Ian and I are both sick with colds, but I am much worse. He is not eating and wanting to nurse all the time. I am weak and wanting to be left alone. Curt is working so we are alone in the hotel room. I need to go see Roxxy at the kennel, but I don't know how far it is and am feeling to weak to venture out with Ian. I have a device to make the carseat into a stroller of sorts but the carseat is in the van that picked us up. I know I can't carry him that far and he isn't reliable about walking. I hope Curt comes back for lunch.
I have very limited patience and am struggling with that because Ian needs attention and cannot be expected to understand my situation. I hope to get better soon.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
A Few Words
Hello= annyeoung haseyo
Goodbye= annyeoung-hi gaseyo (if you are leaving) annyeoung-hi gyeseyo (if you are staying)
Thank You= gamsa hamnida
Your Welcome= gwaenchan seumnida
Yes= ye/ne
No= aniyo
Goodbye= annyeoung-hi gaseyo (if you are leaving) annyeoung-hi gyeseyo (if you are staying)
Thank You= gamsa hamnida
Your Welcome= gwaenchan seumnida
Yes= ye/ne
No= aniyo
Hope These Montessori Effects Last...
Montessori philosophy teaches children to care for their environment so if they make a mess, they are to help clean it up and they clean as a regular part of the school day. Ian has discovered that he loves to clean!
Ian and I walked down the hall to the vending machine. I let him carry the quarters and then put them in the machine, get out the Diet Coke and carry it back to the room. He did very well until he saw the water on the floor by the ice machine. I had to drag him back into the room. He got a towel and tried to open the door to go back and clean up the water. If we didn't have such tiny towels at this hotel I would have let him. It is so nice that he is interested in cleaning. I know I am not!
Today at breakfast, after he dribbled water out of his cup, he cleaned it up with a napkin. He also insisted on making a breakfast burrito just like me.
I hope to find a Korean Montessori. The English-speaking one here in Seoul costs $10,000 a year. Too much for pre-school. I got a lot of ideas from the two months of school that he had in Erie. Just taking the time to let him help with daily life makes a big difference in his learning, behaviour and enjoyment. Last week, Heather and I made bread for Ian to take to school for snack. We put a chair next to the counter so he could see and he was happy, quiet and watched the whole time. We had him hold some ingredients. We should have let him measure, but we were trying to get it done quickly and he was satisfied to watch.
Ian and I walked down the hall to the vending machine. I let him carry the quarters and then put them in the machine, get out the Diet Coke and carry it back to the room. He did very well until he saw the water on the floor by the ice machine. I had to drag him back into the room. He got a towel and tried to open the door to go back and clean up the water. If we didn't have such tiny towels at this hotel I would have let him. It is so nice that he is interested in cleaning. I know I am not!
Today at breakfast, after he dribbled water out of his cup, he cleaned it up with a napkin. He also insisted on making a breakfast burrito just like me.
I hope to find a Korean Montessori. The English-speaking one here in Seoul costs $10,000 a year. Too much for pre-school. I got a lot of ideas from the two months of school that he had in Erie. Just taking the time to let him help with daily life makes a big difference in his learning, behaviour and enjoyment. Last week, Heather and I made bread for Ian to take to school for snack. We put a chair next to the counter so he could see and he was happy, quiet and watched the whole time. We had him hold some ingredients. We should have let him measure, but we were trying to get it done quickly and he was satisfied to watch.
Seoul, Man!
We made it. It was brutal trip. Head colds and Economy Plus seating. Trail of Cherrios and Late July cheese crackers from Erie to Seoul. Had to get water from the kid next to us because Ian got hysterical screaming,"Water, Water!" He pointed, he frantically signed,"Please, please!" Nursed a good portion of the trip, except when he was screaming for water and when the vegetarian next to us got served his food before us and he wanted it.
The dog got into the country.
We checked into the hotel, got some food just before the restaurant closed and tried to crash, but Ian was ready to party. We were all out of bed by 5 am because Curt had to work and Ian was finished pretending to sleep.
Apparently the "yellow sand" (pollution from China) is coming and can really get you congested. Great, as I am already very congested. I never should have slacked on the neti!
The dog got into the country.
We checked into the hotel, got some food just before the restaurant closed and tried to crash, but Ian was ready to party. We were all out of bed by 5 am because Curt had to work and Ian was finished pretending to sleep.
