I hadn't realised how expressive katydids were until Ali got up close to this little chap with his macro setting - easy to miss on our cactus plant, sitting outside the kitchen window. It's the season for bright green insects and there are lots of praying mantis about too. It takes nerves to get up close to them though.

Nerves are a little bit tense at the moment as various pressures mount: Freda seems to be unwell again, Edie has developed a cold and my work is piling up, as usual. Uncertainty about what is wrong with Freda is hard to deal with over a long period of time. She was much better last week and managed the new morning school routine. We've emailed the VSO medical unit in London, as well as a few other medics, and we await advice and suggestions.

As to the old work chestnut. Well, I know I could lower my expectations on that front, and simply do less, but that's easier said than done when there are so many people asking for help in one way or another. Nevertheless, I am trying to stick to  a reasonable working day - get to the office by 8, have an hour or so for lunch then work on until 5 or 6, assuming I'm not in charge of home school that day. I'm also prioritising. The result is that this week is being devoted to completing a TLT training report, enter the TLT feedback and evaluation into a database and finalise a digital PIE Resource Package for distrition to anyone who wants it. That's not bad given that I've been asked to teach two model lessons at Simao No. 6 Middle School and run an English singing activity with Edie's class. I have put on hold the job-hunting, 20+ replies to middle school penpals, TLT follow-up preparation and trips, article writing and College workshop planning, never mind all  the things I'd love to do but haven't even started - bookmaking classes, this term's orienteering programme, cooking club etc etc. Hobbies? I'll consider those again on Saturday. The good news is that by the evenings I'm too tired to do anything but flop on the bed with a book (on bad days it's the couch, with a DVD) and have opted to start more seriously studying Chinese again. Oh, does that count as rest??

This is the title of a book we've had for a few months containing the science behind some fun experiments. Ali decided it might be interesting to incorporate some into this afternoon's homeschool. Luckily for Dougal the instructions for turning small furry rodents into rock seemed like too much hard work, so we picked another experiment instead.

No...he's not trying to drown Freda. This is how to measure the weight of a human head. Fairly messy - with buckets, basins and water sloshing about everywhere. The bucket proved to be too small for Ali's large brain so Freda was the guineapig instead, with Edie on photography duty. Assuming water has the same density as human brain tissue and skull (is this assuming too much?) then Freda's bonce weighs in at about 2.8kg. Experimental error was fairly high - we're not sure of her head was completely submerged (was Ali pushing hard enough?). Afterwards, another experiment, we played about with cornflour mixed with water - now that really was fun (and very messy).

It's shaped like a scone; it smells like a scone; it tastes like a scone; in fact, it REALLY IS a scone! If only the same could be the same for the cream. Actually, that's a little harsh. After four cream-free years Dream Topping fools my taste buds quite easily. Why didn't we think of making scones sooner? Maybe it had something to do with a block of butter costing a day's pay. It just so happened we splashed out for Hongyan and Yanhui's visit last week. So, any time you fancy cream tea, just bring some butter and we'll do the rest. THANKS AGAIN to all of you who keep those little goody bags [parcels] coming this way - such home(-baking) comforts really are a dream (topping?) come true!

There are many things it would seem a pity not to take advantage of studying in China - calligraphy is one of them. We have a few resident experts in the College and have had an open invitation to join in their Saturday morning calligraphy sessions for over two years. This morning we finally made it. As the only calligraphers we had Mr Li all to ourselves. Just as well really because we needed a lot of guidance to get started. I remember trying it once in Xi'an, when we first arrived in China in 2005, and it seemed impossibly hard. Over four years on, with a little more knowledge of Chinese characters, strokes and writing, it was a little bit easier. Having said that, in the two hours we were there I only produced about two or three strokes that passed the inspection. Freda and Edie had already moved onto their names before I'd even passed the dian (dot) stage. It's one of the many things in life that looks MUCH easier, when done by an expert, than it is. Nevertheless, we aren't going to give up and have already invested in our own brushes, ink and mats. I'm determined to shock Mr Li with my rapid progress when we see him next week.

We are happy to report that, with our new routine of morning Primary and afternoon Home School, life is much happier in the LEAF household. We haven't escaped the early starts but the children are under much less pressure, which means the same is also true for us. Freda and Edie finish their more formal education by 11:30 am (having started at 7:30) and head home for lunch. A part-time homework tutor (Grade 2 College students) comes from 2 - 3:30 (costing 10% of our monthly allowance, but it's worth it) to guide the girls through their Chinese tasks. We muddle our way through the maths - Freda and Edie translate and we interpret. If it gets much harder I'll be wishing I'd taken a foundation course at university.

For the rest of the afternoon we focus on our Home School activities - arts & crafts, reading, writing and sports. Since our meeting with the school and change in routine, Freda and Edie's teachers have been showing a keen interest in what they get up to in the afternoons. We're therefore putting a folder together that they can take in every week or so, just to prove they're not sciving. With any luck some of the ideas might rub off on the teachers and their classmates might find school brightening up a bit. There must be other parents out their who aren't obsessed with exams and care more about a rounder, stimulating education that doesn't rely on repetition and copying. Maybe we have a chance to show that even by attending school only two thirds of the time of their classmates, Freda and Edie can do just as well in their exams. What's more, Freda's finally lost the bags under her eyes and we're all much happier.

