexics learn in more of a "Big Picture" type style.  The Primary IB program is set up in unit studies.  Unit studies are really great for big picture type learning.  They have a theme or an idea and most of the learning ties into the overall theme. 

2. English Speaking School - Being overseas even this short period of time has taught me the importance of knowing multiple languages, however, English is the universal language and it's my children's mother tongue.  For Anna, especially, she needs to learn in English.  New school, new culture, new language... that's a big whammy for kids.  English speaking school will aid in that transition. 

3.  Size of the expat community enrolled in the school.  Most Diplomats' kids go to the international school in their respective city, however, not all international schools are truly international.  For example, in Colombo there are several international schools, but only 2 or 3 that have even 1/4 of the enrollment made up of international children.  They are mostly local more affluent children enrolled in a "private" type school. 

4. Quality of education for ALL years.  One thing that surprised us when we entered the Foreign Service was that there were posts out there that had "quality education" through the primary years but recommended boarding school for the high school years.  That is a great option for some families, but not for us.  We naively thought we would be offsetting that obstacle by the fact that we had a couple of homeschool years under our belt, but the reality is, if we are a homeschooling family that accepted a post with an inadequate school - there would be no other expat families there for our children to befriend.  They would be lonely.  AND our children range from 2-11 so we will need to be sure quality education is available from Kindergarten - High School as George will start KG while we are at our next post and Ella will start High School  (CUE THE TEARS!!!!!).

These are just a few of our considerations when looking at available education for our children at the posts we bid on.  What do value in choosing your education path?   I would love to hear!

O Beach

Just south of Colombo in an area near Mt. Lavinia is a beach the locals call "O" Beach.  Our homeschool co-op met there a couple of times this past year for some outdoor science adventures.  The last time we met, we hired a guide and boat to take us snorkeling. What an adventure!

We snorkeled a ship wreck just off the coast of Mt. Lavinia, and we were able to visit a turtle hatchery.  The ship wreck was amazing.  Beautiful fish, calm waters and a chance to spend the day with my sweet Anna.
The people at the turtle hatchery were very knowledgeable, and for an extra "donation" they let you release a baby turtle into the wild. It really gave us an opportunity to experience this impressive island that we live on!

Valentine's Day

There aren't a lot of negatives I've found to homeschooling, but when it comes to the holidays, one negative stands out...it can be lonely.  Who wants a Valentine's party with your sister?!  We aren't part of a co-op that meets regularly, so really it's just us.  Makes a mom get creative!  I think we've made the best of it this year.  Today was cookie day.

 We made sugar cookies using the recipe below (best sugar cookies ever) and Anna delivered hers to her gymnastics class.  Ella will take hers to her Hip Hop class tomorrow.

Aunt Evon’s Sugar Cookies
For the cookies:
3/4 cup butter flavored shortening 1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt
Blend all wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl and slowly add to wet ingredients. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Roll out dough and cut to desired shape. Bake 6-8 min on 400 degree oven.
Let cool and ice.

We also took some time last week to make some homemade valentines to mail to family.  Now, I did just like every other mom and scoured Pinterest for the cutest Valentine ideas for my kids to do.  But you know what?  They just really wanted to sit in the floor with all their arts and crafts and let their imaginations run wild...so that's what they did, and they had a blast.

sorry for one bright color and one black and white...
but I'm having iPad/mac/phone issues and this one was the most accessible.

 I think it was a Valentine's success.  But just so all my hard work wasn't in vain... Here are some of the more fun ideas I found across the Internet.
Hope your Valentine's Day is filled with hugs and kisses! Xoxo

January Rewind and February Goals

image credit

January was a complete blur.  I almost dread doing this post because I don't feel like I accomplished anything.  Our family stayed from Christmas through January 2.  As I said earlier - it was a wonderful visit filled with lots of laughter, sight-seeing, and celebrations.

Perspective - when you look at a mess and you can see the memories made.

We also had some dear friends come for a visit over the long MLK weekend.  It's always awesome to spend time with those we love so much!  Then there was #winterstormjonas #blizzard2016 #snowisSTILLontheground #nomorehashtags in blogs, I promise!

 The month ended with an Awana Lock-in for Ella, Awana Grand-Prix car building, and a TDY for Erik. He's learning his way around Bishkek! Now for the fun part:
January Goals:
Blog:
     1. Update the blog - Done! How do you like our new look?
Home:
     1. Get the rest of the Christmas put away! - Done
     2. My pantry and coat closet will be getting a make over this month.  - Ummmm not this month.
     3. We are going to become a "leave your shoes at the door" family. Done and it truly makes such a difference.  I love it. 
Health:
     1. Exercise, Exercise, Exercise...Not even once! Unless you count afternoon strolls with Erik and the baby. 
     2. Practice moderation in all things - tv, social media, food and drink, pretty much everything!
I have really done pretty well with this.  I think food may be my biggest downfall with this, I haven't made the healthiest of choice between company, and Erik's TDY.  I've been convicted that I am giving up Social Media for Lent -  so that should help too!

Home school:
     1. Branch out - Done - not in the way I wanted - however we studied Blizzards for a week straight. So I think it was still successful. 
     2. Review the scope of learning for each of my children's grade levels to be sure we are on track for the end of the year. - Done

Family:
     1. Serve more, participate more, reach out more. The kids dove into several big church activities, and I have tried to take a "people before tasks" approach this month. I've enjoyed several morning coffee dates and impromptu dinners with friends. I think if I let my to do list rule then I miss out on this most important aspect of making our way in our new life!