Apparently the "yellow sand" (pollution from China) is coming and can really get you congested. Great, as I am already very congested. I never should have slacked on the neti!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Countdown to Korea
The movers have come and gone. It was a lot of work to get ready, but it went smoothly. We out an offer in an a house in Georgia, but they countered so we are moving on to try to find another. The two biggest remaining issues: the dog and the car.
Roxxy has to go to get her health certificate on Monday. The paperwork must be Fed-ex'd to Harrisburg and back within 10 days of departure. She will have her sutures removed on Saturday and then we fly on Sunday. If she isn't ready to go, I will come back for her in a few months.
Curt has to drive the car to Baltimore to ship it to Korea. He will drive down Tuesday and fly back Wednesday.
There is still some paperwork that the Transportation Office needs to do to get our household goods from Egypt to Korea. I'm a little worried about it but we will just keep on them and hope they get it done before we go.
We are not going to live on the base. We have to get a bunch of real estate agents to find us a house. They compete against each other and that is how it is done there. The government doesn't provide any furniture or appliances so we are going to have to buy a lot of things.
Supposedly, there is Bikram yoga in Seoul, so I hope that I can get to it. There is an English-speaking Montessori for kids 2.5 and up but it is $10,000 a year so that won't work. Maybe there is a Korean school that is less.
Roxxy has to go to get her health certificate on Monday. The paperwork must be Fed-ex'd to Harrisburg and back within 10 days of departure. She will have her sutures removed on Saturday and then we fly on Sunday. If she isn't ready to go, I will come back for her in a few months.
Curt has to drive the car to Baltimore to ship it to Korea. He will drive down Tuesday and fly back Wednesday.
There is still some paperwork that the Transportation Office needs to do to get our household goods from Egypt to Korea. I'm a little worried about it but we will just keep on them and hope they get it done before we go.
We are not going to live on the base. We have to get a bunch of real estate agents to find us a house. They compete against each other and that is how it is done there. The government doesn't provide any furniture or appliances so we are going to have to buy a lot of things.
Supposedly, there is Bikram yoga in Seoul, so I hope that I can get to it. There is an English-speaking Montessori for kids 2.5 and up but it is $10,000 a year so that won't work. Maybe there is a Korean school that is less.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Moving to Korea
The packers are coming in a week. Preparation is key. It was actually much easier in Egypt because it was all our stuff except the Embassy furniture. Right now, my stuff is integrated into my parents' house except for what we have in a storage POD. It is being delivered today so we can go through it.
We have to decide what to take in our suitcases, what to mail, what to send in our air freight shipment, what to send in the sea shipment, how to coordinate transferring the goods in storage in Egypt to Korea, buy a house in Georgia for my sister to live in during medical school and then have the goods that are in storage in Texas from before we went overseas, to Georgia. Also, we have to get an international health certificate for the dog and prepare a bunch of paperwork for shipping our car (which has to be driven to Baltimore to ship.
We have about two weeks to do all this, though, we don't have our tickets reserved because the guy in Korea hasn't gotten back to us.
The movers are coming in 6 days so most of the decisions will be made by then. It is good to have a deadline.
We have to decide what to take in our suitcases, what to mail, what to send in our air freight shipment, what to send in the sea shipment, how to coordinate transferring the goods in storage in Egypt to Korea, buy a house in Georgia for my sister to live in during medical school and then have the goods that are in storage in Texas from before we went overseas, to Georgia. Also, we have to get an international health certificate for the dog and prepare a bunch of paperwork for shipping our car (which has to be driven to Baltimore to ship.
We have about two weeks to do all this, though, we don't have our tickets reserved because the guy in Korea hasn't gotten back to us.
The movers are coming in 6 days so most of the decisions will be made by then. It is good to have a deadline.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Montessori Adventures
Ian started Montessori school in January. He goes three hours a day three days a week. While he is really getting a lot out of the experience, it is just as much for me as it is for him. I had hoped to use the time to work out, but there is so much to do to get ready to move, that I have been using for errands instead.If you do three days a week, you choose from Monday-Wednesday or Wednesday-Friday. They do this because having the days together seems to make the transition easier for them ad get into the routine better than alternating days.
This Montessori program has a transitioning in period that I really like. First, you visit the classroom with your child for about 20 minutes, then, you do a week of one hour a day and you try to leave the room. Then, the next week, they do two hours a day and finally on the third week, they go to the full three hours a day. Of course, if it takes longer, they are fine with that. I was worried that Ian would have a rough time. He is very independent as long as he knows where I am.
