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Mom Learns Too

February 15, 2013 by Carey Jane Clark

This week, I learned a lot:

the Chinese word for “intersection.” (You can’t imagine how inconvenient it was not to know the Chinese word for intersection)
how to make my own blog header in Picmonkey (amazing how inventive we can become when dollars are on the line!)
and thanks to my son, who messed around on Picmonkey after I was done, I learned a whole set of functions I wasn’t aware of

But the biggest thing I learned this week came from scripture. Last year, one of my goals was to become more consistent with daily Bible reading. I used the One Year Bible, New Living Translation. This year, my goal is to make that daily reading time into more of a listening time–to read with pen in hand, an open notebook, and an open heart. And this year, I switched to the ESV. Something about switching versions from time to time seems to let me see things in a new light.

And this week, while reading in Matthew, I saw something I’d never seen before:

Matthew 27:17 “So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’ For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.”

Somehow this scripture leaped out at me.

I’m not sure if it’s a female trait or whether it’s universal to the human race in general, but it’s so easy to play the comparison game. A hundred times a day I see someone who has more, does more, or is better at something than I am, and while I may not wish I actually were that person, I have these niggling little feelings of resentment or of inferiority.

Maybe I’m the only one.

But when I read this scripture, I suddenly saw envy–in whatever form it comes in–as a pretty ugly thing. We aren’t told much about the wisdom of Pilate. It seems like he may have been a somewhat cowardly man, unwilling to make a bold decision about letting Jesus go, when he was obviously an innocent man.

But here we’re told that he “knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.” He saw their ugly covetous hearts for what they were. And it was that envy that led to Jesus being delivered up for crucifixion. I need to remind myself of this. The next time I’m tempted to compare–to look over at someone else’s greener pastures–I need to see that envy for what it is, and the kind of serious destruction it causes.

How about you? What did you learn this week?

A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels

February 14, 2013 by Carey Jane Clark

There are some things that are easy to teach. Math, for instance, though arguably not easy to learn, is easy enough to teach. There is counting, followed by addition, followed by subtraction, multiplication, division and so on. Everyone knows the set of things that ought to be taught–how to go about that may be another matter–but we have all learned math, and we all know, to some degree of proficiency or other, how to pass that on.

Other things come less easily. Art, for me, is one of those things.

While I’ve always appreciated art, and always had an artistic bent, I’ve never had much formal education in art, and generally have felt like one on the outside looking in when it comes to things artistic. It’s one of those subject areas that, we’re often given the impression, can’t be taught.

That’s why A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels is so brilliant. Gently and persuasively, Tricia Hodges (of HodgePodge.me blog) and Lucia Hames (Nana) lead the reader into a series of tutorials that anyone can do. As evidence of this notion, sprinkled among the tutorials are pictures of the messy fingers and completed masterpieces of Hodges’ five children–from preschoolers to high schoolers.

The tutorials in the book were born one day when “Nana,” snowed in at the Hodges, pulled out her chalk pastels and began a lesson. We’re so very glad she did. Hodges has published those lessons on her blog, and now compiled them into the handy format of an ebook. It’s so nice to have these tutorials in a format that can be printed out and easily viewed by everyone working on the art together, and also for planning purposes.

Our family has gotten to know “Nana” (and that is what we call her) through her art tutorials, and we have made it a regular part of our art afternoons. These lessons have made art seem so much more “doable.” Though my kids sometimes struggle with perfectionistic tendencies (I can’t imagine where that comes from!), they have learned that chalk pastels are a forgiving medium, and they can make mistakes, get messy and come up with their own individual expression of an art piece. Just take a look at what our children have been able to produce with the simple instructions from these tutorials, and you’ll understand my enthusiasm:

sproutart1 — Sailboat at Sunset by Sprout, age 6

It’s nice to see “Nana’s” art, but it’s equally wonderful to see the same piece attempted by a child, and Hodges and Hames’ book is filled with pictures of Hodges’ kids’ art.