The swimming pool was typically quiet when we ventured along their this week - another one of the many perks of afternoon home school. After a few cloudy days, however, it was colder than usual and the only way to get in was quickly. I swam 40 lengths with Ali on lifeguard duty for Freda and Edie. Both girls managed a short swimming lesson in between two of my sets, but got out early to warm up in the shower. From now on we'll only go when there's clear blue sky and sunshine warming the the greenhouse-style room.

Teachers, students, leaders and Jinggu Education Bureau gave us a warm welcome when we arrived in the small township of Zhengxing on Sunday evening. This banner, hanging from a balcony of the teaching building, read: "Welcome VSO and Simao Teachers' College experts to guide us in our work."

This trip to a Jinggu County school was organised to give our VSO visitors and clearer insight into our work here in Simao. We carried out a two-day follow-up visit that included teaching observations, a model lesson by me (Lesley), an English Corner, various meetings, various meals and even a bit of karaoke at the end. Henry, one of our recent TLTs, led the observation feedback session - the start of our TLT follow-up this term. Hou Wanxia and I led the main part of the school meeting in the afternoon. As well as being a good opportunity for VSO to meet our key partners, it was a chance for us to bring them together round a table - Education Bureau leaders, school leaders, team leaders, VSO, Simao Teachers' College and teachers. It's not often we have the opportunity to talk directly about our goals and challenges.

One of the more challenging but definitely most rewarding parts of the day was the school meeting. I divided participants into groups, according to their jobs. Each group had to come up with their key targets then write, on pre-prepared arrows, how they were going to achieve these targets. Each group gave feedback and the other groups were invited them to ask questions. I also asked each other group if they thought the targets were realistic, and whether they would support them. Mr Chen, the Vice Headmaster of the school, was unusually direct with the Education Bureau when he turned to them and said: "It's unusual for us to have such Education Bureau office directors here. In fact, we hardly ever see you. What support are you going to give us in the future to help us achieve these aims?" I was thrilled to see the school make the most of this chance to communicate and make some demands. It's rare. At the end I gave a speech, with Hou Wanxia interpreting, which involved me at one point getting down on my hands and knees and begging them to put this theory into practice, not just turn their backs at the first challenge they meet. It was clear that some progress had been made since my last visit in 2007, but not nearly enough.

The school requested that I paid a visit to every class. Even if this were physically and mentally possible it would take, with an average of 5 minutes per class, about two hours. As an alternative we decided to get all the students out onto the playground for a few English language activities. Each English teacher was given an orange and sent to a class. Each class stood in a circle and passed the orange, saying something in English when they caught it. In my group [above] we progressed from "My name is...." to "I like...." and "I don't like..." They were very shy at first, desperate to avoid having the orange passed to them. This wasn't just because they were facing me, a foreigner. The other groups were reluctant too. They're simply not used to playing such activities - semi-structured with room for free-thinking. Free-thinking carries with it responsibility and the potential for 'making mistakes', every student's worst nightmare in the Chinese classroom. Delighted that we managed to get this enormous English Corner off the ground, and that the kids gradually and happily warmed up and took part, I didn't of course correct any English mistakes. The aim was communication and they achieved that very successfully. The orange was a little battered and bruised but that was the only casualty. I'm just sad I couldn't get round all the groups. To finish off we gathered the school together to teach them Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, which we all sang and did the actions for. With over 570 people present, that's definitely my record. My throat was hoarse by the end.

As you know, stolen moments to play pingpong with primary school children are always a highlight for me on these trips. This one was no different, but I was in for a special treat. After playing with the Primary 3 - 4 kids for 20 minutes I suddenly found myself opposite a familiar face. I played pingpong with this little boy in December 2007. I instantly recognised him and was delighted that he'd pulled himself away from his basketball game for a re-match. He didn't give much away but I knew he recognised him, and sought him out later for a photo. It's unlikely that I will have the chance to visit most of these townships again. As this school wasn't even part of the follow-up, it was a real surprise to meet and old friend. Now that I have his name, I'm going to print up our pingpong photos and send them to him.

On Sunday morning, before Lesley headed off to Jinggu for a follow-up trip, we had a walk up Tea Mountain with our VSO visitors and Tina. It was fairly typical - building work at the bottom, snack vendors selling a variety of pickled and spicy fruit or vegetables from plastic basins, and numerous about-to-be-newly-weds having their pre-nuptial photos taken. All of the brides were in white dresses, and their grooms in white tuxedos with pointed patent leather shoes. Such wedding photo sessions are usually separate from the actual wedding, which is also separate from the dinner. In fact, the banquet (with hundreds of guests who give hong bao [a red envelope containing money]) is usually the last stage and most important event - a public acknowledgement of the marriage. The contract-signing and pictures are minor formalities compared to the banquet. While some couples opt to have their photos taken outside, studio shots are also popular. The advantage of an indoor session is the broader selection of costumes that can be slipped on and off between back-drop changes. Many couples opt for both traditional and modern (white dress) outfits for their albums.