During the visit, he stayed very close to me and stacked cups. The first one hour day, he sat on my lap for about 10 minutes, but by the end of the hour he had made it to all four corners of the room. The next day, I was able to leave the room. He said,"No, no, Ma!", but in the time it took me to go across the hall and turn around, he was distracted. he stayed in for the rest of the hour (about 20 minutes) and then it was time to go.
Our second week, the first day was hard. they take the kids from your car and return them to your car so there are no big dramatic goodbyes at the door to the classroom. I parked and went into the room across the hall. He cried for a long time. I cried in the room, but they told that they would come get me and have me bring the car around if they thought he reached his limit. The teachers tried to hug and comfort him, but it just made him angry and he pounded the door yelling,"Mama, mama!" The way they calmed him down, was by taking him to get himself a tissue and having him wipe his nose and throw it away. He loves to throw things away. I really didn't think he was going to make it for two hours, but after they calmed him down the first time, he was happy for the rest of the class. The rest of the week, I just left and he did better and better each day.
By the third week, he cried when they took him from the car and when they returned him, but they said he did well during the day. The fourth week, he stopped crying when they returned him to the car. He is the youngest in the class, so I try to be first or second in line so he doesn't have to wait. to see a lot of other people leave before him.
Montessori teaches kids from a very young age to take care of their environment and do things for themselves. Ian loves to do things for himself, so it is a perfect fit for him. They do group activities like singing and yoga, but if kids don't want to participate, they don't have to. When I observed, every time there was a kid who refused to participate, within seconds of the activity starting, the kid would go over on his own to join. I like that because, does it really matter if a kid sings "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"? It is not like they are refusing to take the SATs or something. The alternative would be to drag an unwilling kid over to sing and have them meltdown and disrupt everyone else. This way, everyone else participates and usually the reluctant kid joins in. I think choosing your battles with little ones is important.
Several friends are interested in the school now. I hope they like it and go. Different programs are better for different kids, but I think that Montessori is great for preschool.
This Montessori program has a transitioning in period that I really like. First, you visit the classroom with your child for about 20 minutes, then, you do a week of one hour a day and you try to leave the room. Then, the next week, they do two hours a day and finally on the third week, they go to the full three hours a day. Of course, if it takes longer, they are fine with that. I was worried that Ian would have a rough time. He is very independent as long as he knows where I am.
During the visit, he stayed very close to me and stacked cups. The first one hour day, he sat on my lap for about 10 minutes, but by the end of the hour he had made it to all four corners of the room. The next day, I was able to leave the room. He said,"No, no, Ma!", but in the time it took me to go across the hall and turn around, he was distracted. he stayed in for the rest of the hour (about 20 minutes) and then it was time to go.
Our second week, the first day was hard. they take the kids from your car and return them to your car so there are no big dramatic goodbyes at the door to the classroom. I parked and went into the room across the hall. He cried for a long time. I cried in the room, but they told that they would come get me and have me bring the car around if they thought he reached his limit. The teachers tried to hug and comfort him, but it just made him angry and he pounded the door yelling,"Mama, mama!" The way they calmed him down, was by taking him to get himself a tissue and having him wipe his nose and throw it away. He loves to throw things away. I really didn't think he was going to make it for two hours, but after they calmed him down the first time, he was happy for the rest of the class. The rest of the week, I just left and he did better and better each day.
By the third week, he cried when they took him from the car and when they returned him, but they said he did well during the day. The fourth week, he stopped crying when they returned him to the car. He is the youngest in the class, so I try to be first or second in line so he doesn't have to wait. to see a lot of other people leave before him.
Montessori teaches kids from a very young age to take care of their environment and do things for themselves. Ian loves to do things for himself, so it is a perfect fit for him. They do group activities like singing and yoga, but if kids don't want to participate, they don't have to. When I observed, every time there was a kid who refused to participate, within seconds of the activity starting, the kid would go over on his own to join. I like that because, does it really matter if a kid sings "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"? It is not like they are refusing to take the SATs or something. The alternative would be to drag an unwilling kid over to sing and have them meltdown and disrupt everyone else. This way, everyone else participates and usually the reluctant kid joins in. I think choosing your battles with little ones is important.
Several friends are interested in the school now. I hope they like it and go. Different programs are better for different kids, but I think that Montessori is great for preschool.
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