The book itself contains:

an introduction to Hodges and Nana
Nana’s impressive artistic qualifications
suggested supplies for doing the art
some tips for getting started
how to let go of the notion that it’s “too messy.”

Then the tutorials begin, with an impressive list of almost 50 tutorials, as well as bonus tutorials only available to those who purchase the book. Finally, there is a list of resources for going further with art–not just chalk pastels, but other media as well.

These tutorials have been a real answer to our family for art time. While we’ve found other instructional resources we use as well, this one just gets us down and dirty DOING art. I always join in, and I’m always pleased with my own results.

Bird's Nest by Carey Jane Clark, age ??? — Bird’s Nest by Carey Jane Clark, age ???

If you are hesitating about whether or not to buy this book, or whether to begin your artistic career with chalk pastels, I encourage you to take the plunge. And to make that even easier, Tricia Hodges is giving away TWO copies of this fabulous ebook. If you can’t wait, Tricia has also generously offered this discount code for readers of my blog: Receive $5 off through 2-28-13 using discount code CJC.

Enter below to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{And don’t forget to check out Tricia Hodges’ blog today for a beautiful
new art lesson from Nana especially for Valentine’s Day!}

Our China: The Local Market, Part 2

February 11, 2013 by Carey Jane Clark

Welcome to the second week of “Taste of China” posts. In these posts, I’m attempting to give an idea of what it’s like to live in China–a taste of this country for those who’ve never lived here. In last week’s post, I introduced the concept of the market in China. Whereas some markets are dedicated only to foods, our local market has a little more to offer. Last week, I wrote about the fruit and vegetable stands. Here are a few more of the offerings in our local market.

The simple egg is still a bit of a mystery to me here in China. Eggs are not sold by the dozen, but by the half kilo (a measurement called the 斤 jīn, used for buying everything from fruit and vegetables to yarn for knitting). I can buy eggs with inspection stickers for up to $3.20 a half kilo, but I always buy the cheapest kind (no stickers) for around $0.80 per 斤 (jīn). These humble, stickerless eggs have lovely bright-colored yolks, and resemble what I might purchase at an organic farm in Canada. Sizes are irregular, but mostly large, and almost all the eggs one sees in the market or the supermarket are brown. Other than the fact that they are inspected (and perhaps come from a different variety of chicken?), I don’t really understand why the expensive eggs are more expensive. At the same place I buy chicken eggs, it’s also possible to buy pigeon or duck eggs as well.

Generally speaking, here in this city, it seems harder to find whole chickens here than pieces. (This was not true where we lived in the south of China.) When you do find a whole chicken, it is truly whole. It will have its head, feet and probably its entrails intact. At most markets in the north, things are a bit more “civilized” than the south. When we bought a chicken in the south, we picked it out live, it kicked its last inside a bucket and it was plucked and cleaned out right before our eyes. Our kids have no illusions about where their food comes from!

Next week I plan to share a little about other kinds of meat sold in the market, and as a little bonus, I’ll share a special recipe that’s a family favorite. But to complete our tour of the market, we must stop and buy grains.

Here I can buy several kinds of rice (including red and brown), millet, buckwheat–groats or flour, oatmeal–groats or rolled oats, dried beans, flour for dumplings or for baking and various kinds of oil. I buy things by the 斤 jīn here too.

Oh wait a minute. Need a set of clothespins, a bucket, a mop, a flyswatter, some garbage bags? Well fortunately, our market has a little hardware store too (as well as a small toy store, a stationery store, a fabric store, and a small electronics place that sells extension cords, lightbulbs, and at Chinese New Year, plastic red lanterns).

It’s always fun to shop for something new. We often look up vocabulary before we go to the market if we’re buying something unusual we don’t already know the name for. My favorite trick is to print out a picture of the item I need from the internet. Neither strategy guarantees success, but we usually come back with what we went looking for, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Either way it’s always an adventure!

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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