THE PAST FEW DAYS

We’ve been somewhat busy these past few days, going out, spending time together as a family, homeschooling, doing chores. We’ve been busy but we’ve been having fun and I suppose that’s what matters most. I am just so glad that God gave us this opportunity to be together a little bit longer. Because of this, I can really say that 2008 will end happily for me and my family.

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Already, I sense that our casual approach to homeschooling has been very beneficial to Ethan. He’s been thriving and learning so much and I really can’t appreciate enough how much homeschooling has made him love learning and discovering new things in his own unique way. I know not many people will understand and appreciate our method and until now I still hear some of them ask when I’m going to send the boys to school and to be honest, I’ve given up trying to make them understand our choice. I’ve been trying to for the past years and I’ve stressed (excessively) about it but now, I just want to focus on my boys, focus on their learning and focus on what matters most. Besides, I don’t want to develop premature wrinkles (as my mom would say).

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The other day, we were at a sports shop looking for a pair of rubber shoes for Ethan. The soles of his previous ones were worn down (in other words, there were holes in them!!) so Ruther said that we should get him a new pair. We were able to get him nice Nike’s and since the kids' shoes (some of them) were on sale, we got Nikki a pair as well (Adidas). While there, we found this nice in-line skate set (complete with a helmet and pads!) and after the boys tried it out, Ruther and I decided to get one for the boys. Ruther at first asked whether we should buy two and I replied, “Are you insane? How can I keep an eye on two boys on skates?” I could already imagine myself running after the two of them and screaming my head off to stay away from the road and incoming cars. So before that vision became a reality, I very firmly said no and told Ruther we're better off with one pair. Maybe when the boys are bigger they could each have a pair. For now, one will do. I have to say though, Ethan was a lot more confident in the skates than Nikki. Ethan as always, is more physically adept than Nikki so we were not surprised that this was so. But then again, I also believe that with practice, Nikki will learn to skate well too. We haven’t really gone skating yet since they tested them at the store because the weather has been somewhat unpredictable but hopefully this week the boys could take turns trying out their new skates. (Minus the booboos, I hope!)

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I’ve been yearning to go to a library here. I’ve already checked the Yokohama city guide website and I already found some libraries to go to but I need Ruther to come with me because he's the one with a library card. I browsed some of the books they have online and I am quite excited to borrow several. I think we can borrow 6 books at a time (if I’m not mistaken). Not only will it be nice for the boys to have English books to read but I will be able to read everyday again. I am really a book person. I love books. When I was in college, I would spend all my money on books never mind the clothes, food or the usual teenage stuff. I just love to read, read, read. Nikki has lately been enjoying some online storytelling. Some of his favorite stories are on the PBS website and NickJr. I see that he learns how to pronounce words when he listens carefully. Also, this is great in improving his listening skills because sometimes, Nikki could be lacking in that aspect. I’ve also printed some stories for Nikki to read and have made a sort of compilation by putting the printed stories in a clearbook. I printed nursery rhymes (his books are in Manila), some short stories, fairy tales and simple poems. Right now, I am trying to get copies of Aesop’s Fables. I tried using the original version but the words and sentences are too complicated for a Level 2-3 reader so I used the kid’s version instead. You can view the original fables at http://aesopfables.com. I’m thinking, when Nikki is bigger, I’ll let him read the stories in their original form. Maybe both of us will have fun reading them together.

Anyway, these are only a few of the activities we’ve done and been doing for the past days. I know that we still have lots of things to do, lessons to accomplish, sights to see, family bonding to look forward to… It’s going to be pretty busy, pretty hectic and pretty fun.

I can’t wait.