Now for February's less ambitious list

Blog:
     At least one post per week.
Home:
    I'm Flying again.  Even saying that makes me sound like a goof.  I'm not doing everything the FLY lady recommends, but I am following her one room per week approach I will share more about this later.
     I really do want to do my pantry
Health:
     Drink more water
     Exercise
     Giving up Facebook and Instagram for Lent. (Keeping Pinterest because too many of my bible study ideas, book recommendations, recipes and home school sites are on there).
     Find a Dentist

Home School:
     Anna got glasses in January - After some adjustment, I plan to challenge her reading level. I have some small changes that I plan to make to see just what she is capable of when she can see - Ha!
   
Family:
     We are taking a family vacation the first part of the month.  I truly plan to be ALL there. It's so easy to be fringy...but this mama's all in! I'm excited about it.

As always, I will close with some of my favorite January Pictures - Not already posted :)

Erik introduced the kids to Star Wars, this is my princess Leia

When Daddy's away the girls...and George... play

Took a little time for some homemade Valentine's cards

Our Grand Prix Cars - Anna's is Gymnastics Car and Ella's is an eraser

A December to Remember - And Some January Goals

Well, the holidays are over and we are left with a few remaining Christmas decorations, lots of dirty linens, an empty pantry, and some of the best memories.  It. was. wonderful. We were surrounded by our family and friends who came together to celebrate. We celebrated the birth of our Savior and 3 days later we celebrated George's first birthday.

It was a fun couple of weeks.  The last of our family left January 2 and we were left feeling so blessed that so many made the effort to come visit and celebrate with us. Here are some of the pictures from our December to Remember.

We Celebrated St. Nicholas Day as a part of our Europe Study

George Helping Erik with the Christmas Lights

Our new favorite winter hobby

Someone in our neighborhood put out a wishing tree!
It was so neat to see ornaments hung filled with neighbors wishes.

What do you do when you move your daughter away from friends and family?
You agree to an inflatable.

After 3 hours of grocery shopping!

We enjoyed our cousins visiting.

This little monkey loves the metro.

Showing our family the Museum of Natural History

Sammie couldn't hang at the Museum of American History

Now on to my December goals - let's see if we made any progress...

Blog:
     1.List January Goals before January 8 - It's January 6 - that's better.
     2. "Mini-Tour" of our almost no cost basement set up. Pictures taken, blog coming!


Home:
     1. Really Finish the Basement - I would like to get a little creative with more family pictures, but I'm done - for now...
     2. Finish Decorating for Christmas and prepare for a house full of company! We are pumped that Erik's parents will be here for Christmas and my parents and sister, brother-in-law, and nieces and nephews will be in for George's first birthday! I'll be sharing a blog with my meal plan and some activities as well as my modified check list for company. 

Health:
     1. Outside Everyday - Done - all the prep for our Guests got me out and about daily!
     2. Get up at 5:00 a.m. every day - Maybe not everyday, but I made it a habit and I love this time that's all mine!
     3. Get in bed by 10:00 - Not as consistently as I wanted to, and I paid dearly some days. 
     4. I am going to try to get dressed, including make up everyday. I want to accessorize my outfits, and feel better - Done! I went shopping with a gift card thanks to Erik's mom and got some new clothes. Feeling better already!
Home school:
     1. Find some fun December crafts and centers for the kids to do.  

     2. Finish Ella's Singapore Math part A book - We didn't finish, but we are moving right along in the new year and will be back on track by the end of January.

     3. I've set a sight word goal for Anna. Doing really well on her sight words, and her grammar rules!

    4. Use the timer more.  We are using the timer for math drills and hope to start it for reading for Anna this month.

Now for my January Goals:
Blog:
     1. I'm ready to put my blog out there. I have been blogging since May, 2015 but haven't really publicized it. I think it's for several reasons.  1 - this has been therapy for me, and it's kind of personal. 2. I doubt my writing/blogging skills, and I don't want people to think it's terrible.  But I am ready to share this journey we are on and if it helps someone in the process, that is even better!
     a. In addition to putting the blog out there more, it will be getting a face lift thanks to the hubs and his creativity - so thankful he is supportive of this little venture!

Home:
     1. Get the rest of the Christmas put away!
     2. My pantry and coat closet will be getting a make over this month. They need a purge and some organization.  I am not an organized person, and I am cheap! So I will feature my low/no cost organization because as much as I love the matching bins, and chalkboard tags, I am not going to spend money on stuff to hold my stuff. I wish I could - I wish my pantry looked like this( I truly love her blog!), but it won't but I will still have my cereal and my soup exactly where I need them.
     3. We are going to become a "leave your shoes at the door" family. It's going to take practice and I am definitely the worst because I am never barefoot, but we have light carpet and Christmas showed me just how much is tracked in on the bottom of our shoes, so I will be taking some steps to implement a shoeless or at least an indoor shoe/outdoor shoe home.

Health:
     1. Exercise, Exercise, Exercise...just like everyone else!
     2. Practice moderation in all things - tv, social media, food and drink, pretty much everything!
*I realize this goal gets away from my whole  - keep it real and attainable goal setting approach, but I'm not quantifying the amount of calories, minutes of screen time, etc. I just want to keep moderation in mind in all things. I think that helps it become more attainable.

Home school:
     1. Branch out - I will be writing more on this in another blog, but there are things I find myself longing to learn about. Why can we study them even if they aren't in the geography or science curriculum?  Well, we are going to! I love winter studies - polar bears, the arctic, penguins, snowflakes - we are going to work those in. I am going to try to not be bound by the curriculum.
     2. Review the scope of learning for each of my children's grade levels to be sure we are on track for the end of the year.

Family:
     1. Serve more, participate more, reach out more. This sounds lofty, but really the goal is tied to this.  We are going to just jump in and really LIVE in NOVA. Enjoy what the town has to offer, participate in the events of the church and give back! I'm the most excited about this goal!

Well,  that's all for now - got some goals to achieve!