Life with the Clarks

A Knight’s Birthday

March 21, 2013 by Carey Jane Clark

A couple of months ago, Pumpkin, who turned 11 yesterday, asked me for a knight’s birthday party theme. Because of our somewhat nomadic lifestyle over the last several years, we hadn’t given him a “real” birthday party with friends since he was five years old!

And I had no ideas about what to do for a knight’s theme. Thank goodness for Pinterest!

A quick search of Pinterest, and I had a ton of great ideas. Here’s a look at Pumpkin’s 11th birthday bash:

I was really happy with the file I purchased from Etsy with personalized printable invitations, welcome signs, thank you cards, and a host of other items to make the day special. I could have fooled around and made something myself, but this saved a lot of time, and was far cuter than I could have managed on my own.

We kicked things off by knighting each of the party participants with an inflatable sword and these fabulous tunics I stitched up from instructions I found at Creative Party Blog. The instructions called for felt, but I couldn’t find that here, so used some corduroy I found at the fabric market–some in blue, some in red, so the boys could be divided into teams. We played musical accompaniment to the grand event with the Masterpiece Theater Theme.

After their official knighthood, the boys proved their worth in a jousting tournament on their trusty steeds. (JavaMan found a soundtrack of horses galloping as background for this–awesome!)

After the jousting tournament, it was time to turn up the action with sword duels. The inflatable swords were flying during this particular match! (The rules: No swords could touch below the waist or above the neck. Sweetpea kept track of how many times the sword landed, but no one really cared!)

After all the action, it was time for a change of pace, so we did these great crafts.

Then it was time for the feast.

Pumpkin collaborated with me on the menu. Having studied medieval times as part of our classical history study two years ago, he knew we needed a feast that the kids could eat with their hands: chicken wings, dinner rolls, corn on the cob (available from KFC here), and veggie spears (carrots and celery).

The cake looked better in person. And it was pretty yummy, made with our honey-sweetened frosting. The toy knights topped the cake and made it into the loot bags as well as some gold-wrapped chocolate coins.

And finally, it was time to unwrap the gifts. Since commercial cards are hard to come by here, most of the kids make their own cards. It’s really sweet to see the work they put into them.

The whole day was a big success!

Rest

March 15, 2013 by Carey Jane Clark

I’m ready for spring. Or maybe I’m just ready for a rest.

Winter came back this week, just when spring was flirting with us. I took Sprout to her ballet class on Saturday morning thinking possibly I had worn one too many layers. JavaMan told me later it had actually reached 20 degrees Celsius.

But when we emerged from ballet class, a sandstorm had blown up, the temperature had dropped and the wind was almost enough to take my feet out from under me—ah the joys of living near the sea!

I put on my reading glasses and pulled my hood on and told Sprout to close her eyes so we could keep the dust out, and I held her hand and pulled her. The rest of the week stayed cold and an even more bitter wind moved in.

But while winter has been especially long and cold here this year, it’s also been busy. Sometimes it’s hard to step back and tell ourselves it’s okay not to be committed every moment of every day. It can be even harder to communicate that to others. I recently made the decision to cut out our Friday night neighborhood ESL class. In our old, smaller neighborhood, where things were more intimate, it felt like we were doing a real service to our neighbors and making friends with them.

In this neighborhood, it doesn’t feel like holding the class has meant getting to know the parents or the children well at all, and we feel a little like a babysitting service at times. In a country where everyone is clambering for English instruction—especially from foreign teachers, the decision to rest can be a difficult one to explain.

But I am certain this is the right move. We have only two more classes before our final presentation to the parents, and then, I will rest.

What do you do to stop and rest? Is there anything you’ve had to let go of to make time for a time out?

The Sound of Music

February 20, 2013 by Carey Jane Clark

It’s incredible to believe that it’s been a year since JavaMan preceded us back to China to secure an apartment and have our things moved to our new home.

He did such an excellent job finding our apartment. We couldn’t be happier with it. We love just about everything about it.

I’ve raved before about our homeschool room. It’s a wonderful space. And we really did feel like it was complete. However, this week something happened to finish it off to perfection.

When our things were moved to the north, one item was unfortunately left behind–our digital keyboard. So for almost an entire year, we have been without a piano of any kind. We consoled ourselves that our children were still receiving music education through our music appreciation lessons and by studying violin.

But we still really missed the keyboard.

I looked around and had one priced out that I was saving up for. I hoped to be able to give it to the family for Christmas. But it seemed there were other financial priorities, and we couldn’t make it happen. About the same time, I began to really miss playing the piano myself, and wished we could afford to find a digital piano with a full 88-key keyboard and weighted keys. It was one of those moments where I heard that quiet whisper, “If you really want it, ask Me.” So I did. And in January, I received miraculous provision of the money needed to buy a Casio CDP-120 digital keyboard, complete with weighted keys.

We had to wait until businesses opened after the Chinese New Year in order to buy it, but on Monday evening it arrived. We were all so excited that homeschool the next day was filled with music study. Sweetpea and Pumpkin did their best to remember the pieces they had been practicing with a piano learning system they had been studying previously, but they also had a chance to try their first few lessons on a new system we’ll be reviewing for the TOS Review Crew next month.

You’ll really want to stay tuned (pun intended) for this review. So far, my children have given this product the most enthusiastic response I have ever seen them give a curriculum! Mark your calendars. My review is due out on March 20.

What do you do for music education in your home?

Mom Learns Too

February 8, 2013 by Carey Jane Clark

If I take pride in anything about myself, it’s that I can always learn something new. I’m not ashamed to admit that there’s a lot I still don’t know. But I’m usually willing to learn.

The thing about homeschooling your children is you begin to realize just how very much you know nothing about. There is always something new to learn. Rare is the day that I don’t say aloud while we are learning together, “Wow, I didn’t know that.” (My kids have started to seriously question my education.)

Whether it’s figuring out how to find the bottom of the laundry pile, remembering what on earth algebra was all about, figuring out how to satisfy quarreling siblings, or finally learning to balance all of that and keep one’s sanity, it’s not just our kids who are learning, we moms are learning too.

In these “Mom Learns Too” posts, I hope to share the lessons I’m learning each week. And part of learning is sharing. So as I share the lessons I’m learning, I’d love it if you’d join me and share what you’re learning too. Won’t you join me?

Beginning next Friday, the “Mom Learns Too” post will contain a linky tool so you can link up your post and learn along with me. For now, you can copy and paste the code below to link up with Mom Learns Too next week.

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